Pink Elephant Blog
Is There Such A Thing As “GreenIT”?
I've been tweeting the past few days to try and solicit experiences about "GreenIT" - with no response. So I'm wondering - is there really such a concept as "GreenIT"? Or is it just "green business"? IT being a part (department) of the business means that whatever greens the business can green IT. Surely there must be specific activities in IT that fall into this bucket. I'd appreciate a few minutes of your valuable thinking time: 1. How do we reduce/re-use/recycle resources in IT? 2. How do we cut back on energy in IT? 3. How do we get each other to think "sustainability" in IT? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
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Comments
David,
SHAMLESS PLUG ALERT.
Our organization really only focuses on a few actual “tools”.
One of these tools is a power management product.
Because IT is being hit from every side to cut costs, we believe that power consumption is a good place to start.
Today’s PC are practically always on. Even the introduction of power settings in newer OS still have many users “adjusting” this because they feel it slows down their machine.
Technology to actually TURN on a machine is still very young.
More about Power Manager here:
http://www.servicesphere.com/power-management/
Feel free to remove the shameless plug.
As far as recycle I see many orgs that I visit with robust recycling efforts.
I fear though that unless they use reputable recycle vendors their old cases, monitors and items probably send up in landfills.
There is a lot of scams in the USA right now around companies stating that they will haul away and dispose of IT equip, only to dump it.
I am passionate about this topic as it effects more than our IT lives but our planet and our childrens futures.
Thanks for the post.
Chris
Christopher M Dancy | November 24, 2009 at 1:30pm
Don’t worry about the “shameless plug”, Chris. My ears are open to all on this subject. There are a view admirable programs in play - such as the “Cool Cities Initiative” mentioned on your blog, and the LEED building standards initiative, but I must admit I’m finding it a bit tough to get some definitive information on what “green business” means, never mind “green IT”.
There’s government rules on what can be called “organic”, for example, but anyone can make “green” claims and there’s no way to prove that what they have to say is worth listening to.
Anyway, I’m going to make a start to understand more. I just bought three books:
Smart Green by Jonathan M. Estes
Strategies For The Green Economy by Joel Makower
Green Your Work by Kim Carlson
I’ll review the books and report back on this later! Meantime, I’ll continuing browsing and tweeting “green” and see what else turns up.
David Ratcliffe | November 28, 2009 at 3:28pm
Hey David,
Great topic.
I’ve been working with the Object Management Group (OMG) for about 9 months now on what we’re calling the Sustainability Assessment Model (SAM). http://www.omgwiki.org/SAM/doku.php
It encompasses more than just IT however. My part of the larger initiative is to lead the Business Operations dimension of it. To do that, I’m working to establish a Special Interest Group on the topic of Sustainable Service Management. The group meets regularly via open calls and has regular participation by companies from around the world. Some who are leading the push for smarter and more sustainable solutions.
I have also established a LinkedIn Group called Go Green with Service Management (http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestions=&gid=1756247&forumID=3&sik=1259612311055) but I must admit, it’s been like pulling teeth to get people to participate. I’m hoping that when I get the SIG finalized, the group will become more active.
I’m always looking for more people to help push the topic so, I welcome you aboard and look forward to your efforts to promote the topic.
Carlos
Carlos Casanova | November 30, 2009 at 4:25pm