Green IT Strategies and Applications PDF

Document Details

FastestGrowingLute

Uploaded by FastestGrowingLute

University of Mumbai

2011

Bhuvan Unhelkar

Tags

green IT environmental intelligence IT strategies business strategy

Summary

This book explores Green IT strategies and applications, with a focus on using environmental intelligence to drive business efficiency. It examines the practical aspects of implementing Green IT strategies across various business contexts, emphasizing their impact on business performance and environmental sustainability.

Full Transcript

Green IT Strategies and Applications Using Environmental Intelligence Advanced and Emerging Communications Technologies Series Series Editor-in-Chief: Saba Zamir ADSL: Standards, Implementation, and Architecture, Charles K. Summers After the Y2K Fireworks: Business and...

Green IT Strategies and Applications Using Environmental Intelligence Advanced and Emerging Communications Technologies Series Series Editor-in-Chief: Saba Zamir ADSL: Standards, Implementation, and Architecture, Charles K. Summers After the Y2K Fireworks: Business and Technology Strategies, Bhuvan Unhelkar Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment, Kornel Terplan Fiber Optics Illustrated Dictionary, Julie K. Petersen Green IT Strategies and Applications : Using Environmental Intelligence, Bhuvan Unhelkar Handbook of Emerging Communications Technologies: The Next Decade, Rafael Osso Intranet Performance Management, Kornel Terplan Mobile Enterprise Transition and Management, Bhuvan Unhelkar Multi-Domain Communication Management Systems, Alex Galis Protocols for Secure Electronic Commerce, Second Edition, Mostafa Hashem Sherif The Telecommunications Illustrated Dictionary, Second Edition, Julie K. Petersen Web-Based Systems and Network Management, Kornel Terplan Green IT Strategies and Applications Using Environmental Intelligence Bhuvan Unhelkar CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Version Date: 20110511 International Standard Book Number: 978-1-4398-3780-1 (Hardback) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information stor- age or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copy- right.com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that pro- vides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a pho- tocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com Prabhavati Contents Foreword............................................................................................................................xix Preface................................................................................................................................xxi Readers............................................................................................................................ xxiii Mapping to a Workshop.................................................................................................... xxv Contents and Chapter Summaries..................................................................................xxvii Language..........................................................................................................................xxix Acknowledgments............................................................................................................xxxi Endorsements (In Praise of Green IT Strategies and Applications)..............................xxxiii Author............................................................................................................................. xxxv PART A STRATEGIES AND APPLICATIONS 1 Green IT Fundamentals: Business, IT, and the Environment......................................3 K ey Points.......................................................................................................................... 3 I ntroduction....................................................................................................................... 3 Ā e Environment Today..................................................................................................... 6 Information Technology and Environment........................................................................ 9 Business and Environment................................................................................................14 Green Enterprise Characteristics.......................................................................................15 G reen Vision.....................................................................................................................17 Green Strategic Points.......................................................................................................18 G reen Value......................................................................................................................18 Green IT Opportunity......................................................................................................19 Challenges of a Carbon Economy.................................................................................... 22 E nvironmental Intelligence...............................................................................................25 Bu siness Intelligence.........................................................................................................25 Application in Environmental Domain............................................................................ 26 Envisioning the Green Future.......................................................................................... 29 D iscussion Points............................................................................................................. 30 R eferences........................................................................................................................ 30 vii viii ◾ Contents 2 Green IT Strategies: Drivers, Dimensions, and Goals................................................35 K ey Points.........................................................................................................................35 Introducing Green Strategies............................................................................................35 Green Strategic Mindset................................................................................................... 37 Philosophical Considerations in Green IT Strategy......................................................... 39 Green IT Strategies: Range of Impact...............................................................................41 Green Strategic Alignment............................................................................................... 46 Proactive Green Strategies......................................................................................47 Reactive Green Strategies.......................................................................................47 Green IT Strategies Mix....................................................................................................47 Green IT Drivers.............................................................................................................. 48 Costs (Energy, Operational)................................................................................. 50 Regulatory and Legal............................................................................................ 50 Sociocultural and Political.....................................................................................52 Enlightened Self-Interest.......................................................................................53 Responsible Business Ecosystem........................................................................... 54 New Market Opportunities.................................................................................. 56 Green IT Business Dimensions (Factors).......................................................................... 56 E conomy............................................................................................................... 56 T echnologies......................................................................................................... 58 P rocesses................................................................................................................59 P eople................................................................................................................... 60 Developing an ERBS........................................................................................................61 Wide-Ranging Considerations in ERBS........................................................................... 63 Steps in Developing an ERBS.......................................................................................... 64 Green Business Objectives.....................................................................................65 S trategy Descriptions............................................................................................ 66 P olicy-Based Conditions........................................................................................67 R esource Requirements......................................................................................... 68 T ransformation Plan/Timelines............................................................................ 68 Iterations and Risks.............................................................................................. 68 KPIs in Green Strategies................................................................................................... 69 Additional KPI Examples..................................................................................... 72 D iscussion Points............................................................................................................. 72 A ction Points.................................................................................................................... 73 R eferences........................................................................................................................ 73 3 Environmentally Responsible Business: Policies, Practices, and Metrics..................77 K ey Points........................................................................................................................ 77 I ntroduction.................................................................................................................... 78 Policies and Practices in ERBS..........................................................................................81 Lean Impact on Green.................................................................................................... 83 Environmental Areas Covered...........................................................................................85 Breadth of Environmental Policies (Areas Covered)...............................................85 Depth of Environmental Policies (Intensity of Coverage)..................................... 87 Length of Environmental Policies (Duration of Coverage)................................... 