Information & Communication Technology (ICT) companies are frequently asked to share product environmental footprint information to their stakeholders. Examples of products might be software applications and operating systems, web-based information and applications, data projectors, computers and laptops, telephones and other telecommunications products, and video equipment and multimedia products, among others.
The footprint information requested can be a carbon footprint or life cycle assessment, for example. These analyses can be resource-intensive and lengthy due to the high volume of products in the ICT industry in addition to the rapid product version updates on the market. This means that by the time a deep-dive footprint is complete and the results are achieved, the product may already be irrelevant.
Given these current limitations, there was a clear and urgent need for a tool that streamlines the calculation process for ICT product footprinting.