Green-Digital Nexus: Accelerating Green Economy Transition through Digital Technologies

While the world faces a severe climate change crisis, digital technology brings new possibilities to accelerate the green economy transition. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) identifies the digital and green transitions as two of three crosscutting strategic priorities. The objective of this Capstone project was to explore the potential of digital technologies in facilitating the green transition by analyzing real-world case studies across three sectors -agribusiness, manufacturing, and TMT (telecommunication, media, and technology)- and help EBRD understand the enabling environment needed for these technologies to achieve green targets.

The case studies identified are retail food waste reduction and biodiversity monitoring for the agribusiness sector, sustainable manufacturing processes and eco-friendly products in the car industry for the manufacturing sector, and green data centers for the TMT sector. The combination of desk research, interviews, and detailed case studies revealed a comprehensive picture of the practical usage of digital solutions to solve environmental challenges. Based on the research outcome, this project proposed a framework for the successful deployment of digital solutions to achieve sustainability by detailing roadmaps for each sector as well as key variables to take into account for their successful implementation. Additionally, the frameworks covered recommendations for EBRD across investment, advisory, and policy to understand where the Bank can support the introduction of digital technologies to contribute to greener outcomes.