The tipping point for the issue of environmental sustainability - or "green IT" in the IT industry - came about in 2007, says Gartner analyst Simon Mingay in a report*.
“We expect this issue to gain momentum through 2009, driven primarily by increased concerns about climate change as well as the clear opportunity for organisations to save money and avoid cost through increased energy efficiency.
“More importantly, 2009 will mark an acceleration of debate, innovation and exploration in terms of how IT can be used to help tackle climate change. IT organisations have an opportunity to improve the environmental footprints of their IT infrastructures, and an even bigger opportunity to make a real contribution to helping the enterprise contribute to tackling climate change.”
Defining green
The term "green IT" is widely used by the industry and in the media, says Mingay, but it lacks a precise definition. The Gartner definition, within the context of an enterprise, is “optimal use of information and communication technology (ICT) for managing the environmental sustainability of enterprise operations and the supply chain, as well as that of its products, services and resources, throughout their life cycles”. But what does that mean?
Each enterprise must establish its own priorities.
Simon Mingay, analyst, Gartner
The definition, he says, encompasses increasing material and energy efficiency of the enterprise's IT infrastructure, as well as that of the enterprise's business activities. It also includes enterprises making IT-related product and service choices that reduce environmental impacts such as pollution, contamination and the unsustainable use of resources.
According to Mingay, rigorous and comprehensive green IT strategy should address the following points:
1. A policy stating what environmentally sustainable IT means to the enterprise.
2. A high-level environmental assessment of the enterprise, its supply chain, products and services, and the assessment of the IT infrastructure impact.
3. An assessment of where IT can have the most impact and at what approximate relative cost.
4. A plan of programmes for the IT organisation's role in improving the environmental sustainability of enterprise operations, its supply chain, and its products and services.
5. An assessment of the current IT environmental performance.
6. An analysis of, and detailed plan to improve the energy efficiency of all IT and supporting infrastructure (for example, air conditioning and power), including the data centre, servers, networks, client devices and printing.
7. The definition of a process and policy for assessing ongoing architectural choices and for conducting environmental assessments of projects.
8. An analysis of, and plan for reducing and managing waste appropriately, including disposal of PCs and more.
9. Procurement guidelines for the enterprise about choices of suppliers based on their environmental performance and that of their products and services.
Costs money, finite
“Most IT organisations understand the issues surrounding energy efficiency, but are less clear about those associated with material efficiency,” he says. “Material efficiency is important because material resources cost money and are finite. As such, they need careful stewardship. Additionally, they have an inextricable link to climate change. It takes energy to manufacture, distribute and dispose of 'stuff', so the more stuff is consumed, the more energy is expended. Therefore, enterprises can consider material efficiency as one of the tools they have to help address climate change. In developing a programme, each enterprise must establish its own priorities and determine its scope,” he states.
“The big opportunity for the IT industry and most IT organisations is using ICT to reduce the environmental impact of the enterprise, its supply chain, its products and services, rather than simply focusing on IT's own CO2 footprint. The Gartner estimate of IT's total CO2 emissions is approximately 0.6 gigatons. Although these figures are still being debated, to limit the impact of climate changes, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by between 25 gigatons and 30 gigatons of CO2 equivalents (CO2 e) annually by 2030 (against the "business as usual" projections). IT's impact will be helping enterprises achieve that measure, rather than simply making data centres more efficient.”
* Report courtesy of Gartner. Information sourced from Green IT: The New Industry Shock Wave, Simon Mingay, 7 December 2007.
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