THE GREENING OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The Greening of Information Technology

ABSTRACT

Green information technology (green IT) can be thought of fundamentally as a new round of technological innovation and a set of organizational practices that green the IT infrastructure and/or that use IT to green other domains such as building and supply chains. Given the comprehensive scope, dimensions, and meanings of green IT, it should also be treated as a condensed concept that encompasses many pieces, including technological innovation, business strategy and philosophy, organizational conduct, relevant policy, and a movement. Green IT can benefit not only our economy by increasing energy efficiency while saving costs, but also our natural environment by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Green IT was born in a historical time when the negative environmental impact of significant IT growth, significant energy demands from IT and other domains, and the increased urgency of dealing with climate change were recognized, and the economic crisis and oil price increases were looming large. Development of green IT has begun to reverse the negative impact of IT on the environment. Green IT is currently associated with different meanings and different priority goals by different parties. There is also a lack of a common standard and metrics to capture the comprehensive nature of green IT and to measure its success. These pose challenges to the development of green IT. At this stage, green IT should be treated as an emerging technological innovation and social phenomenon

Table of Contents

A Sketch of Green IT1

Birth and Drivers of Green IT3

Green Information Techonolgy Positive Impact on the Environment4

Players of Green IT and Some Initial Signs and Results of Implementation5

Challenges of Green IT7

Conclusion7

The Greening of Information Technology

A Sketch of Green IT

Although often unknown to many, green IT has emerged particularly since 2007 and seen impressive growth in the past three years as a new business and technological and social phenomenon. Green IT is still an evolving term that is subject to various interpretations by different parties, and at this writing, there is no commonly agreed upon definition. It can, however, be understood as how information technology planned, designed, deployed, developed, used, and disposed in an environmentally and socially responsible and economically sustainable manner. Green IT includes not only a set of new technological innovations such as data centre greening, server virtualization, energy-efficient computers, and cloud computing, but also a set of new organizational practices and strategies such as e-waste management, telecommuting, IT recycle and remarket, and power management (Alexandri & Jones, 2007, Pp.2835-2849).

Green IT is a comprehensive term encompassing multiple dimensions as each of the aspects mentioned above (and oftentimes multiples of them) can be associated with different technological innovations and/or organizational strategies. For instance, on the “dispose” aspect of green IT implementation, organizations can develop a set of responsible e-waste management programs to recycle their IT equipment and/or redeploy it by giving it to other departments or organizations for reuse.

In another example, on the “plan,” “deploy,” and “use” aspects, the green data centre has emerged as a key green IT innovation ...