Greening Public Administration with GovTech: Embracing a Green Digital Transition

As the world goes digital and the planet faces a climate emergency, the potential of technology to solve the climate change problem is gaining currency. Governments are increasingly seeking opportunities to leverage digital technologies to build a greener future. The climate change impacts of digitalization can provide the benefits of green digital service delivery, paperless administration, and the efficiency of integrated services for a reduction of the carbon footprint. However, digital transition can also contribute to increased carbon emissions if the potential environmental impact is not assessed and adequately addressed.

Greening Public Administration with GovTech: Embracing a Green Digital Transition provides guidance on how the GovTech approach can contribute to long-term decarbonized, inclusive, and resilient public sector modernization. This note is centered around three main topics: (i) the green government process through digital solutions, (ii) greening digital service delivery and (iii) identifying policy mechanisms to mainstream green digital approaches throughout government systems.

In addition, the note proposes a framework to support government efforts to go green and digital. Both of these agendas have garnered political support but have usually done so separately, and now the focus needs to be on both concurrently, hence the “greening GovTech” policy objective. The framework provides a conceptual alignment in support of policy design, implementation, development, and monitoring in these areas, mapping and making sense of the relations between the various policy subjects.

As one of plenary sessions at the GovTech Global Forum in May 2023, “Harnessing Technology Today for a Greener Tomorrow” was organized and speakers shared valuable insights. Based on discussion at the Forum, this launch BBL will share the note and advance knowledge exchange with Global Partners.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

• Understand what Greening GovTech is and its framework: greenhacking the bureaucracy and public service delivery using GovTech solutions.
• Explain how digital technologies can make to managing risks and improving resilience to climate changes including resilience to weather transformation, data recovery and critical digital services.
• Understand how to govern a green and digital transformation of public sector through a whole-of-government approach with strategy, Institutional leadership and coordination, legal and regulatory framework, policy levers, and green digital competencies.