What Might a More Sustainable Internet of Things Look Like?
The Fixing the Future Collective has created a new zine for the ICT4S Conference 2024, asking the question: What might a more Sustainable Internet of Things look like?
This zine presents the different themes and interdisciplinary spaces explored within the Fixing the Future project — from law and legislation, to how IoT is designed, to imagining More-than-Human futures of repair. By weaving together diverse perspectives, the zine offers playful yet critical ways of thinking about repairability, equity, and sustainability in the digital economy.
The zine was produced collaboratively by members of the Fixing the Future Collective: Christopher Boniface, Teresa Castle-Green, Paul Coulton, Dimitrios Darzentas, Nidhi Dubey, Susan Lechelt, Joseph Lindley, Violet Owen, Namrata Primlani, Neelima Sailaja, Michael Stead, Melissa Terras, and Lachlan Urquhart. I had the pleasure of designing the zine, bringing together the voices and ideas of the collective into a format that reflects the experimental and creative ethos of the project.
Fixing the Future: The Right to Repair and Equal-IoT is a two-year, £1.25 million research project funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It investigates how the lack of repairability in consumer IoT devices adversely impacts equity, inclusion, and sustainability.
We were delighted to bring this work to ICT4S — an international conference that brings together leading researchers in ICT for sustainability alongside government and industry representatives. It is an inspiring space where researchers, policymakers, and developers explore how ICT can contribute to sustainable futures, making it the perfect home for our zine.
