EPFL hones efforts to ensure new technology is sustainable

The environmental sustainability of up-and-coming technology is among the issues addressed by EPFL's International Risk Governance Center (IRGC). The Center aims to develop a number of best practices and decision-making guidelines in this area. Much of the new technology coming out of labs today is directly intended to protect the environment, whether by fighting climate change, preserving biodiversity or improving sustainability. But what about technology developed for other purposes? Scientists and engineers are working on important breakthroughs in all sorts of industries not directly related to the environment - but some of those breakthroughs could have unintended long-term consequences on the climate or our ecosystems. For example, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) revolutionized the cooling and propulsion industries, until scientists discovered these gases were destroying the ozone layer. And neonicotinoids, although banned in some jurisdictions, are still commonly used even though ecologists have highlighted the damage they're causing to biodiversity. It would have been more effective to investigate these potential consequences while the technology was still in the development stage.