Implementing Green IT

Green IT initiatives for the IT department can be organized into four major categories; policies and performance reporting, energy consumption, strategic asset management and green business support.  Each of these is discussed below with examples.

1.  Policies and Performance Reporting

Experts agree that you must start with an assessment of your current operations to create a baseline for both your policies and environmental impact metrics.  As the field of Green IT is relatively new, there is still much discussion about the appropriate key performance indicators and how to report on improvements.

When CEO Michael Dell announced in November that Dell ‘will be carbon neutral by the end of 2008’, he also announced that they would be unveiling their ‘Greenprint’ services to assist organizations with measuring their IT footprint¹.  IBM has also announced that they developing a similar service model, however, there are not currently models in the public domain and many parties are developing systems ad hoc².  Over the next 6 months we anticipate seeing many models publicized and over the next 2 years standards will emerge.  For now, organizations must piece together their own models for assessment or pay dearly for the services of one of the major players. 

Experts currently recommend a combination of policy-based metrics (e.g. do you have a responsible purchasing policy and have you adhered to it?) and statistics such as GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and energy consumption.

2.  Energy Consumption

Cost savings and environmental responsibility can be derived through the reduction of consumption of energy, paper, toner and other consumable products.  Currently, IT departments are not generally held accountable for their energy consumption³.  A facilities department is typically in charge of supply the power and individual departments are not held accountable for their operations’ usage.  As such, the first step for many IT departments is to get familiar with their consumption.  Estimates show that in a typical service-based office environment, IT can be responsible for 10% of the total energy consumption⁴.  Studies conducted by EPRI and Ecos Consulting suggest that for the typical business desktop user, aggressive power management policies alone can reduce consumption by up to 60%⁵.

Aggressive power management programs are touted as the most effective way to reduce energy consumption.  Depending on the organization’s current practises, estimates for power savings per workstations are between $25 and $75 per year.  Power management software vendors such as Verdiem and 1E provide network-based software solutions that can help organizations gather baseline energy consumption data, remote power on and off equipment and manage reporting on performance.  Without these types of tools, creating a baseline for IT energy consumption is either an extremely manual exercise or it is based on industry standards and many assumptions.

3.  Strategic Asset Management

For a small business it is important to make the most of capital investments.  Strategic asset management practises attempt to increase capacity and extend lifespan for existing assets using technology such as virtualization and incremental upgrades.  Gartner cited virtualization as one of the top 10 strategic technologies for 2008⁶.  When considering whether to purchase new equipments or upgrade existing infrastructure it is important to consider the benefits and costs of both approaches.  Over time, it becomes impossible to upgrade existing equipment. Experts are recommending that businesses consider the possibilities of upgrading consistently over a period of time rather than waiting until required and are perhaps not possible.

4.  Supporting Business Initiatives

The previous Green IT practises focussed on activities within the sphere of control for an IT department.  This category focuses on supporting ‘green’ business practises.  Possible practises include;
•    implementing default duplex printing,
•    enable network scanning,
•    provide infrastructure for collaboration tools,
•    provide infrastructure to support telecommuting, and,
•    provide education on energy and paper saving techniques.

In terms of paper alone, a recent study found that “nearly half of the organizations polled have paper reuse/recycle programs.  However, only about a third had implemented paper reduction programs and about 25% have “green” paper purchasing programs in place.”⁷  In Canada, leading organizations such as Mountain Equipment Co-op are now committing to using Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) of Canada-certified paper for printing annual reports and other major publications⁸.  The FSC is an international non-profit that evaluates the management of the world’s forests with respect to environmental, social and economic impacts.  Environmental organizations around the world such as World Wildlife Fund, the Sierra Club of Canada, and the Nature Conservancy cite the FSC certification standards as the most comprehensive and rigorous available.  By purchasing FSC-certified wood products, companies are able use the logo in printed materials and demonstrate a commitment to responsible forest management.  The FSC Canada also provides guides to purchasing paper and printing services.

Are you looking for more information on how to implement Green IT?  Check out our comprehensive, step-by-step guide to implementing Green IT in our Green IT Guide and Toolkit.

Resources

1. Shah, Agam. “Dell will help corporations go green.” IDG News Service [Online] Available
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/11/15/Dell-will-help-corporations-go...
November 15, 2007

2. Kumar, Rakesh, “’Big Blue’ Goes Green With Energy Efficiency Initiative”, Gartner Research, May 16, 2007

3. Burt, Jeffrey. “Rackspace embraces environmental responsibility,” eWeek; 10/15/2007, Vol. 24 Issue 32, p15-18, 3p

4. Walsh, Katherine. “ABC: An Introduction to Environmentally Sustainable IT,”  CIO.com [Online] Available,
October 29, 2007

5. Google, “Climate Savers Computing Initiative.” Whitepaper [Online] Available
http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org/docs/20655_Green_Whitepaper_060130...
November 2007

6. Brodkin, Jon. “Strategic technologies for 2008,” Network World; October 15, 2007, Vol. 24 Issue 40, p58-58, 3/4p

7. TerraChoice. “EcoMarkets 2007 Summary Report.” [Online] Available by special request
http://www.terrachoice.com/Home/Research/EcoMarkets%20Survey
November 2007

8. “Marking our Route: 2005 Accountability Report,” Mountain Equipment Co-op , 2006