ABSTRACT:In addition to operational performance and customer engagement, digital transformation has emerged as a driving force behind long-term development strategies across a wide range of industries. However, there are serious ethical and environmental issues about the use of digital technologies such as blockchain, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. This study investigates how technology, corporate strategy, and moral obligation intersect with the overarching objective of sustainable futures. To evaluate how digital transformation projects affect environmental, social, and governance (ESG) results, the study employs a qualitative, interpretivist approach that draws on recent peer-reviewed literature (2019-2025), business sustainability reports, and policy analyses. The findings indicate that, while digital technologies improve resource efficiency, transparency, and circular economy practices, they also introduce new hazards such as algorithmic bias, digital inequality, energyintensive infrastructures, and surveillance capitalism. Businesses that include ethical governance frameworks and stakeholder-oriented models into their digital initiatives get more sustainable results. In contrast, technological expansion without regulatory foresight risks escalating inequality and environmental deterioration. This study contends that sustainable futures necessitate a shift in digital transformation agendas away from profit-centric innovation and toward purpose-driven ecosystems based on ethics and long-term value generation.

KEYWORDS:Digital Transformation, Sustainable Development, ESG Governance, Business Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, Circular Economy, Digital Inequality.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURES: INTERSECTIONS OF TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS, AND ETHICS

VEENA PANCHAL

YASMIN KHAN
CENTER FOR DISTANCE AND ONLINE EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI DHIRAJLAL TALAKCHAND SANKALCHAND SHAH COLLEGE OF COMMERCE