87 Contents ◾ ix Green Values in Practice................................................................................................... 89 Green Practice: A Balancing Act..................................................................................... 90 Mobility and Environment.............................................................................................. 92 Advantages to Environment.................................................................................. 93 Challenges to Environment.................................................................................. 93 Relating Environmental Business Policies to Goals.......................................................... 94 Renewable Energy Resources........................................................................................... 96 Mind Map for the Role of a Chief Green Officer (CGO)................................................. 98 E nvironmental Practices................................................................................................... 99 Green IT Metrics and Measurements..............................................................................101 Carbon Metrics Coverage....................................................................................103 Green IT Measurement Challenges.....................................................................106 Framework for Green IT Metrics.........................................................................107 Measuring the Carbon Footprint of Your Organization.......................................109 Measuring Operational Costs in Your Organization............................................110 Green Balanced Scorecard...............................................................................................110 Green IT Readiness and CMM.......................................................................................113 Context Sensitivity and Automation in Green IT Measures............................................ 115 D iscussion Points............................................................................................................ 117 A ction Points...................................................................................................................118 R eferences.......................................................................................................................118 4 Green Assets: Buildings, Data Centers, Networks, and Devices..............................121 K ey Points.......................................................................................................................121 I ntroduction................................................................................................................... 122 G reen Assets................................................................................................................... 124 Building and Facility Management............................................................................... 126 Green IT Hardware........................................................................................................ 127 Green Data Centers....................................................................................................... 130 Data Center Building—Design, Layout, and Location...................................................132 Data Center ICT Equipment—Server Strategies.............................................................133 Data Strategy and the Carbon Emitting Bit....................................................................135 Data Servers Optimization............................................................................................. 136 Data Servers Virtualization............................................................................................137 Physical Data Server Organization and Cooling............................................................139 Cloud Computing and Data Centers..............................................................................140 Networking and Communications Infrastructure...........................................................141 E nd-User Devices............................................................................................................143 Smart Meters in Real Time.............................................................................................143 Managing Devices for Central Green Services................................................................146 Devices and Organizational Boundaries for Measurements............................................147 Mobile Devices and Sustainability..................................................................................148 D iscussion Points............................................................................................................ 151 A ction Points................................................................................................................... 151 R eferences....................................................................................................................... 151 x ◾ Contents 5 Green Business Process Management: Modeling, Optimization, and Collaboration..........................................................................................................153 K ey Points.......................................................................................................................153 I ntroduction....................................................................................................................154 Green Business Process Management..............................................................................156 G reen Reengineering.......................................................................................................157 Green Processes: Individual, Organizational, and Collaborative.....................................159 Green BPM and Standards..............................................................................................161 Green Business Analysis.................................................................................................164 Green Requirements Modeling.......................................................................................165 Green IT Governance.....................................................................................................167 Green Business Processes—Incremental Complexity......................................................169 Green Business Applications..........................................................................................171 Modeling Green Business Processes (UML, BPMN)......................................................171 Quality of Service (QoS) and Green Business Processes..................................................172 Documenting Process Goals...........................................................................................173 Achieving Green BPM....................................................................................................173 Green Mobile Business Processes....................................................................................174 Environmental–Economic Mobile Use................................................................176 Environmental–Technical Mobile Use.................................................................177 Environmental–Process Mobile Use....................................................................177 Environmental–Social Mobile Use......................................................................179 Example—Digital Library GPR......................................................................................179 C onclusion......................................................................................................................181 D iscussion Points............................................................................................................181 A ction Points...................................................................................................................182 R eferences.......................................................................................................................182 6 Green Enterprise Architecture, Environmental Intelligence, and Green Supply Chains.........................................................................................185 K ey Points.......................................................................................................................185 I ntroduction...................................................................................................................186 Green Enterprise Architecture........................................................................................187 Views of Green Enterprise Architecture..........................................................................189 Green Enterprise Architecture—Categories of Requirements.........................................190 Green IT and Organizational Systems............................................................................192 O rganizational Systems.......................................................................................192 E xternal Systems..................................................................................................193 I nfrastructure......................................................................................................193 Green Solutions Architecture.........................................................................................193 Evolving Green Systems Architecture..............................................................................195 Aspects of Green Solutions Architecture........................................................................196 C loud Computing...............................................................................................197 V irtualization......................................................................................................198 S mart Networks...................................................................................................198 Real-Time Decision Making................................................................................198 Contents ◾ xi A lignment............................................................................................................199 Op timization.......................................................................................................199 I ntegration...........................................................................................................199 Contents and Integration with Service-Oriented Architecture........................................199 Green Supply Chain Management................................................................................ 202 Mobility in Green Supply Chain Management.............................................................. 