ABSTRACT
The practice of environmentally sustainable computing today aims at minimizing the negative implications of information and technology (IT) operations on the environment, reduction of the use of hazardous materials, energy efficiency, and biodegradability. In the process, green IT and environment security have already entered the fulcrum of sustainable development in society. The term sustainability was specifically coined for the millennium development goals of the United Nations to fulfill socio-economic and environment challenges. Sustainability broadly includes access to information and meets the challenges in different forms such as gender, marginalized sections, illiteracy, climate change, disaster management, and energy consumption. While e-government uses information and communication technologies to improve governance processes, sustainable development tries to satisfy the needs of the present generation without compromising the potential of the future generations to meet their own needs. With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other major international commitments, there is an unprecedented endeavor to transform society and humankind. The UN 2030 Agenda is centered on a set of far-reaching and people centered universal sustainable development goals (SDGs). But reaching these goals in all countries and creating peaceful, just, and inclusive societies will be extremely difficult in the absence of effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions. However, some e-government initiatives in developing countries fail due to a lack of realization that green IT and sustainable developments are “current, not just future, but reality” for all countries in the world. Lack of innovation and disparities remain within and among countries. Further, a lack of access to technology, poverty, and inequality prevent people from fully taking advantage of the potential of green IT and e-government for sustainable development. Taking into account all these perspectives, the chapter aims at analyzing existing shortcomings in integrating e-government with sustainable development; how green IT can contribute to sustainable development; the interface between green IT and e-governance; and the use of e-governance in support of sustainable development. The chapter is theoretical in orientation, with global outlooks.
