Innovation Showcases
The Carbon Footprint of Digital Content: Measuring and Mitigating Climate Impacts View Digital Media
Innovation Showcase Alisa Bonsignore
Digital content—including websites, videos, and podcasts—has become a ubiquitous and fundamental part of our modern lives. But this new and accelerating wave of digitization is also increasing the energy demands on an already overextended planet. The bits and bytes are nothing more than energy, and energy has a carbon cost. Corporations, academics, nonprofits, and individuals are all content creators, and we need balance user-centric content with planetary impacts. This study presents easy-to-use metrics to assess and mitigate the carbon footprint of our digital content. Attendees will be able to: 1. Understand the carbon impact of digital content. 2. Calculate the carbon footprint of our organizations’ content. 3. Implement techniques for mitigating climate impacts.
Governance for Climate Resilience View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Petra Dilling
Our study empirically investigates the relationship between several corporate characteristics and climate change reporting, using panel data for years 2018 to 2022 of 108 Canadian public companies. The level of climate change reporting was assessed by using the CDP Score that the company received by CDP (previously Climate Disclosure Project). The findings show that higher levels of climate change reporting is significantly related to board gender diversity, independent board member ratio, board size, commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Goal 13, external sustainability report auditing, financial exposure to physical risks, climate commercial risks, developed emission targets and are operating in certain sectors. This study employs instrumental variable fixed effect panel and ordered probit regression analyses. Our results were robust to various regression specifications and alternatives. The study used the extended ordered probit regression with endogenous treatment to account for potential endogeneity of independent board members by applying the two instrumental variables capturing the existence of a corporate governance board committee and the fact of executive compensation for long-term objectives using data from the LSG EIKON Reuters and CDP databases.
Empowering Youth as Climate Change Catalysts: Education and Technology for Resilience View Digital Media
Innovation Showcase Katleho Mojakisane
In the face of climate change, young people in underserved regions are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation and resource scarcity, yet their potential as catalysts for transformative action remains largely untapped. This presentation explores how youth in the Global South can be empowered to build climate resilience through education and technology. Focusing on "Considering Capacity Building" and "Adaptation and Resilience," the discussion introduces innovative strategies for equipping young people in rural and marginalized communities to address local climate challenges. Drawing from Tangelic’s work in fostering equitable clean energy access, the presentation offers insights into empowering youth as agents of systemic change. Key focus areas include: Building Local Capacity for Resilience: Designing educational frameworks tailored to equip youth with practical knowledge and skills for mitigating climate impacts. Technology-Driven Solutions: Introducing tools like mobile apps, solar-powered learning hubs, and community data platforms to enable scalable, localized solutions. Youth as Changemakers: Sharing real-world examples of youth-led initiatives that address energy inequities, promote sustainable agriculture, and enhance climate literacy. Fostering Solidarity: Strengthening grassroots networks to connect local actions with global climate movements, amplifying young voices in international climate policy. This presentation aims to inspire collaboration among educators, policymakers, and nonprofit organizations, fostering prioritization of youth-focused climate action. By framing young people as both stewards of their environment and innovators of scalable solutions, it advocates for addressing systemic inequities and fostering shared responsibility in the global climate response