204 Building Environmental Criteria into Supplier Contract Conditions............................. 204 Green Portals in Green Enterprise Architecture............................................................ 205 Business Intelligence and Green IT................................................................................ 206 Ā e Environmental Intelligence Domain...................................................................... 208 Environmental Intelligence Systems’ Evolving Complexity............................................ 209 Communication Channels in Environmental Intelligence.............................................211 Environmental Intelligence Implementation with Web Services......................................212 Environmental Intelligence with Mobility......................................................................213 An Example of Green Enterprise Architecture................................................................215 D iscussion Points............................................................................................................216 A ction Points...................................................................................................................217 R eferences.......................................................................................................................217 7 Green Information Systems: Design and Development Models...............................219 K ey Points.......................................................................................................................219 I ntroduction....................................................................................................................219 Describing a GIS............................................................................................................ 220 Phases in a GIS Development and Deployment.................................................. 220 Features of GIS....................................................................................................221 Modeling and Architecture GIS—Requirements, Design, Implementation, and Testing....................................................................................................... 222 GIS Requirements.......................................................................................................... 223 Green Organizational Portal............................................................................... 224 Regulatory Standards Portal............................................................................... 224 S takeholders/Actors............................................................................................. 225 Dat abases............................................................................................................ 226 Package Diagrams and System Scope............................................................................. 226 Use Case Diagram for GOP........................................................................................... 227 Use Cases for “Green Organizational Portal”.....................................................233 Use Cases for “Emissions Benchmark Maintenance Use Case Diagram”............ 236 Class Diagram for GOP................................................................................................. 238 Sequence Diagram for “Emissions Check”..................................................................... 240 Class Diagram for RSP...................................................................................................241 Sequence Diagram for “Setting Standard Emissions Value”............................................241 State Machine Diagrams for “Emission Report” and “Emission Standard Value” Objects............................................................................................................................241 Implementation Diagrams for GIS..................................................................................241 GIS —Technical Requirements........................................................................................245 D iscussion Points........................................................................................................... 246 A ction Points.................................................................................................................. 246 xii ◾ Contents 8 Sociocultural Aspects of Green IT...........................................................................247 K ey Points.......................................................................................................................247 I ntroduction................................................................................................................... 248 Green IT’s Social Impact.................................................................................................250 L earning Organization....................................................................................................250 Green Social Stakeholders...............................................................................................251 Role-Based View of Green IT..........................................................................................253 Green User Practices.......................................................................................................256 Attitude and Subjectivity in Green IT.............................................................................257 Green IT Ethics and Code of Conduct...........................................................................259 Privacy and Security of Green Information.....................................................................261 G reen Washing.............................................................................................................. 262 Communications in Green Transformation Projects...................................................... 262 Green IT Project—Channels of Communication.......................................................... 263 Green HR and Changing Organizational Structures..................................................... 264 Green-Collar Workers: Roles and Skill Sets....................................................................267 Skills Framework for Information Age (SFIA) and Green HR........................................267 SFIA Skill Set and Green Roles...................................................................................... 269 Green Virtual Communities...........................................................................................271 D iscussion Points........................................................................................................... 272 A ction Points.................................................................................................................. 272 R eferences...................................................................................................................... 272 9 Green Enterprise Transformation Roadmap............................................................275 K ey Points.......................................................................................................................275 I ntroduction....................................................................................................................276 Green Enterprise Transformation................................................................................... 277 In fluence of Economic Dimension on GET................................................................... 279 In fluence of Technical Dimension on GET.................................................................... 279 In fluence of Process Dimension on GET....................................................................... 280 In fluence of Social Dimension on GET......................................................................... 280 Transforming the Individual, Organizational, and Collaborative Processes....................281 A Green ICT Framework............................................................................................... 283 E quipment Lifecycle....................................................................................................... 284 P rocurement................................................................................................................... 284 Recycle and Reuse.......................................................................................................... 285 Disposal of ICT Systems................................................................................................ 285 E nd-User Computing..................................................................................................... 285 Enterprise and Data Center............................................................................................ 286 Data Center ICT Equipment......................................................................................... 287 Data Center Environmentals.......................................................................................... 287 Networking and Communications................................................................................. 287 Outsourcing and Cloud Computing.............................................................................. 288 S oftware Architecture.................................................................................................... 288 IT for Enterprise............................................................................................................ 288 Governance and Compliance......................................................................................... 289 Teleworking and Collaboration...................................................................................... 289 Contents ◾ xiii Business Process Management........................................................................................ 289 Bu siness Applications.....................................................................................................290 Carbon Emissions Management..................................................................................... 290 A ttitude.......................................................................................................................... 290 P olicy..............................................................................................................................291 P ractice...........................................................................................................................291 T echnology......................................................................................................................291 M etrics........................................................................................................................... 292 Ā e Green Transformation Process................................................................................. 