Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainability in the Digital Product Lifecycle: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This article presents a systematic literature review aimed at identifying challenges and opportunities for integrating sustainability into the digital product lifecycle. The review followed the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and involved a comprehensive search across three databases—Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect—using structured Boolean queries. A total of 377 records were retrieved, and after duplicate removal and a multi-stage screening process based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 56 peer-reviewed studies were selected for analysis. These studies were examined in relation to how they addressed environmental, social, and economic dimensions throughout the digital product lifecycle and UX/UI design. Key challenges identified include high energy consumption, limited user awareness of environmental impacts, and the exclusion of vulnerable populations from digital solutions. Opportunities include the adoption of sustainable design strategies, the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), co-design practices, and data-driven decision-making tools. The findings were synthesized into a conceptual framework structured across three lifecycle stages—pre-development, development, and post-development—and mapped to six sustainability requirements. This study contributes to the field by aligning digital innovation with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and offering a theoretical foundation for the development of practical frameworks and indicators that support sustainable digital product development.