The increasing pressure on public institutions to adopt digital solutions has raised new questions about the actual sustainability of such transformations, particularly in administrative systems that remain resource-intensive despite partial digitalisation. While digitalisation is widely promoted as a path to greater efficiency and environmental responsibility, its sustainability outcomes are far from guaranteed. This study critically examines these assumptions through the case of a university enrolment system, identifying inefficiencies and exploring how digitalisation can optimise resource use and improve performance. The widely assumed link between digitalisation and sustainability is not universally valid, as outcomes depend on context, implementation, and infrastructure. The economic, environmental, and social impacts of digital transformation are assessed using process mapping, a conceptual sustainability framework, and estimates of paper and processing efficiency. Digital workflows are shown to reduce administrative workload, lower paper waste, and enhance accessibility, while underscoring the need to avoid unnecessary information technology practices, redundant communication flows, and poorly structured information management that may offset sustainability gains. For example, annual carbon dioxide emissions were reduced from 85,926 kg to 85,006 kg when transitioning from a hybrid to a fully digital enrolment process, primarily by eliminating paper-related emissions and reducing electricity use. The study provides a policy-oriented sustainability indicator framework to guide decision-makers in evaluating public sector digitalisation efforts, while also offering a structured approach to assess trade-offs and implementation conditions. The research contributes methodologically by combining process modelling with sustainability indicators - a rarely integrated approach in public administration - and lays a foundation for future computational optimisation models focused on institutional governance and sustainability-oriented digital transformation.

The economic changes of recent years have had a significant impact on household consumer behavior. Following the changes caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, consumers had to face high inflation. These macro-level changes significantly impacted households and made budget planning difficult. This study aims to prepare and validate the methodology aimed at the composition and sustainability analysis of consumer baskets in different regions of Hungary. As a pilot study, the Reference Budget is determined based on focus group discussions with family types specified by the statistical office of the Western Hungary region, which represents the threshold value that households need for subsistence. Using the Hypothetical Household Tool (HhoT), this value compares the after-tax income for each type of household and analyses whether there is overspending in the examined cases. After that, based on the research participants’ answers, sustainability calculations are performed based on the consumer basket’s composition, thus validating that overspending is not sustainable.