292 Organizational Focus Areas for GET..............................................................................293 Co nfiguring a GET Road Map...................................................................................... 295 GET Program: Roles and Deliverables........................................................................... 295 Setting Up a Business Transformation Office (BTO)..................................................... 296 Forming Transformation Work Areas............................................................................ 297 Green IT Project Roles................................................................................................... 297 Green Enterprise Transformation Champion (GTC).......................................... 298 Business Architect and Variations....................................................................... 298 Technical Architect and Variations..................................................................... 299 Bu siness Partners................................................................................................ 299 Green IT Auditors.............................................................................................. 300 E nd-Users........................................................................................................... 300 I T Managers....................................................................................................... 300 Bu siness Managers.............................................................................................. 300 I T Governance.................................................................................................... 300 C orporate Governance.........................................................................................301 Green IT Transformation—Deliverables.........................................................................301 GET: Diagnosis Phase.................................................................................................... 302 C hallenges.......................................................................................................... 303 C hallenges.......................................................................................................... 303 C hallenges.......................................................................................................... 306 C hallenges.......................................................................................................... 306 GET: Planning and Scoping Phase................................................................................. 309 P ilot Project.....................................................................................................................310 Enterprise Lifecycle Plan.................................................................................................310 I nput....................................................................................................................312 Ou tput.................................................................................................................312 C hallenges...........................................................................................................312 Planning for End-User Efficiencies..................................................................................312 De liverables.....................................................................................................................314 I nput....................................................................................................................314 Ou tput.................................................................................................................314 C hallenges...........................................................................................................314 Enterprise IT Data Center Efficiencies............................................................................316 De liverables.....................................................................................................................316 I nput....................................................................................................................316 Ou tput.................................................................................................................316 C hallenges...........................................................................................................317 xiv ◾ Contents Planning for IT as a Low-Carbon Enabler for the Enterprise..........................................317 De liverables.....................................................................................................................319 I nput....................................................................................................................319 Ou tput.................................................................................................................319 C hallenges...........................................................................................................319 GET: Enactment Phase...................................................................................................319 T echnology-Driven Enactment...................................................................................... 320 Customer Relationships Management.............................................................................321 Supply Change Management (SCM)..............................................................................321 Human Resource and Payroll Systems............................................................................321 Business Partner’s Systems...............................................................................................321 I ntegration.......................................................................................................... 322 Dat a Migration................................................................................................... 322 Business Process–Driven Enactment.............................................................................. 322 GET: Review and Measure Phase................................................................................... 323 D iscussion Points........................................................................................................... 323 A ction Points...................................................................................................................324 R eferences......................................................................................................................325 10 Green Compliance: Protocols, Standards, and Audits.............................................327 K ey Points.......................................................................................................................327 I ntroduction....................................................................................................................327 Protocols and Standards................................................................................................. 328 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, Rio)............................................................................................. 329 K yoto Protocol.....................................................................................................329 Greenhouse Gas Protocol.................................................................................... 330 C openhagen....................................................................................................... 330 Ā e ISO 14000:2004 Family of STANDARDS.............................................................331 ISO 14001...........................................................................................................332 G overnment Initiatives....................................................................................................332 C ompelling Regulation........................................................................................332 USA Energy Star—1992................................................................................................ 334 EPEAT—Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool....................................... 334 EU RoHS—Restriction of Hazardous Substances Regulations...........................................335 EU WEEE—Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations............................335 Industry and Vendor Initiatives......................................................................................335 Green Grid—2007........................................................................................................ 336 CSCI—Climate Savers Computing Initiative............................................................... 336 IT Vendor Initiatives...................................................................................................... 336 Global Reporting Initiative............................................................................................ 336 Green IT Audits..............................................................................................................337 A udit Types.....................................................................................................................339 Green IT Audits—Approach, Maturity, and Comparison.............................................. 342 Undertaking Green IT Audits........................................................................................ 342 Audit and Use of Carbon Emissions Management Software.......................................... 343 C omparative Audits....................................................................................................... 344 Contents ◾ xv C onclusion..................................................................................................................... 344 D iscussion Points............................................................................................................345 A ction Points...................................................................................................................345 R eferences...................................................................................................................... 346 11 Emergent Carbon Issues: Technologies and Future.................................................347 K ey Points...................................................................................................................... 347 I ntroduction................................................................................................................... 347 Future Carbon Landscape.............................................................................................. 