Course Description 

Digital technologies play a central role in modern organisations, but their environmental, social, and organisational impacts are often poorly understood. This course offers a comprehensive and critical introduction to digital technologies from a sustainability perspective, enabling participants to make more responsible and informed digital choices.

Participants will explore the foundations of sustainable development, including lifecycle analysis, sustainable development goals, and corporate social responsibility, and learn how these concepts apply to digital technologies. The course examines the environmental impacts of digital equipment and usage, from resource extraction and manufacturing to energy consumption and end-of-life management, helping participants understand where the most significant impacts occur.

Beyond environmental considerations, the module addresses the social and societal implications of digital technologies, including digital inclusion and accessibility, ethics, supply-chain working conditions, digital wellbeing, and the spread of misinformation. Participants will also examine how organisations can integrate responsible digital practices into governance, procurement, and everyday operations.

Through interactive workshops and practical exercises, participants will develop concrete tools and strategies to deploy a Responsible Digital approach within their organisation. By the end of the course, participants will have created a practical action plan, identified quick wins suitable for SMEs, and gained the knowledge and confidence to reduce the negative impacts of digital technologies while supporting sustainable and responsible digitalisation.

Course Content 

Learning Outcomes 

• Discover the foundations of sustainable development (LCA, SDGs, CSR) 
• Define the social and environmental impacts of digital technologies 
• Understand the hierarchy of environmental impacts of digital equipment and usage
• Discover methodology and tools for implementing responsible digital practices 
• Develop levers and tools to deploy a Responsible Digital strategy 
• Give SMEs practical keys to make better digitalization choices. 

Practical Work 

• Interactive workshop on carbon footprint of digital (card games) 
• Creating a list of key digital eco-gestures 
• Configuring smartphone for digital wellbeing 
• Creating a digital wellbeing policy 
• Developing a Responsible Digital action plan for your organisation 

Deliverables 

• Personal digital eco-gestures checklist 
• Digital wellbeing policy template 
• Responsible Digital action plan for your organisation 
• Resource guide with tools and references 

Target Audience: 

All professionals interested in understanding and reducing the environmental and social impact of digital technologies. SME managers wanting to implement sustainable digital practices. 

No prerequisites

Trainer

 Jules Delcon holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and management from UCLouvain and a master’s degree in management from the Louvain School of Management (LSM), where he specialised in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). During his master’s thesis on digital sobriety within Belgian SMEs, he developed a strong interest in Sustainable IT and the challenges of responsible digitalisation. He now brings this expertise and motivation to ISIT-BE, where he actively contributes to promoting more sustainable and responsible digital practices in Belgium.

Price 

Thanks to the support of the European Commission and Innoviris in the framework of the EDIH sustAIn.brussels, SMEs and midcaps receive this training free of charge (0€),  in the context of de minimis aid. Large companies and participants without a company pay 3067€ per participant.

Practical Information: 

Language : English (Bilingual exchanges FR/EN welcome) 

Location: BeCentral, Cantersteen 12, 1000 Brussels. 

Format: In person, interactive, hands-on. 

Participants: Max 18 participants. 

Duration: 12 hours (over 3 days) 

Questions: 

Yavuz Sarikaya - Programme Manager 

 yavuz.sarikaya@ulb.be