Sustainability Measurements of ICT Infrastructures: A Case Study with the Dynamic Fourth Lane of the A4 Italian Highway

Sustainability is garnering increasing attention from the global community across various domains. Within this framework, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can be used to facilitate energy-efficient, low-emission production and manufacturing. Nevertheless, the processes associated with the construction, utilization, and disposal of ICT infrastructures are, in turn, sources of emissions, thus contributing to climate change. On such bases, it becomes particularly important to conduct a measurement of the sustainability of ICT infrastructures in order to understand their true efficacy in reducing emissions. As a case study, this work addressed the sustainability measurement of the dynamic fourth lane of the A4 Italian highway. To this aim, the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over a specific timeframe, also known as Carbon Footprint, was assessed by exploiting the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The preliminary findings pave the way for understanding the environmental impact of the considered infrastructure.