Aligning ICT, civic engagement, and policy directives: a multi-level approach to sustainable practices and organizational compliance

Abstract

Amid growing sustainability challenges, such as rising waste, resource overconsumption, and weak environmental compliance, there is an urgent need to understand how digital solutions, institutional policy directives (top-down), and civic actions (bottom-up) interact to advance sustainable practices. This dissertation addresses this intersection through the primary research question: How do ICT solutions interact with bottom-up civic actions and top-down policy directives to shape the awareness, adoption, and impact of sustainable practices across levels? Six interrelated publications address this question using mixed methods, including a systematic mapping study, case studies, interviews, surveys, document analysis, and design science. The resulting artifacts include a categorization of bottom-up engagement strategies and top-down measures, the SustHack hackathon model of civic participation for sustainability innovation, persuasive engagement drivers, a civictech communication model, the Integrated Sustainability Engagement Framework (ISEF), and a CSRD-driven sustainability compliance framework and maturity matrix.

This dissertation makes four core contributions. First, it demonstrates how ICT and civic organizations act as essential intermediaries and enablers, bridging abstract top-down mandates and concrete bottom-up sustainability practices. Second, it establishes the necessity of balanced socio-technical alignment, explicitly cautioning against both technoutopianism (assuming technology alone delivers net positive outcomes) and techno-skepticism (questioning net value and unintended consequences). It argues that ICT adds value as a mediator, enabler, and catalyst for innovation between policy, organization, and human factors. Third, it highlights how institutional frameworks shape organizational sustainability practices and compliance maturity. Lastly, it introduces practical frameworks and models to guide multi-level collaboration. This research advances the theoretical and practical understanding of ICT for sustainability engagement, providing actionable insights for policymakers, technology developers, and civic actors on operationalizing sustainability through inclusive, participatory, and digitally enabled strategies.