Information Society places digitally sustainable development at the core of its corporate culture, adopting it from day one. Guided by the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda https://unric.org/el/17-στοχοι-βιωσιμησ-αναπτυξησ/, it focuses, through its projects and actions, on strengthening all four development axes:
- Society
- Economy
- Environmental Protection
- Man
For Information Society, the implementation of targeted projects and actions that will contribute decisively to the development of a sustainable Greece constitutes a great challenge. In order to achieve this, the use of Digital Technology is required. Information Society, which is the central hub for the creation of the Digital State, can use its experience to secure the necessary tools required for the sustainability “triangle”, i.e. society-economy-environment.
To this purpose, it has created a constructive framework for dialogue between the market and the State in order to exchange opinions and draw conclusions, while at the same time it conducted a related survey in order to identify the opportunities presented for sustainable development in the public sector in Greece and to provide information on how organizations can improve their practices and contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.
The survey was based on the collection of data through a questionnaire, which was sent to public bodies of the Central Government, the Local Authorities, the Independent Authority, as well as to legal entities governed by public and private law. The survey results showed that
- nearly 70% of respondents had no or little understanding of the concept of Sustainable Development and more than 60% were unaware of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs.
- 79.5% of respondents would like their organization to participate in personnel training actions on sustainable development, while 75.4% expressed their interest in actions related to infrastructure so as to save energy.
- Factors such as the lack of human resources, lack of training and know-how, as well as lack of material resources such as digital media and infrastructure make it difficult for the public bodies to integrate the goals and/or to implement sustainable development actions.
In conclusion, the research data highlights the need for public bodies in Greece to prioritize sustainable development actions and to integrate sustainable development goals into their processes and strategies.
At Information Society, recognizing the importance of this need, we refine actions, through which public bodies can improve their sustainability efforts, such as:
- Recycling and Reuse of Obsolete Equipment in the Public Sector
- Measuring the energy footprint of electronic devices in Public Buildings
- Creation of a digital hub for monitoring Sustainable Development in the Public Sector.
