Scientific Comittee

Since 2025, La Fresque du Numérique has been supported by a scientific committee. Its purpose is to ensure the scientific rigour of the information provided by the association. It currently comprises volunteer members from the scientific and voluntary sectors who possess recognised expertise and a strong commitment to addressing the environmental challenges of the digital sector:

Julia Meyer

Senior Digital Engineer at ADEME, where she helps to define methods for assessing the environmental impact of digital technology and to develop guidelines.

Brice Pasian

Consultant representing the association Green IT. There, he is co-head of the Research Group and co-author of the study ‘Environmental Impacts of Digital Technology Worldwide 2025’.

Guillaume Bourgeois

Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Montreal working on reducing the environmental impact of digital systems.

Etienne Lees-Perasso

Representative of Boavizta, an independent consultant specialising in life-cycle analysis, and a contributor to the ADEME-ARCEP studies on the environmental footprint of the digital sector in France and Europe.

Tom Nico

An engineer and economist representing ARCEP. He works there on environmental assessment, with a particular focus on digital frugality at both the French and European levels.

➡️ Read the scientific comitee charter

Detailed sources of the Digital Collage

The data used in the cards come from recognized reports and studies. This page lists the sources for the updated version (V3.0 / 2025).

  • ADEME reports
  • Studies from ITU, UN / UNITAR, IEA
  • Green IT studies
  • France Stratégie analyses
  • International scientific papers

Understanding cards

Card 1 – Internet

- Recto : ITU, Facts and Figures, 2024 – Source ; Banque Mondiale, World Development Report, 2021 – Source

- Verso : ITU, Facts and Figures, 2024 – Source ; Sandvine, The Global Internet Phenomena Report, 2024 – Source

Card 2 – Energy consumption during use

- Recto : Association Green IT, Environmental impacts of digital technology in the world, 2025 – Source

- Verso : Association Green IT, Environmental impacts of digital technology in the world, 2025 – Source ; IEA, Energy and IA, 2025 – Source

Card 4 – Data centers

Statista, Which Countries Have the Most Data Centers ?, 2024 – Source

Card 5 – End-user devices

photo credit : d’après Gauthier Roussilhe
UNCTAD, Digital Economy Report, 2024 – Source

Card 6 – Manufacturing

- Recto : Association Green IT, Environmental impacts of digital technology in the world, 2025 – Source

- Verso : Association Green IT, Environmental impacts of digital technology in the world, 2025 – Source ; The World Bank & ITU, Measuring National ICT Sector Environmental Impact, 2025 – Source

Card 7 – Fossil fuels

Energy Institute, Statistical Review of World Energy, 2025 – Source

Card 8 – Electronic waste

UNITAR, The Global E-waste Monitor, 2024 – Source

Card 9 – Ecological backpack

ADEME & ARCEP, Évaluation de l’impact environnemental du numérique en France, 2023– Source

Card 12 – Metals

- Recto : Association Green IT, Environmental impacts of digital technology in the world, 2025 – Source

- Verso : Association Green IT, Environmental impacts of digital technology in the world, 2025 – Source ; Gómez & Grimes et al., Critical and strategic metals in mobile phones, 2023 – Source

Card 13 – Greenhouse gas emissions

Freitag, Berners-Lee et al., The real climate and transformative impact of ICT: A critique of estimates, trends, and regulations, 2021 – Source ; ADEME, Arcep, Évaluation de l'impact Environnemental du Numérique en France et Analyse Prospective 2030 à 2050, 2023 – Source

Card 14 – Landfill and Incineration

UNITAR, The Global E-waste Monitor, 2024 – Source

Card 15 – Psychological obsolescence

Arcep, Baromètre du numérique, 2025 – Source

Card 16 – Fresh Water

France Stratégie, La consommation de métaux du numérique : un secteur loin d’être dématérialisé, 2020 – Source ; IEA, Energy and IA, 2025 – Source

Card 17 – Partial recycling and collection

UNITAR, Global E-waste Monitor 2024 – Source
ADEME, Étude numérique et métaux, 2024 – Source
Ecologic, Étude gisement DEEE, 2021 – Source

Card 18 – Informal Channels And Illegal Export

© Photo : Muntaka Chasant
UNITAR, The Global E-waste Monitor, 2024 – Source
Ecologic, Étude gisement DEEE, 2021 – Source

Card 19 – Working unused devices

GSMA, Estimating the number of dormant phones worldwide, 2023 – Source

Card 20 – Resource Scarcity

Simplification du graphique issu du livre “Matières premières et énergie”, Olivier Vidal – Source
Crédit visuel : Sydney Thomas

Card 21 – Competing Demands For Resources

ADEME, Étude numérique et métaux, 2024 – Source

Card 22 – Downcycling and other limits of recycling

ADEME, Étude numérique et métaux, 2024 – Source

Card 23 – Climate disruption

- Recto : © Photo Muntaka Chasant ; International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), AR6, Summary for Policymakers, 2021 – Source ; HadCRUT 5, Indicators of Global Climate Change, 2024 – Source

- Verso : Ministère Français Territoires, Écologie, Logement, Chiffres clés du climat, Observations du changement climatique et ses effets, 2024 – Source ; Commission Européenne, Global Climate Highlights 2024 – Source

Card 24 – Biodiversity Loss

IPBES, Rapport de l'évaluation mondiale de la biodiversité et des services écosystémiques, résumé à l'intention des décideurs, 2019 – Source

Card 25 – Soil, Water and Air Pollution

Han, Wu, et al., The Unpaid Toll : Quantifying the Public Health Impact of IA, arXiv, 2024 – Source
France Stratégie, La consommation de métaux du numérique : un secteur loin d’être dématérialisé – Source

Card 26 – Social Impact

Casilli, En attendant les robots. Enquête sur le travail du clic, Seuil, 2019 – Source

Card 28 – Physical Health

OMS, Teens, Screens and Mental Health, 2024 – Source
Fourquet-Courbet, Courbet, Anxiété, dépression et addiction liées à la communication numérique, Revue française des sciences de l'information et de la communication, 2017 – Source

Card 30 – Geopolitical Tensions

Ophélie Coelho, Géopolitique du numérique : l'impérialisme à pas de géants, Éditions de l'Atelier, 2023 – Source

Card 31 – AI and emerging technologies

Google, Environmental Sustainability Report, 2024 – Source

Card 32 – Rebound Effect

- Recto : Moore’s Law and ICT Innovation in the Anthropocene, D.Bol, T.Pirson & R.Dekimpe, 2021 – Source

- Verso : Luccioni, Strubell, Crawford, From Efficiency GAins to Rebound Effects : The Problem of Jevons' Paradox in AI's Polarized Environmental Debate, arXiv, 2025 – Source ; France Stratégie, Maîtriser la consommation du numérique : le progrès technologique n’y suffira pas, 2020 – Source

Card 33 – Beyond Digital Technology

International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Summary for Policymakers, C.2, 2023 – Source

Cartes Action

Card A23 – Eco-design hardware

© photo credit : Fairphone

Card A8 – Prioritize second-hand equipment

ADEME, Évaluation de l'impact environnemental d'un ensemble de produits reconditionnés, 2022 – Source

Card A18 – Question new uses

© photo credit : TechCrunch
© photo credit : Chris Ume

Card A9 – Take care of our devices

Arcep, Baromètre du numérique, 2025 – Source