Clean production in context: an information infrastructure perspective

The electronics industry is generally recognized as a leader in clean production practices. Industrial ecology, however, encourages a systemic approach to sectoral behavior, which means that not just production, but also the role of electronics products and services in supporting an information culture should be considered as part of a comprehensive analysis. The eventual goal should be the production of social practices and systems that provide the desired functionality and quality of life in an environmentally acceptable manner. A conceptual framework for such an analysis of information infrastructure is presented, although the analyses and data required for a full understanding remain limited and preliminary in many ways.