LCA for green system design of digital media

Interest in the environmental impact from the sector of information and communication technology (ICT) is growing. A significant part of ICTs are digital media services. In order to reduce their negative environmental impacts, the design of such systems needs to take sustainability goals into account. One important tool which can support green system design is life cycle assessment (LCA) which is a well-established methodology in other sectors of the economy. However, a variety of properties distinguish digital media systems from traditional product systems. We review those differences and challenges to the application of LCAs to green system design of digital media products and present a case study of green system design from a large online newspaper.