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Green IT
This document discusses Green IT, which refers to initiatives that directly reduce the carbon footprint of computing operations and use IT to help reduce overall organizational carbon emissions. It outlines the environmental impacts of the ICT lifecycle from manufacturing to disposal. The business benefits of Green IT are reduced costs and improved culture and reputation. Various strategies are presented for organizations to reduce their IT-related environmental impact such as virtualization, recycling, and using IT solutions like cloud computing and videoconferencing to enable more sustainable business practices.
Green IT
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- 2. Overview •Green IT: Adefinition •Green IT drivers •The business benefits of Green IT •Reducing the environmental impact of ICT operations •ICT as a green enabler *
- 3. What is GreenIT? •A collection of strategic and tactical initiatives which •directly reduce the carbon footprint of computing operations •use IT to help reduce organisations’ overall carbon footprint •encourage greener behaviour amongst employees, customers and suppliers •ensure the sustainability of resources used by IT *
- 4. The ICT Lifecycle •ICTaccounts for 2% of global CO2 emissions •Embodied vs. consumed energy –Embodied energy is associated with the manufacture and disposal of ICT –Consumed energy is associated with use of ICT •Embodied energy may be up to 50% of total •Should we replace or not? *
- 5. The Need forGreen IT •The effects of climate change •The effects of ICT production and disposal –Large quantities of hazardous materials –Significant water and energy consumption –Concentrated mining of precious and non- precious metals •Dangerous and exploitative working practices *
- 6. Green IT Drivers •Environmental –ICTemissions set to rise significantly •Political –Improving our reputation •Social –Meeting the expectations of others •Legal –Meeting regulatory obligations *
- 7. The Business Benefitsof Green IT Cost CultureReputation *
- 8. UK Climate ChangeTimeline * 1988 1992 1997 2001 2005 2008 2009 IPCC formed Rio Earth summit Kyoto Protocol adopted Bonn Agreement Kyoto Protocol comes into force UK Climate Change Bill becomes law UK Govt. introduces Carbon Budget System
- 9. The Kyoto Mechanisms •Countriesmust meet their targets primarily through national measures but … •Protocol offers three market-based mechanisms –Emissions Trading (a.k.a. the carbon market) –Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) –Joint Implementation (JI) *
- 10. UK Government CarbonReduction Commitment (CRC) •Linked to targets in Climate Change Bill •Mandatory scheme affecting approx. 5,000 businesses which use > 6,000MWh of electricity per year •Self-certification scheme backed by spot audits •Bonuses and penalties dependent upon position in CRC league table *
- 11. • Became EuropeanLaw in 2003 • Sets collection, recycling and recovery targets for all types of electrical goods • IT equipment categories include – Computers and peripherals – Copiers, calculators and electronic typewriters • Products carrying logo cannot be included in general waste Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) *
- 12. • Often referredto as lead-free directive • Aimed at eradicating hazardous substances from new equipment • Manufacturers must produce a technical file which – Contains analysis and component data – Is kept for a minimum of 4 years Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Act *
- 13. • Adopted in2005, updated in 2009 • Establishes a framework under which manufacturers of energy- related products will, at the design stage, be obliged to reduce energy consumption and other negative environmental impacts • Regulation of PCs is still pending Eco Design of Energy Using Products (EuP) Directive *
- 14. • In theUK, we throw away 600 million household batteries every year • Recycle rates traditionally were very low (5%) • Directive provides stricter rules on battery manufacture and recycling including – Collecting and treating waste – Battery labelling and design European Batteries Directive *
- 15. Environmentally Friendly Purchasing •Electronic ProductEnvironmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) –Helps purchasers evaluate, compare and select systems based on their environmental attributes –Products are rated bronze, silver or gold •Energy Star –Joint program of US EPA and US DoE –Voluntary labelling programme covering computers, monitors and additional office equipment *
- 16. Reduce Energy Consumption •Reducescreen brightness to lowest comfortable setting •Remove active screensavers •Enable standby and hibernation modes –Check out Edison and Pecoboo •Make sure that fans and vents are not blocked •Turn devices off! *
- 17. Green Printing •Replace standalonewith network printers •Consider multifunction devices •Print side by side or use duplex •Use draft mode wherever possible •Use recycled paper and ink cartridges •Do you really need to print? *
- 18. Sustainable Data Storage •Removefiles and documents that are no longer required •Use data duplication technology to identify and remove identical copies of data •Be clear about data retention and archiving policies *
- 19. Green Networking •Take advantageof built-in power conservation features •Use multifunction devices •Go wireless! •Consider Power over Ethernet (PoE) and Powerline Ethernet *
- 20. Green Computing onthe Go •Advantages of laptops –Contain fewer materials and less embodied energy –Consume less power •40 – 88.5 kWh vs. 148 to 234 kWh for desktops •Get by with less – do you really need that 17inch screen? •Netbooks vs. laptops vs. smartphones *
- 21. Virtualisation •Running two ormore operating systems on one piece of hardware e.g. Windows 7 and Windows XP •Virtualised systems can be snapshotted and migrated •Provides multiple benefits –Reduces system sprawl and increases ultilisation rates –Lowers management costs –Reduces energy consumption *
- 22. Reuse •Plan for it! –Establishan asset management process or set up an equipment exchange •Sanitize your disks •Sell old equipment or offer to employees at a discount •Donate old equipment to worthy causes –Reasonably recent machines with functioning hard drives are best *
- 23. Reassign Old Equipment •Olderservers can be used as standby units •Older desktops can be handed down to non-power users •Equip a disaster recovery centre •Load Linux on older PCs •Use old PCs for bulletin boards or kiosks •Build an Old Media centre *
- 24. Recycle •Take advantage oftake-back schemes –Not the same as trade-in programs –e.g. Dell’s Asset Recovery Services •Find a green recycler –Google ‘IT recycling companies’ –Insist on total transparency •Use products and parts that can be disassembled with universally available tools *
- 25. IT as aGreen Enabler •We can reduce the environmental impact of our ICT operations and •We can use ICT to reduce the environmental impact of our overall business operations but •An increased ICT footprint may be necessary in order to reduce the overall impact of business operations a.k.a. silicon trading *
- 26. Smart 2020 •Commissioned bythe Climate Group •Identified opportunities for ICT to achieve energy efficiencies in –Motor Systems –Logistics –Buildings –Grids *
- 27. Cloud Computing •Various types –Infrastructureas a service (IaaS) e.g. Amazon’s Web Services –Software as a Service (SaaS) e.g. Salesforce.com –File services e.g. Google Docs •Services accessed via a browser •What makes cloud computing greener? *
- 28. Video Conferencing •Research carriedout by the WWF highlighted that travel accounts for 50% of a company’s carbon footprint •An Australian study has estimated that videoconferencing could avoid 2.4 million tonnes of national CO2 emissions, equivalent to 0.43% of the country’s total *
- 29. Green Document Management •Electronicdocument management systems reduce paper use and significantly cut CO2 emissions –during the manufacture of toner cartridges –during the printing process –whilst photocopying paper •Electronic information is available anywhere – removing the need to ship paper to people *
- 30. Teleworking •Reduction in heating,lighting etc at work but increased usage at home •Reduction in traveling by employees but increases the amount of equipment •Reduced or increased carbon footprint ? *
- 31. * Useful Reading • MO’Neill, Green IT for Sustainable Business Practice: An ISEB Foundation Guide, British Informatics Society Ltd., 2010 • C Baroudi et al., Green IT for Dummies, Wiley, 2009 • T Velte et al., Green IT: Reduce Your Information System’s Environmental Impact While Adding to the Bottom Line, McGraw Hill, 2008