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1. Introduction
Energy efficiency is paramount in ensuring the energy security and sustainability of Europe, and ICT has a fundamental role to play in delivering that energy efficiency ([1] Barroso, 2008; [2] Barroso, 2011). The European Union (EU) has therefore set its specific target of a 20 per cent energy saving in energy consumption by 2020. However, while the enabling role of ICT is clear, understanding which technologies are best positioned to deliver meaningful impact and where future research and associated funding should be directed is less obvious.
Global figures appeared in Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) smart 2020 report ([8] GeSI, 2008) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) report ([10] IEA, 2009). The projected prime energy of each sectors in 2020 based on Eurostat tables and the "European Energy and Transport Trends to 2030" ([13] Mantzos et al. , 2003) do suggest that if the assumptions made in the GeSI smart 2020 report were valid, ICT-enabled changes could account for about 49.3 per cent of the built environment sector abatements. Although widespread data gathering and analysis revealed that ICT industry accounts for 2 per cent of global CO 2 emissions ([4] Donnellan et al. , 2011), it has become clear that ITCs can have a significant enabling capacity of reducing the remaining 98 per cent which come from other sectors of economy and society ([7] Gartner, 2007).
Literature review has revealed that there was no commonly known taxonomy for the categorisation of ICTs relevant to a specific sector or sector-specific life cycle which could be applied and utilised across the four identified sectors. The single most relevant taxonomy was that developed by the REEB (European strategic research roadmap to ICT-enabled energy efficiency in building and construction) project ([15] REEB, 2010). Another example worth mentioning is the European construction technology platform (ECTP) strategic research agenda (SRA) and implementation action plan (IAP) which currently includes 59 RTD items organised into nine priorities ([5] ECTP, 2007). Both are building specific and there are no links to other sectors like manufacturing, grids and lighting.
Technological progress in ICT is reflected in Moore's law, suggesting that the processing power doubles every 18 months ([14] Moore, 1965), Moore's law has become a self-fulfilling prophecy as the semiconductor industry actively thrives...