Find out how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Green IT best practices are turning environmental challenges into strategic opportunities.
15 April 2026, Bordeaux – Digital technology is often perceived as intangible, but its environmental impact is very real! In the Pôle Enter podcast “NR dans l’air”, Vanessa Decostaire (Resilio) and Carole Bonnemains (MBC Solutions) share their expertise on assessing and reducing the environmental footprint of digital technology.
Why are these approaches essential for decision-makers? How can these challenges be turned into concrete opportunities? This article offers an in-depth look at the challenges, the methodology, and actionable steps you can take today.
Pourquoi évaluer l’impact environnemental du numérique ?
1. What exactly can be assessed in the digital sector?
We can assess the environmental impact of a digital service (such as the Pôle Enter member platform, for example), as well as a website or a company’s entire IT infrastructure, or even a piece of equipment (a telephone, a computer) or a component (an electronic chip, for example) – the list goes on… in fact, we can assess any digital scope!
2. What methodology does Resilio recommend for assessing the environmental impact of digital technology?
Vanessa Decostaire explains that Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) enables us to understand the real impact of digital services, equipment and IT infrastructure thanks to its multi-stage and multi-criteria approach.
LCA is a standardised methodology (based on ISO 19040/44 standards), which can be applied to any type of product, service or process and enables a multi-criteria, multi-stage environmental assessment of a system throughout its life cycle.
The benefits of LCA:
- Enables the identification of environmental impacts by life cycle stage: from manufacturing (which includes all necessary raw materials), through distribution, use and end-of-life
- Enables the quantification of contributions to impacts by life cycle phase, by piece of equipment or by category of equipment, but also, of course, by environmental indicator
- Compare the impacts of one piece of equipment against another, or of an Information System 2024 against that of 2025, or different set-ups for a new digital service project, etc.
The limitations of LCA:
To carry out a proper LCA and obtain reliable results, you need to rely on reliable environmental data! And this is not easy to find.
Manufacturers’ data? It is incomplete, difficult to compare and lacks transparency; it uses a variety of assessment methods.
So Resilio has create Resilio Database to address this shortfall!
3. Why carry out a digital Life Cycle Assessment in a business?
The aim isn’t simply to quantify and produce a nice report that will be forgotten as soon as it’s finished!
Environmental assessment is the tool that enables actions to be focused on the most significant levers and ensures that resources (time, people, budget) are directed towards the real challenges.
Take the example of a company conducting an LCA of its management information system: at the end of its assessment, it will know whether it is the ‘user’ equipment – i.e. the smartphones, computers, tablets, screens, and document stations used by its employees that generate the greatest environmental impact, or whether it is instead its infrastructure and the resulting actions are entirely different.
- On the infrastructure side, we will focus on the location of data centres, their energy efficiency (PUE – Power Usage Effectiveness), server sizing, etc.
- For user equipment, we will instead look at lifespan, the number of devices (dual or triple screens), oversizing of equipment, the existence or otherwise of a repair process, end-of-life, and so on
Carrying out an environmental assessment at the outset ensures that time and energy are not wasted on implementing measures that will have no impact on the company’s environmental footprint. It acts as a true compass, helping to prioritise actions, for example:
- Optimising your data centres (choosing responsible hosting providers, data centre location, heat recovery).
- Extending the lifespan of devices (manufacturing a new laptop can generate up to 500 kg of CO₂).
- Choosing suppliers committed to a digital frugality approach.
A tangible and sustainable return on investment
The two experts emphasise the quick wins (cost reductions, increased efficiency) and the long-term benefits (resilience, sovereignty). For example:
- Deleting unnecessary data reduces storage and energy costs.
- Extending the lifespan of equipment delays expenditure on replacing IT equipment.
How do you get started with a responsible digital approach?
1. Draw on best practices
Vanessa Decostaire recommends drawing inspiration from the 74 best practices for responsible digital technology(GreenIT.fr) to identify opportunities for improvement.
2. Get rid of unnecessary data
Carole Bonnemains advises:
- Clean up databases regularly.
- Choose committed hosting providers, such as those that reuse heat from data centres.
3. Train and raise awareness among teams
- Organise workshops on digital frugality and eco-design.
- Take part in initiatives such as La Fresque du Numérique and the Battle of AI.
- Depending on the maturity of your organisation and your teams, find the right format to involve all staff in the process. To find out more about the available formats, visit our Academy pages.
4. Assess the digital footprint with an LCA
- Resilio helps you get started, equips you and supports you throughout the project
The key message: manage with clarity
Responsible digitalisation does not, of course, mean giving up on innovation, but managing with clarity:
- Assess to understand (use LCA).
- Take action to reduce (optimise, extend, choose responsible partners).
Conclusion
This podcast reminds us that responsible digital technology is a strategic opportunity for businesses. By assessing and taking action, they can reduce their environmental impact whilst improving their appeal and competitiveness.