Is Fully Sustainable, Green IT Possible?

In a recent article titled "Is Green IT Your Emporor With No Clothes", Forrester associate Doug Washburn posits that "technology is not green and never will be."  Washburn adds that although the technology itself is not green, enterprises have much to gain from greening initiatives including financial and environmental performance improvments.

Although I agree that our current vision and development path for technology is not 'green', I am optimistic that opportunities for truly green, regenerative technology exists.  And brilliant minds are out there working on the puzzle using theories such as biomimicry to get there.  This is, however, a dream rather than a reality and I believe that what Washburn is really accomplishing with this bold statement is calming those among us who think it has to be all or nothing. 

For many people, the challenge of climate change is either too overwhelming to know where to start or too big to believe that small actions can make a difference.  I agree with those who suggest that radical transformation is required.  However, I also believe that we all play a different role in that transformation.  There are those who are big dreamers, innovators, and change agents who lead us through transformation.  And there are those of use who work on the small steps making incremental improvements within our spheres of influence.  Radical transformation cannot happen withouth these two roles being filled and carried out by individual people, like ourselves.

On the practical level, Washburn suggests that to achieve the incremental improvements (in many cases extremely profitable ones) organizations must first understand their current performance by setting a baseline and realistic expectations for improvement.  At Green IT Tools.com, this has been our approach since the beginning.  Our guide and toolkit is designed to give organizations the background to understand the possibilities and the tools required to create that baseline.  Your organization has a much better chance of success if you can show, using hard numbers and meaningful metrics, what can be gained from Green IT initatives.  Otherwise, green it will be like any other business initiative that is seen as an expense rather than for the benefits it provides.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please contact jessica (at) greenittools dot com.

Read more about our Green IT Guide and Toolkit for Sustainable Business here.