348 Green ICT and Technology Trends.................................................................................350 C loud Computing...........................................................................................................350 Sa aS................................................................................................................................353 N anotechnologies............................................................................................................353 Qu antum/Trinary Computing........................................................................................354 New Renewable Energies................................................................................................354 ISO—New and Upgraded Standards..............................................................................354 Security and Legal...........................................................................................................354 E codesign........................................................................................................................355 B iomimicry.....................................................................................................................355 Green ICT—Business and Economic Trends..................................................................356 Dichotomy of Developing Economies............................................................................358 Collaborative Environmental Intelligence.......................................................................358 D iscussion Points............................................................................................................361 R eferences.......................................................................................................................361 PART B CASE STUDIES 12 Case Study in Applying Green IT Strategies and Applications to a Hospital.............................................................................................................365 K ey Points.......................................................................................................................365 G oodMead Hospital.......................................................................................................365 Preliminary Green Investigation.................................................................................... 366 Green Business Objectives...............................................................................................367 SWOT of GoodMead Hospital...................................................................................... 368 S trengths............................................................................................................ 368 W eaknesses......................................................................................................... 369 Op portunities......................................................................................................370 Ā re ats.................................................................................................................370 Strategic Concerns of Management.................................................................................371 Steps in Developing a Hospital’s ERBS...........................................................................372 Green Transformational Elements...................................................................................373 Ā e Green Transformation Project..................................................................................374 Social Dimension in Hospital GET................................................................................ 377 Technology Changes in Hospital................................................................................... 377 Applying Mobile Technologies in GET...........................................................................378 Do ctors................................................................................................................379 N urses..................................................................................................................379 xvi ◾ Contents P atients................................................................................................................379 Suppliers (e.g., Pharmacies)..................................................................................379 Lessons Learned in Implementing Green IT Strategies.................................................. 380 13 Case Study in Applying Green IT Strategies to the Packaging Industry.................381 K ey Points.......................................................................................................................381 A uPack Scenario.............................................................................................................381 AuPack’s Green IT Strategies......................................................................................... 383 SWOT of AuPack in Green Context...............................................................................385 Green IT Strengths..............................................................................................385 Green IT Weaknesses......................................................................................... 386 Green IT Opportunities..................................................................................... 386 Green IT Ā re ats................................................................................................ 386 Diagnosis in AuPack...................................................................................................... 387 Planning for GET.......................................................................................................... 388 Economic Dimension in AuPack.................................................................................... 389 Technical Dimension in AuPack.................................................................................... 390 Process Dimension in AuPack.........................................................................................391 Social Dimension in AuPack...........................................................................................391 Enactment of GET for AuPack.......................................................................................391 Review of GET for AuPack.............................................................................................393 Lessons Learned in GET for AuPack...............................................................................393 14 Case Study in Applying Green IT Strategies and Applications to the Telecom Sector...............................................................................................395 K ey Points.......................................................................................................................395 ZeeTel Telecom Scenario.................................................................................................395 Strategic Approach to Green ICT................................................................................... 398 SWOT of ZeeTel—Environmental Context.................................................................. 400 S trengths............................................................................................................ 400 W eaknesses..........................................................................................................401 Op portunities......................................................................................................401 Ā re ats.................................................................................................................401 Motivators and Dimensions........................................................................................... 402 Diagnosing the “As Is” State........................................................................................... 402 P lanning......................................................................................................................... 404 Enterprise Data Center Transformation Plan................................................................. 405 Enacting GET for ZeeTel............................................................................................... 406 Data Center Changes in GET........................................................................................ 407 Next-Generation Networks in GET............................................................................... 407 E quipment Lifecycle....................................................................................................... 407 Attitude and Training.................................................................................................... 408 Review and Measure...................................................................................................... 408 C onclusions.................................................................................................................... 408 R eferences...................................................................................................................... 408 Contents ◾ xvii Appendix A Ā e Environmentally Responsible Business Strategies (ERBS) Research Project Survey............................................................................................ 409 Appendix B Case Study Scenarios for Trial Runs..........................................................419 Appendix C Green IT Measurements from a CEMS......................................................423 Abbreviations....................................................................................................................427 Green Glossary..................................................................................................................429 Index.................................................................................................................................433 Foreword Green IT means many things to many people, but most definitions boil down to two key aspects: internal and external. Ā e first of these refers to the lowering of the energy consumption and car- bon footprint of the IT process itself, and the second refers to t he use of IT to lower the energy consumption and carbon footprint of the whole organization. Ā is book examines both. Not so lo ng ago, sustainability was a f ringe issue. Environmentalism was the preserve of “greenies” or “techies.” Now these issues are mainstream. Green IT is a natural result of the world’s increasing interest in all things sustainable. Ā e term did not exist 5 years ago—now it is an essential part of any discussion about the role of IT in the modern world. IT is pervasive in business and society, and it is c losely linked with sustainability. Sustainability is, u ltimately, about ensu ring t hat we t ake out no more t han what we pu t into a closed system—an organization, a society, or a planet. How do we ensure this? We need to measure inputs a nd outputs. How do we me asure t hem? Invariably, it is I T s ystems t hat provide the metering capabilities. IT is a lso used as the data repository and as