Embracing Sustainable Digitalization Responsibly: Ecotheological and Ethical Perspectives on Technology, Ecology, and Biotic Well-Being

Digitalisation and Sustainability in South Africa: A Systematic Review Exploring Tensions, Synergies, and Developmental Contradictions

In South Africa, escalating consumption of digital devices poses significant threats to ecological sustainability and has far-reaching implications for environmental degradation. The ratio of digital devices to human beings is rapidly increasing, underscoring the urgency of interrogating the sustainability implications of digital expansion. This study investigated the complex relationship between digitalisation and sustainable development, focusing on the social, environmental, and economic impacts in the South African context. For this systematic review, researchers synthesised and analysed the findings of 44 articles, published between 2015 and 2025. Using a knowledge–implementation–effect (K-I-E) cycle, the research sought to bridge knowledge gaps, critically assess the ecological costs of digital innovation, and explore how digital technologies align or conflict with sustainability goals. The study hypothesised that unchecked digitalisation exacerbates climate vulnerability, e-waste, and energy consumption, thereby threatening environmental integrity and social equity. The findings underscore the digitalisation–carbon footprint paradox, capturing a contradiction of the digital age, whereby technological progress helps reduce environmental impact and at the same time drives new forms of environmental pressure. This paradox reflects a tension between efficiency gains and expanded energy consumption. The study has major implications for policymakers because it promotes eco-friendly principles. Notably, there is a paucity of literature on digitalisation and sustainability in South Africa, with existing studies largely confined to narrow, sector-specific analyses rather than providing integrated, systemic, and cross-sectoral perspectives.

Ayurveda In The Digital Age: A Trans-Disciplinary Framework Linking Fintech Innovation, Digital Transformation, Sustainability And Societal Well-Being In A Globalized World

The twenty-first century is characterized by rapid technological advancement, financial innovation, and global digital interconnectedness. While FinTech and digital transformation reshape economies and governance structures, global society simultaneously faces health crises, lifestyle disorders, ecological imbalance, and sustainability challenges. Ayurveda, an ancient Indian knowledge system rooted in holistic health and ecological harmony, provides conceptual foundations that align strongly with modern sustainability and human-centered innovation paradigms. This study explores Ayurveda as a transdisciplinary framework capable of integrating with FinTech ecosystems, digital health technologies, and sustainable development models. Using a mixed-method research design combining conceptual analysis, secondary data synthesis, and statistical interpretation, the study evaluates how Ayurvedic principles can contribute to digital healthcare financing, preventive health economics, wellness entrepreneurship, and sustainable societal transformation. Data interpretation demonstrates that digitalization enhances accessibility, personalization, and scalability of Ayurvedic healthcare, while financial technologies enable inclusive wellness ecosystems. The findings indicate that integrating Ayurveda with digital platforms and financial innovation improves healthcare efficiency, promotes preventive economics, reduces long-term healthcare expenditure, and supports Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study proposes an “Ayurveda–Digital Sustainability Nexus Model” linking traditional knowledge, digital innovation, financial inclusion, and societal resilience. The research concludes that Ayurveda is not merely a medical tradition but a strategic knowledge framework capable of guiding ethical digital transformation and sustainable global futures.

Innovation in Design for Sustainability

The intensification of ecological crises, resource scarcity, and social inequalities compels design to fundamentally redefine its role, methods, and criteria for innovation. This article argues that innovation in design can no longer be understood as the mere creation of new artifacts, but rather as the capacity to reconfigure systems of production, consumption, and disposal. Based on the widely recognized premise that the majority of the environmental impacts of products and services are determined during the design phase, the designer is repositioned as a strategic agent in the transition toward sustainable socio-economic models.Within this context, the article examines the synergistic articulation of four complementary approaches: Ecodesign, as an analytical foundation oriented toward life-cycle thinking; Circular Design, focused on redefining business models and material flows; Biodesign, which incorporates biological principles and processes; and Human-Centered Design (HCD), responsible for ensuring social, cultural, and ethical relevance. It is argued that the transdisciplinary integration of these approaches constitutes an emerging paradigm of systemic innovation in design, in which success is assessed according to interdependent environmental, social, and economic criteria, thereby demanding new professional competencies and expanded forms of collaboration.

Digital Sustainability under Eco-Environmental Constraints: Epistemic, Metaphysical and Normative Foundations for Management

This study is a conceptual-theoretical investigation that employs a transdisciplinary philosophical lens to examine the relationship between Digital Sustainability (DS) and Eco-Environmental Sustainability (EES). Using epistemic, metaphysical, ontological, and normative reasoning, we argue that DS must be normatively and ontologically subordinated to EES due to the inherent reliance of digital infrastructures on natural ecosystems. The paper advances an original normative–ontological framework that clarifies why DS can only be normatively legitimate when positioned within the ecological boundaries defined by EES. Our analysis establishes that DS must be embedded within EES because digital infrastructures depend fundamentally on ecosystemic energy, material resources, and biophysical stability. For managers and policymakers, this subordination implies that governance frameworks, incentives, and technology standards are only legitimate when they reinforce eco-environmental resilience. We propose a balanced governance strategy that balances precautionary and proactionary approaches, sets eco-performance thresholds for digital rollouts, and incentivizes interoperability, modularity, and energy efficiency. Further investigation is warranted to examine the responsible management implications of DS as artificial intelligence (AI) advances and as artificial general intelligence (AGI) and artificial superintelligence (ASI) potentially emerge, developments that could substantially intensify environmental and ethical challenges amid accelerating climate and environmental crises.

Beyond Green: Why Leaders Must Choose Transformation Over Technology? A Human-Centric AI Framework for Genuine Sustainability

The Impact of Digital Transformation on Society

Digital transformation has moved beyond industrial efficiency to become a holistic integration of technology that fundamentally impacts the fabric of society. This editorial introduces a Topical Collection of 15 papers that explore this shift through a Unified Model of Digital Penetration, which posits that society is undergoing a “transfiguration”, a fundamental change in lifestyle and human existence. The model provides a theoretical framework connecting Enabling Infrastructure and Governance with industrial Value Creation and societal Value Consumption. Synthesis of the research across this collection, validates the Unified Model and also identifies critical gaps, including a lack of technical “connective tissue” for global interoperability and the neglected sociological impact on “analog citizens” who remain outside the digital ecosystem. Ultimately, this editorial argues that because society is being radically reconfigured, humanity must intentionally design this transfiguration to align infrastructure and governance with human values, rather than blindly inheriting the permanent consequences of unplanned disruption.