By John Oates, 2 February 2000 00:30
NEWS Patricia Hewitt, ecommerce minister at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), has launched a year-long inquiry into the environmental and social impact of ecommerce. Speaking at the Institute of Directors to the Fabian Society/SERA conference on environmental modernisation, Hewitt said: "Ecommerce has the potential to reduce the resource intensity of many products and services, but it is important that we assess the benefits and problems in a systematic and balanced way." Hewitt expressed concern that although ecommerce has potentially beneficial influences on business, it is time for government to assess its impact on other areas of society. The inquiry will look at the impact ecommerce is likely to have on energy use, the environment, planning, transport and social exclusion. It will make predictions on what effect ecommerce will have on these areas over the next ten years. Called "Digital Futures", the inquiry is backed by three government agencies, eight think tanks and ten companies including BP Amoco, BT , Nationwide Building Society and Sun Microsystems. The project is being overseen by Forum for the Future. The investigation will include a conference organised by the DTI to canvass the views of British business.
In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.
Log in or create your silicon.com account below