We all know that the internet has completely revolutionized the way we do business and many aspects of our personal lives, in fact its impact has been compared to the advent of electricity or the steam engine! But just what effect has it had on Australia’s economy? Google Australia had also been pondering this question and recently commissioned Deloitte Access Economics to investigate.

“The Connected Continent: How the internet is transforming the Australian Economy” is the result of this investigation. The report explores four main themes, the direct economic contribution of the internet, how the internet is transforming the economy, the growth in internet use and prospects for the internet economy.

The investigation found that the direct contribution of the internet to the Australian economy was worth approximately $50 billion or 3.6 % of Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010. This is similar to the value of Australia’s retail sector or iron ore exports! Direct economic benefits included the 190 000 people employed in occupations directly related to the internet, and wider benefits not fully captured in GDP calculations included:

• approximately $27 billion in productivity increases to business and government from improvements to service and delivery operation
• the equivalent of $53 billion in benefits to households from added convenience and access to bigger variety of goods, services and information.

It was also found that the internet is a catalyst for the success of Australian small and medium sized businesses (SME’s), providing improved interaction with customers and suppliers and management of internal operations.  Additionally, internet activity had doubled over the past four years, and the direct contribution of the internet to the economy is expected to increase by $20 billion over the next five years.

It is clear from this report that a digital economy is Australia’s future, particularly with the roll out of the National Broadband Network (NBN). So what does this radical shift in the way that we work and play mean for sustainability in Australia?

The many activities that we perform using the internet that contribute to the digital economy appear to be more sustainable than traditional methods. A big energy company can use cloud based geo spatial mapping to help provide efficient and reliable energy supplies; a shopper can buy goods online, reducing the need for a physical store and it associated resource use; an employee using teleconferencing and cloud computing can work from home reducing their need to travel to work; a retailer can source local suppliers by searching online, reducing their need for overseas shipping. The list goes on.  In most cases, these activities are also cheaper and more time efficient, which provides us with the impetus to keep doing them.

So it seems that market forces and convenience encourage us to engage in more sustainable online practices, which ultimately contribute to the digital economy.

But what about ICT, which supports the internet and smart technologies, but contributes to the carbon footprint through its relatively short lifespan, and demands on energy and other resources? The Governments proposed ‘Clean Energy Future’ package, and the introduction of new e-waste recycling legislation will hopefully kick-start the ‘greening up’ of ICT products.

It appears that for the internet and the digital economy, the only way is up. There is also no doubt that once the NBN has been rolled out, as new applications and services are made available, and ICT is ‘greened up’, the potential for a digital economy to promote a more sustainable Australia will skyrocket.

Acknowledgements:

“The Connected Continent – How the internet is transforming the Australian economy”, written and published by Deloitte Access Economics, was used by the author as the basis for this blog post.

Links:

The Connected Continent – How the internet is transforming the Australian economy

National Digital Economy Strategy