Abstract

This literature study structures the state of the ongoing international discourse on the ecological implications of e-commerce and presents how it presents itself in the current scientific literature. The first emerging ecological effects of e-commerce provide a diverse picture of positive, neutral and negative environmental effects. The studies and assessments available so far show that e-commerce per se is neither environmentally friendly nor environmentally harmful. The environmental effects of e-commerce are therefore not inherent to the technology, but depend on the design of the end devices and the network infrastructure, on the forms of application and on the political framework conditions. The core finding of this literature report is that the environmental consequences of e-commerce are not automatic, but depend on variables that can be influenced politically and in economic practice. Environmental benefits from e-commerce have so far generally been unintended, incidental side-effects, since e-commerce is primarily used to speed up business processes and to open up markets and secure business fields. However, the growing economic and ecological importance of e-commerce makes it necessary for the future to specifically consider requirements within the framework of corporate strategies and political programmes. It is therefore a matter of recognising the opportunities of e-commerce for environmental relief and making them usable. Conversely, the emerging environmentally harmful risks and side effects of e-commerce must be kept within limits.

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