the reporting tool. IT systems are intrinsic to the measurement and management of sustainability on both a local scale and a global scale. Internal Green IT is b ecoming an important issue f or many reasons. Data center power bills are soaring as electricity prices go up, and increased processing power means hotter pro- cessors, which means more cooling. At the same time, tough economic circumstances are put- ting a greater focus on running costs, and power consumption as a component of these costs is becoming more visible. Environmental reporting requirements are becoming more stringent, and there is an increased awareness across business and society of the unsustainability of many current consumption patterns. Rising ele ctricity cost s me an t hat m ore a nd m ore I T depa rtments a re i ncluding p ower costs in their operating budgets as metering capabilities and measurement techniques improve. Power consumption will become a very significant component of the cost of enterprise comput- ing in the next few years. Even if organizations are unable to directly measure their IT power consumption, they are often aware that it is too high and should be lowered if possible. Ā ere are many well-documented ways of reducing IT’s power consumption, such as server and storage virtualization and consolidation, “Green PCs,” thin clients, and so on. Internal Green IT is important. By various measures, IT is responsible for 2%–3% of the world’s carbon emissions, which puts it on par with the airline industry. In some IT-intensive industries, such as banking, it can constitute well over half of all electricity consumed. Lowering or reducing the growth rate xix xx ◾ Foreword of IT’s energy consumption is a worthwhile activity. Ā us, reduction in IT’s energy consumption would have a significant effect on the big picture. Ā e d isciplines, te chnologies, a nd m ethodologies o f i nternal G reen I T a re re asonably we ll known, b ut n ot so w idely d iscussed i s I T’s en abling e ffect—its a bility to re duce a n o rganiza- tion’s carbon footprint by facilitating more efficient a nd less c arbon-intensive work practices— teleconferencing instead of flying or commuting, improved supply chain management, the use of IT systems to replace carbon-intensive applications, IT-enabled energy reduction systems, smart metering, and so on. Ā at is what we might call external Green IT. IT has always been an enabling technology. Computers by themselves are nothing more than pieces of metal and plastic, and software nothing more than magnetized dust on a hard disk. IT systems exist to help individuals and organizations perform better—they are a means to an end. Just a s I T c an bring g reater e fficiencies to business processes, automate direct marketing cam- paigns, or improve the manufacturing efficiencies, so can it help reduce an organization’s carbon footprint—both within and outside the IT department. Technology, a nd e specially I T, i s t he ke y to a m ore su stainable f uture. From sm art m eter- ing in the home to i nternational carbon trading systems, it is IT-based systems that make it all work. IT-based systems are used to design renewable energy platforms and run waste management facilities. Ā is book addresses all these issues. Unhelkar takes a holistic and pragmatic view of sustain- ability and Green IT, examining every aspect of Green IT and the way it can be implemented. Ā is reflects the passion for and knowledge of these issues by the author. Unhelkar is particularly good at mixing the theoretical with the practical: discussing the ideas and demonstrating their use. Ā at is this book’s great strength. Ā is b ook a lso d iscusses t he c orporate re sponsibilities o f o rganizations i n a m arket-driven economy. Increase in profits, reduction in costs, application of innovations in business, adherence to g overnance s tandards, re gulatory metrics a nd measurements, process m anagement, environ- mental i ntelligence, a nd t he so ciocultural a spects o f a b usiness a re a ll n eatly i ntertwined w ith Green IT issues. Green IT is not treated as a separate silo of technology; this book shows Green IT as an integral part of reducing the environmental impact of all business activities. It looks at the facilities, processes, and people that can all be brought together to reduce the overall impact of business activities on the environment. Ā e bottom line in being more sustainable is greater efficiency. It is no coincidence that this is also the bottom line in success in business. Ā e two go hand-in-hand. And more often than not, it is the effective use of IT that is the key to success. Ā at is what this book will help you do. Graeme Philipson Wollongong, Australia Graeme Philipson is one of the world’s leading Green IT consultants. His company Connection Research developed the Green IT Framework, a system for identifying the different components of Green IT, and the Green IT Readiness Index, a benchmarking methodology for quantifying the maturity of Green IT within an organization. He was the founding editor of MIS Magazine and is a former research director with consultancy Gartner. Preface Profits versus carbon, customer services versus carbon, competition versus carbon, regulations ver- sus carbon. For too long, the carbon reduction debate has pitched good environmental outcomes against good business outcomes. Yet t he reality, however, is t hat be st business practice delivers both good business outcomes and environmental benefits. Many CEOs are either looking to show leadership or leading in carbon reduction because it is good for their businesses. Ā e c arbon reduction debate i s changing. In t he c ontext of t he environment, t he questions revolve around what the strategies, policies, and objectives of a business should be. What are the green drivers a business should anticipate, and what are the motivational levers? CEOs are asking what they should measure and how they should report their attempts at green transformations to get the best business outcomes. How will enterprise architecture change when a Carbon Emissions Management Software (CEMS) tool is implemented? What are the risks a business will encounter as green strategies are developed and implemented? What are the risks to a business from a lack of environmental consciousness within the business? Ā ese are some of the practical questions answered in this book. While respecting the contrary views within the carbon reduction debate, t his book focuses pragmatically on the activities and tasks, roles and deliverables, and metrics and measurements that enable an organization to sensibly reduce its carbon footprint because of the business benefits achieved through good environmental outcomes. Ā e scope for carbon reduction is large. Ā erefore, Green IT, as discussed in this book, is not restricted to IT alone. Instead, Green IT (technology, communications, information, policies, pro- cedures, governance, risk, audit, compliance, strategy, service levels, performance management, and more) is discussed in an all-encompassing manner covering a wide range of issues in environ- mental sustainability. Such an approach utilizes the resources available to a business in a unified (holistic) approach toward t he environment to fo rm a re sulting environmental intelligence (EI) and keep business goals closely meshed with the environmental goals. Ā is intelligence imbues the organization with a green value system that is highly relevant to the future carbon economy. Ā e discussion in this book is an opportunity to tap into this intelligence. It is a journey of transformation, expansion, and application of the resident business intelligence in a way that will benefit both the business and the environment. Ā is is an invaluable discussion to have in today’s business world, which is fraught with risks, regulations, and customer preferences—all impacted by environmental considerations. Ā e application of business intelligence to enhance the environmental credentials of a business can be formalized into the concept of EI. EI can be understood as the use of the organization’s sys- tems, applications, contents, processes, architectures, and designs to transform the organization. xxi xxii ◾ Preface Ā is b ook a lso e xamines t he a reas of Business Transformation a nd a ssociated a spects of Change Management in the context of the environment. Ā e ideas expressed in this book are a judicious combination of research (as a PhD project over the past three years), the practical experiences of the author as a consultant and trainer in the area of Green IT, and the scholarly and business insights of select colleagues who see the future profit- ability and sustainability of businesses aligned with environmental outcomes. Ā us, you will find a substantial literature review, many statistical survey results, and insights gained within this book. Ā is is a highly pragmatic and practical book that is written to demonstrate the role of EI within a business, particularly environmentally responsible business strategies (ERBS). Ā e practical aspect of this book comes from the fact that it demonstrates how ERBS can be implemented i n a n o rganization t hrough m odifications, u pgrades, re deployment, a nd o ptimi- zations of e xisting s ystems a nd processes, tog ether w ith s ystems a nd processes t hat a re new to Green IT. Ā is book discusses environmental issues from multiple and varied angles. Ā es e angles include the technologies that create carbon emissions, the technologies that can be used in reduc- ing the organization’s carbon footprint, the impact of carbon emissions on business, the existing and upcoming compliance requirements by business, and the role that business and society can play in utilizing IT in a g reen way. Ā e sociopolitical challenges of environmentally responsible business are also discussed, together with strategies to ameliorate them. Ā is book aims to incorporate business intelligence, as used by business systems, technolo- gies, and people, into environmental intelligence. Ā is book also provides the roadmap for green business transformation using existing business intelligence. Finally, it also provides views on the future direction of Green IT. Readers Many types of readers interested in environmental issues from a business perspective will find this book interesting: (a ) Dec ision makers: Strategic decision makers in the industry who are involved in the process of improving their business operations and services to become environmentally responsible. Ā is book includes advice on measurements to back their decisions and for transformation within and from outside the business. (b ) Te chnologists: Ā e technical leaders of the organization, including IT managers, development managers, data center directors, and network managers. Such technologists will find the dis- cussions in this book, especially Chapters 3, 4, and 6, highly relevant. Of focus is the appli- cation of various strategies and techniques to optimize the use of hardware and upgrade the processes, measurements, and reporting on the organization’s environmental performance. (c ) Dev elopers: Ā ose i nvolved i n de sign, de velopment, a nd te sting o f C arbon E missions Management Software (CEMS). Chapter 7 in this book has detailed UML-based require- ments and an initial design for such a system that is directly relevant to developers. (d ) Trainers and Teachers: Ā is book is organized in a way that is highly conducive to industrial training and higher degree courses. Ā e discussion points, action points, and case studies are highly relevant in this regard. Ā e discussion topics can also be used for interactive discus- sions within a classroom environment. (e ) A cademics: Ā e rapidly increasing body of researchers and academics who are exploring vari- ous ways of incorporating environmental strategies in business. Ā e chapters in this book are based on literature reviews that provide the scholarly background for the discussions in technologies a nd business i ntelligence for t he environment. Ā e social, cultural, political, and legal aspects of environmental compliance will also be of interest to non-IT researchers. For academic teachers, each chapter is organized with an introduction, detailed discussion, relevant summaries, and discussion topics. xxiii Mapping to a Workshop Ā e book has material that can be divided into a two-day training course or workshop that can be delivered in public or as an in-house customized training, as shown in the following table. Mapping of the Chapters in This Book to a Two-Day Workshop Presentation and Discussion Workshop Relevant Day Session Topic Chapters Comments 1 8:30 a.m.