Lean, Green and Sustainable IT

The terms “Green IT” and “Lean IT” and “Sustainable IT” are used prolifically these days and often inter-changeably.  The three areas are the focus of exciting innovation the IT industry these days are significantly impacting IT operations departments both large and small and are described below.  Lean IT focuses on reducing hardware, green IT builds on lean IT to reduce consumption and sustainable IT builds on green IT to reduce impact on economy, society and the environment.

Lean IT
Lean IT refers to innovations that attempt to consolidate IT resources into the most efficient, high-performance configuration possible.  Generally, lean IT efforts are centred on reducing the amount of hardware required by an organization to support their operations.  Lean IT initiatives are generally driven by costs savings such as energy cost savings, lower support costs, smaller square footage in rented spaces, easier backup management, etc.  While some lean IT projects may positively contribute to environmental impact goals, that is not generally the intention and other side effects (continued usage of toxic substances in manufacturing) can offset any gains in that area.  Examples of lean IT are;

• server virtualization (where multiple independent applications can be housed on the same piece of hardware without interfering with one another),
• hosting arrangements (where hardware is managed by a service provider and can be shared by many clients),
• code-efficient software (coding software so that it requires fewer resources to run),
• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models, and
• smaller equipment to reduce facility requirements. 

Green IT
Green IT refers to the many innovations that attempt to reduce the impact of IT operations on the environment.  Green IT projects may have other benefits however are generally geared towards showing measurable improvements in energy efficiency.  Green IT initiatives tend to focus on short-term goals with immediate impacts such as implementing power management software, swapping hardware for more energy efficient hardware, using power bars to cut down on draws during idle times, etc.  Green IT initiatives include;

• reducing the amount of toxic materials used in manufacturing and packaging,
• ensuring recycling methods meet international standards,
• meeting and exceeding Energy Star rankings, and
• assessing your IT footprint (eg carbon emissions).

Sustainable IT
Sustainable IT combines all of the benefits gained through in lean IT and green IT and takes it one step further to look at the long-term impacts of IT operations on society and the environment.  Sustainable IT is a strategy-based approach to managing IT operations.  Sustainable IT plans that consider the full life-cycle of IT products rather than short-term benefits alone. In short, Sustainable IT looks at all three areas of sustainability; environment, economic and social impacts.  Sustainable IT initiatives include;

• responsible purchasing practises,
• resource (paper, toner, etc) usage reduction,
• programs to increase the lifespan of existing assets,
• waste and disposal management policies, and,
• supporting sustainable business initiatives.

Are you looking for ways to integrate lean, green and sustainable IT into your IT department?  Check out our Green IT Guide and Toolkit for more information.