Environmentalism: the next challenge for high-tech firms

The digital divide has always been a contentious subject - but there are other issues at stake. How do mobile, internet and other technology companies impact transport use, energy efficiency and water consumption?

Traditionally pollution and social impact have always been the reserve of the big, traditional firms. Monsanto, Nike and Shell have been the focus of campaigner anger.

But that focus may be beginning to shift.

Virtual companies have always been cocooned away from real world issues. But it doesn't take too many think tanks to realise they have an immense impact on the world around them.

How many 24-hour home delivery services will it take before local streets are piled high with half-filled white vans? How much more energy will need to be produced to power a PC, mobile and PDA for everyone in the western world?

When amazon.com promised to deliver the latest Harry Potter novel on the day of publication to 250,000 avid American fans it used 100 FedEx flights, 9,000 delivery personnel and vehicles from 700 distribution centers. And it was proud of the fact.

If electrical equipment goes wrong it already makes more sense to throw it away and buy something new rather than go through the hassle of getting it repaired.

This week's Digital Futures report throws down the gauntlet to the technology industry: can technology deliver not just economic prosperity but also social and environmental wealth?

The problems are nothing new and they haven't been created by technology. But high-tech firms have a chance to make a difference from a very early stage. They don't need to play catch-up like the manufacturers and industrialists of the past.

Technology isn't an excuse to ignore the real world. It's a way to make it better.