– Green IT strategies and 1, 2, 3 Covers drivers and dimensions of 10:00 a.m. policies change; approach to policies, their deployment, and green metrics 10:30 a.m.– Green IT and data 4, 6 Virtualization; smart meters; 12:00 a.m. centers; devices; Green optimization; interfaces between enterprise architecture existing systems (CRM, ERP) and new carbon systems 1:30 p.m.– Green business process 5 Process reengineering as 3:00 p.m management applicable to Green IT 3:30 p.m.– A case study 12–14 5:00 p.m. (any one) 2 8:30 a.m.– Green enterprise 9 In-depth business transformation 10:00 a.m. transformation process framework for Green IT 10:30 a.m.– Carbon Emissions 7, 8 UML-based models of a CEMS; 12:00 a.m. Management Software rewards/motivation and structure (CEMS) design; Green of Green HR HR 1:30 p.m.– Green IT audits, laws, 10 ISO 14001 and related standards. 3:00 p.m. and standards Audits 3:30 p.m.– Second case study 12–14 5:00 p.m. (any one) When used in an academic course, this book forms a 13-week teaching exercise for graduate- level study, with each chapter corresponding to a lecture topic, supported by practical group work based on the case studies. xxv Contents and Chapter Summaries Ā is book has 14 chapters. Ā is first part of the book is made up of 11 chapters that discuss Green IT within a business a context, whereas the second part provides 3 supporting case studies. Each chapter in the first part is laid out in the following form: title, keypoints, main body of the chapter, summary, a nd d iscussion topics. E ach chapter is interspersed w ith sidebars a nd concludes w ith action points that provide step-by-step guidance on implementing the discussions. Each chapter also includes detailed referencing, a comprehensive index, meanings of acronyms, and keywords, figures, tables, and appendices that are invaluable for practitioners. Ā e following table provides a brief overview of each chapter. Chapter Description Part A—Strategies and Applications Chapter 1 Green IT Fundamentals: Business, IT, and the Environment Chapter 2 Green IT Strategies: Drivers, Dimensions, and Goals Chapter 3 Environmentally Responsible Business: Policies, Practices, and Metrics Chapter 4 Green Assets: Buildings, Data Centers, Networks, and Devices Chapter 5 Green Business Process Management: Modeling, Optimization, and Collaboration Chapter 6 Green Enterprise Architecture, Environmental Intelligence, and Green Supply Chains Chapter 7 Green Information Systems: Design and Development Models Chapter 8 Sociocultural Aspects of Green IT Chapter 9 Green Enterprise Transformation Roadmap Chapter 10 Green Compliance: Protocols, Standards, and Audits Chapter 11 Emergent Carbon Issues: Technologies and Future xxvii xxviii ◾ Contents and Chapter Summaries Chapter Description Part B—Case Studies Chapter 12 Case Study in Applying Green IT Strategies and Applications to a Hospital Chapter 13 Case Study in Applying Green IT Strategies to the Packaging Industry Chapter 14 Case Study in Applying Green IT Strategies and Applications to the Telecom Sector Ā e following appendices provide supporting information. Appendix Description Appendix A The Environmentally Responsible Business Strategies (ERBS) Research Project Survey Appendix B Case Study Scenarios for Trial Runs Appendix C Green IT Measurements from a CEMS Language Ā e author firmly believes in gender-neutral language. However, in order to maintain the simplic- ity of reading she and he have been used freely. Terms like user and manager represent roles and not people. We may play more than one role at a g iven time—such as consultant, academic, and analyst. As a result, the semantics behind the theory and examples may change depending on the role you are playing, and should be kept in mind as you read this book. “We” throughout the text primarily refers to the reader and the author—you and me. Occasionally, we refers to the general business or the ICT community, depending on the context. Critiques Critiques of this work are welcome. Ā e author will be grateful to you for your comments, feed- back, and criticisms, as they surely will add to t he overall k nowledge available on mobility and mobile transitions. A very big thank you to all readers and critics in advance. Bhuvan Unhelkar xxix Acknowledgments Warren Adkins Dale Nott Akshai Aggrawal Christopher Payne Prasanta K. Banerjea Graeme Philipson Adriana Beal Amit Pradhan Siddharth Bhargav B. Ramesh Dave Curtis Norbert Raymond Julian Day Prashant Risbud Yogesh Deshpande Zahra Saeed William Ehmcke Manan Shah Abbass Ghanbary Nawaz Sharif Tushar H azra Keith Sherringham R. Kinjal Vivek Shrinivasan Anand Kuppuswami Chitra Subramanium Amit Lingarchani Louis Taborda Mohammed Maharmeh Amit Tiwary Girish Mamdapur Bharti Trivedi* Javed Matin Sanjay Vij Vikas Mehrunkar Mindy Wu San Murugesan Houman Younessi In addition to the names above, the author is also extremely grateful to the students, colleagues, and friends at the University of Western Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, DD University (Nadiad India), Gujarat University (SVIT India), and Gujarat Technological University (GTU) for their valuable inputs, research opportunities, comments and criticisms, and practical experi- ences. My heartfelt thanks to all these wonderful people spread across the globe. *Bharti Trivedi needs special mention for undertaking a noted PhD that provided an important backdrop to this book. Her assiduous research, meticulous reporting, and also some editorial help— all balanced with her family responsibilities—have been invaluable in the completion of this work. xxxi xxxii ◾ Acknowledgments My sp ecial t hanks a lso to G raeme Philipson a nd W illiam E hmcke for t heir su pport. Ā ey are c ontributing to t he fi eld of Green I T a nd enterprises, pa rticularly i n t he a rea of t he Green IT readiness index and the Green enterprise transformation frameworks. Ā eir permission to use some of their material is highly appreciated. Finally, thanks to my family, Sonki, Keshav, and Asha, and extended family, Chinar, Girish, and Amit. Ā is book is dedicated to a beloved person who came into my family before me and left quickly and softly, hardly making any footprints. Perhaps she loved the Earth too much to toddle (let alone tread) over it! Endorsements (In Praise of Green IT Strategies and Applications) Ā e foremost reason I would buy this book is because it does not separate and thereby alienate business efficiency from carbon efficiency. Ā at is an excellent approach to take toward carbon reduction in a market-driven economy. Warren Adkins Sydney, Australia Ā is book brings together the research on environmental sustainability with its prac- tice in real life. Ā e value of this book comes from this synergy of research and prac- tice. Ā e practical approaches in this book fi nd support in the robustness associated with doctoral-level research. Akshai Aggrawal Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Technological University India; and Associate Professor and Interim Director, School of Computer Science University of Windsor, Canada Unhelkar has been on the panel of judges for the Consensus GreenTech Awards since their inception t wo years a go. He has a lso been a j udge of t he C onsensus Software Awards for nine years. His passion for Green IT and environmental sustainability is well known—and is reflected in the pages of this book. Ā is is a must-have book for anyone associated with efforts at re ducing c arbon em issions a nd u nderstanding t he key issues affecting the future of our planet. Julian Day MACS MAICD, Founder and CEO, Consensus Group; Past Chair QESP (Quantitative Enterprise Software Performance) Australia xxxiii xxxiv ◾ Endorsements (In Praise of GISA) Ā e new economy is the green economy where cost a nd carbon savings a re unified. My own experience in leading and promoting the development of an enterprise-class energy consumption monitoring and environmental impact analysis platform has con- vinced me that management of carbon footprint is an integral part of business—not an add on. Precisely the theme that comes out again and again through the chapters of this excellent book on Green IT strategies authored by Dr. Unhelkar. Ramin Marzbani, AMSRS, FMA, EPTS Director, Event Zero Pty Limited (Creators of Greentrac) San Murugesan Professor of Information Systems and IT Management Multimedia University, Malaysia For too long, the carbon emissions debate has pitched good environmental outcomes against good business outcomes when, in reality, the two are synonymous. It is refresh- ing to see a business-focused pragmatic and practical approach to delivering business outcomes through good environmental practice. Keith Sherringham Independent business consultant Author of Cookbook for Shareholder Value and Market Dominance Sydney, Australia Ā is book expresses very well the basic idea that carbon efficiency is not an isolated activity but, rather, implicit in running a lean and efficient business. Ā e discussions on carbon efficiency of Green IT in this book span almost all the dimensions of an enterprise—strategies a nd p olicies, a rchitecture a nd de sign, so cial [and] l egal s tan- dards, and audits. A must read for any business embarking on the journey of Green enterprise transformation. Aditya Ghose Professor, Director of Decision Systems Lab School of Computer Science and Software Engineering University of Wollongong, Australia Author Dr. Bhuvan Unhelkar (BE, MDBA, MSc, PhD; FACS) has more than two decades of strategic