Page 35 - ITU Kaleidoscope 2016

HOW ORGANISATIONS CAN ASSESS AND IMPROVE THEIR GREEN ICT ACTIVITIES
IN A STANDARD AND EFFICIENT WAY

Albert Hankel & Patricia Lago

VU University Amsterdam
Department of Computer Science
De Boelelaan 1081a, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT • First order or primary effects: effects of the physical
This study demonstrates how a maturity model on Green ICT existence of ICT (environmental impacts of the pro-
can help organisations improve themselves and become more duction, use, recycling and disposal of ICT hardware).
environmental sustainable in a standard and efficient man-
• Second order or secondary effects: indirect environ-
ner. For this we have used the SURF Green ICT Matur- mental effects of ICT due to its power to change pro-
ity Model and facilitated the use of this model in four or-
cesses (such as production or transport processes), res-
ganisations. These organisations participated in a matur-
ulting in a modification (decrease or increase) of their
ity scan, evaluation session to discuss the results of the scan environmental impacts.
and a questionnaire on the use of the model. This field study
showed that individual participants were very positive about • Third order or tertiary effects: environmental effects
the use of such a model and that it provided inspiration for of the medium- or long-term adaptation of behavior
improvement, both to reduce the environmental impact of ICT (e.g. consumption patterns) or economic structures
as well as to use ICT as an green solution for other business due to the stable availability of ICT and the services
processes. it provides.

Keywords— Green ICT, ICT for Sustainability, Green IS,
Maturity Model, Benchmarking While these effects are widely recognised and can be under-
stood on an abstract or global level, it is often difficult for
individuals or organisations to apply them.
1. INTRODUCTION
In the past decade more and more businesses have realised
that their actions have long term effects on the environment
In academic research as well as in industry, the environ-
and society and are taking responsibility for their actions
mental impact of ICT is an important topic, spanning across
through several social and environmental initiatives that re-
multiple disciplines. ICT is seen as both a relevant contrib-
duce their impact [5]. Green ICT can contribute significantly
utor to CO 2 -emissions due to its increasing carbon footprint
and can thus help organisations achieve their sustainability
[1], and as an enabler for reducing the footprint of other goals. In order to do so, they need to know the answer to at
sectors through “smart” systems (e.g. smart buildings, smart
least two questions:
grids). During the years many studies tried to evaluate the
general impact of ICT on the environment. According to
• What are the key environmental impacts arising from
a report of the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, ICT itself
ICT?
is roughly responsible for 2% of global CO 2 -emissions,
while ICT solutions have the potential to reduce global CO 2 - • How can ICT assist organisations in their efforts to im-
emissions by up to 16% [2]. prove their environmental sustainability?
We define Green ICT as a combination of activities that min-
imise the negative impact of ICT on the environment and op- We know that ICT can consume large amounts of energy in
timise the positive impact ICT can have. Or, in other words, datacenters and in (mobile) communication networks for ex-
as any activity that considers the direct, indirect and systemic ample [6]. It is also important to consider the use of rare
impact of ICT on the environment [3]. Because the rela- materials in the ICT equipment as well as what happens with
tions between ICT and the environment are numerous and the equipment at the end of their life cycle, also known as
often complex, it helps to consider all these effects. As a e-waste [7]. On the other hand, ICT solutions can reduce
general-purpose technology information and communication travel, dematerialise paper use and material use, and optimise
technologies can be used by themselves or as part of other business processes as a whole. When organisations consider
technologies. This is the reason why ICT is viewed as an Green ICT, they often focus only on the first part, to reduce
environmental friendly solution as mentioned above. Others the environmental impact of ICT. The second part, using ICT
[4] have defined these effects in three orders: as a solution is much less common.

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