From Impact to Value: A Comprehensive Framework for Evaluating Digital Service Sustainability

The rapid expansion of digital services is reshaping the production and use of information, while conventional assessment methods, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), and Carbon Footprint (PCF), remain largely focused on direct environmental impacts and therefore fail to capture broader systemic benefits. This study proposes a value-based assessment framework that distinguishes between the Sustainability of Digital Services (SDS), representing direct infrastructural and ecological impacts, and the Digital Sustainability Value (VDS), representing the sustainability benefits enabled by digital services. The framework is formalized through a mathematical model that aggregates normalized and weighted indicators using non-linear transformations and a penalty function designed to prevent socio-economic gains from compensating for critical environmental shortcomings. To reduce subjectivity in indicator weighting, a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach supported by a three-round Delphi process involving cross-domain experts is adopted. The framework is validated through a case study of the EPOS earthquake hazard monitoring macro-service. Results show a VDS score of 3.66, corresponding to 55.5% of the maximum attainable value, and satisfy the admissibility condition (VDS ≥ SDS), demonstrating that the sustainability value enabled by the service substantially exceeds its direct ecological footprint. The proposed approach offers a rigorous tool for aligning digital innovation with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).