as well as hands-on professional experience in the information and communication technologies (ICT) industry. As a founder of MethodScience.com, he has notable practical consulting and training exper- tise in business analysis (use cases, BPMN), software engineering (object modeling, Agile processes and quality), Green IT (environment), enterprise architecture (including SOA), project management, collaborative web services, and mobile business. His domain experience includes banking, financial, insurance, government, as well as telecommunication organizations, wherein he has created indus- try-specific process maps, quality strategies, and business transformation approaches. For the past few years, Dr. Unhelkar has been actively involved in researching Green IT and the environment— and its application in practice. He has supervised a PhD in the area of Environmentally Responsible Business Strategies (by B. Trivedi) and also set up and delivered a two-day training course approved by the Australian Computer Society titled “Green IT Design and Implementation” (delivered around Australia through Connection Research/Envirability). He is a w inner of the Consensus IT profes- sional award and the IT writer award under the “best author” category. Apart f rom au thoring t his b ook, D r. U nhelkar h as p ublished/presented t he fo llowing i n relation to Green IT: Trivedi, B., and Unhelkar, B. (2009), Extending and Applying Web2.0 and beyond for envi- ronmental Intelligence, Handbook in Research on Web 2.0, 3.0 and x.0: Technologies, Business xxxv xxxvi ◾ Author and S ocial Ap plications ( Edited b y Sa n M urugesan), Pub lished b y I nformation S cience Reference, USA, chapter no 43. Trivedi, B., a nd Unhelkar, B. ( 2009), S emantic I ntegration of E nvironmental Web S ervices in an Organization, Selected in ICECS 2009 Conference held at Dubai 28th to 30th Dec 2009, to be published in IEEE Computer Society Journal. Unhelkar, B., editor, the Handbook of Research in Green ICT: Technological, Methodological and Social P erspectives, IGI Gl obal, Hershey, PA, U SA. E dited. I n p ress (close to 5 0 c hapters contributed globally). Unhelkar, B. , Cu tter B enchmark R eview ( CBR) ( 2009), Cre ating a nd A pplying G reen I T Metrics and Measurement in Practice, Green IT Metrics and Measurement: Ā e Complex Side of Environmental Responsibility, 9(10): 10 –17. Unhelkar, B. , a nd T rivedi, B. ( 2009) “ Managing E nvironmental C ompliance: A T echno- Business P erspective,” SCIT ( Symbiosis C entre for I nformation Technology) J ournal, ISSN 0974–5076, Sep, 2009, paper ID: JSCIT09_015. Unhelkar, B., and Trivedi, B. (2009) “Merging Web Services with 3G IP Multimedia systems for providing Solutions in Managing Environmental Compliance by Businesses,” Proceedings of t he Ā ird I nternational C onference on I nternet T echnologies an d Ap plications (I nternet Technologies and Applications, ITA 09), 8–11 Sep, 2009, Wrexham, North Wales, UK. Unhelkar, B. a nd Trivedi, B. ( 2009), “ Role o f m obile te chnologies i n a n E nvironmentally Responsible Bu siness St rategy,” i n Handbook of Research in Mobile Business: Technical, Methodological and S ocial P erspectives, 2n d E dition (Edited b y B. U nhelkar), I GI Gl obal Publication, Hershey, PA, USA. Unhelkar, B., and Dickens, A. (2008), L essons in implementing “Green” Business Strategies with ICT, Cutter IT Journal, Vol. 21, No. 2, February 2008, Cutter Consortium, USA. Unhelkar, B., and Philipson, G. (2009), “Development and Application of a Green IT Maturity Index,” ACOSM2009—Ā e Australian Conference on Software Measurement (ACOSM), Nov. 2009. Dr. U nhelkar e arned h is do ctorate i n t he a rea o f “ object o rientation” f rom t he U niversity o f Technology, Sydney, in 1997. Subsequently, he designed and delivered course units such as Global Information Systems, Object Oriented Analysis and Design, Business Process Reengineering, and IT Project Management in the industry as well as across universities in Australia, China, and India. He led the Mobile Internet Research and Applications Group (MIRAG) at the University of Western Sydney, where he is also an adjunct associate professor. He has authored/edited 16 books in t he a reas of c ollaborative business, g lobalization, mobile business, software quality, business analysis, business processes and the UML and has extensively presented and published papers and case studies. Apart f rom Green I T, m any other i ndustrial c ourses de veloped by Dr. Unhelkar h ave now been delivered to b usiness executives and IT professionals globally (in Australia, USA, Canada, UK, China, India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Singapore). Training courses delivered through MethodScience are consistently ranked highly by the participants. Dr. Unhelkar is a sought-after orator, a fellow of the Australian Computer Society (elected to this prestigious membership grade in 2002 for his distinguished contribution to the field of infor- mation and communications technology), a life member of Computer Society of India, Rotarian at St. Ives (Paul Harris Fellow), Discovery volunteer at NSW parks and wildlife, and a previous TiE Mentor. STRATEGIES AND A APPLICATIONS Chapter 1 Green IT Fundamentals: Business, IT, and the Environment If you lose touch with nature you lose touch with humanity. J. Krishnamurti’s Journal, April 4, 1975 Key Points ◾ A strategy for Green IT forms part of and aligns to an overall business strategy. ◾ Astute business sees Green IT as organizational best practices that lowers costs, provides better customer service, and improves business operations. ◾ Ā e practical discussions within this book on the alignment of business and environmental outcomes are underpinned by industrial research. Introduction An indisputably winning argument behind the implementation of Green IT* initiatives is based on business efficiency. Ā is is the same reason why businesses strive to be lean, improve their qual- ity, and reengineer their processes. Ā us, while myriad reasons abound for why an organization should become green, the one reason that is beyond reproach is that “a green business is synony- mous with an efficient business.” When a reduction in carbon is allied with the economic drivers of a b usiness, t he s earch for justifying t he c osts to o ptimize business processes a nd v irtualized * Ā e t erm I T i mplies i nformation, t echnology, a nd c ommunications dom ain. O ccasionally, t he t erm ICT i s used—especially in emphasizing the communications aspect of IT. 3 4 ◾ Green IT Strategies and Applications data servers become relatively straightforward. A close synergy exists between a lean and a green business. In fact, in most cases, they are complimentary. Ā is synergy between lean and green has immense potential to b enefit both, the business a nd the environment. Add effectiveness to this compliment of lean and green and there begins a c omprehensive journey toward environmental consciousness by business. Green IT (also referred to as Green ICT or Green computing) has been defined or described by several sources including Murugesan (2008), Lamb (2009), Unhelkar (2010a and 2010c, 2011). Green I T de finition appears i n Wikipedia, 2010 a s well. But it i s t he de finition of Murugesan (2008) that is particularly comprehensive: “the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems (such as monitors, printers, storage de vices, a nd n etworking a nd c ommunications s ystems) e fficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment.” Ā is definition can be interpreted as serving an orga- nization’s attempt to achieve economic viability and improve system performance and use, while abiding the social and ethical responsibilities. Lamb (2009) simplifies this definition: “Green IT is the study and practice of using computing resources efficiently.” Ā us, Green IT includes the dimensions of environmental sustainability, the economics of energy efficiency, and the total cost of ownership, which includes the cost of disposal and recycling.* Ā is opening chapter of this book on Green IT strategies and applications expands the afore- mentioned theme. Carbon efficiency has to be imbibed in the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. Ā e equation of a market-driven economy is not eschewed in this philosophy but, rather, strengthened. Increasing the value and reducing the costs, the hallowed mantra of a lean organization, is investigated deeply only to discover that reduction in carbon, in so many ways, i s c losely a ligned to re duction i n c osts. S een f rom a b etter b usiness p erspective, c arbon consciousness can be incorporated as an integral part of the mainstream business strategy, rather than as an “add on” to t he core business. Ā e time to explore, investigate, and experiment with the existing and future technologies and processes that can be used to dual advantage—business efficiency and carbon efficiency—has never been more appropriate. Ā e ap proach s et i n t his c hapter o f a lignment o f b usiness s trategy a nd G reen I T s trategy permeates the chapters of this book. Subsequent chapters in this book delve into various areas of green business that includes management, processes, architecture, intelligence, and metrics—to name but a fe w. Ā e basic philosophy adhered to t hroughout these discussions is that business goals need not be eschewed for the sake of carbon efficiency. Ā e crucial connection between the business a nd c arbon domain i s e xpounded here t hrough t he d imensions of te chnologies, pro- cesses, people, and economy. Long-lasting environmental strategies are not treated in isolation from the corresponding business considerations. Ā rough the discussions of strategies, policies, practices, and metrics, these discussions strive for an enduring impact of carbon considerations on the individual, organization, industry sectors, and even governments. Ā is is so because start- ing right with an individual’s attitude and working life style, Green IT is shown to affect the way the business i s organized, its u nderlying i nfrastructure, a nd t he formulations of its re gulatory policies. G overnment r ules a nd re gulations, c arbon off sets a nd c arbon t rading u nderpin b oth legal a nd e conomic re quirements, w hich, i n t urn, a re sh aping t he b usinesses o f n ow a nd t he future. Ā e market-driven philosophy of businesses, thus far, has worked against the environment. Ā is i s o bvious b ecause t he f ree m arket e conomies s tarted w ith t he ba sic p remise o f p rofit, * For more d efinitions of Gre en IT see: Cameron (2009), Chen a nd Boudreau (2008), Dedrick (2009), Fuchs (2008), Murugesan (2007, 2008), Poniatowski (2010), and Velte, Velte, and Elsenpeter (2008). Green IT Fundamentals ◾ 5 which, pe rhaps, got t ranslated i nto profit at any cost. Besides t hat, re flecting different views, a strong consensus is currently missing and has led to formation of camps along political and economic lines. Ā erefore, those aspects of society and life that belonged to the “common good” su

Use Quizgecko on...
Browser
Browser