In response to growing demands from customers, partners and consumers, many organizations are moving beyond corporate social responsibility as a philanthropic activity, according to Gartner. They are integrating green- and sustainability-related initiatives into their core business operations.
“Green IT is moving beyond the environmental characteristics of IT equipment, allowing organizations to improve their environmental footprint by using equipment and services that have a low-carbon footprint themselves,” said Vishal Tripathi, research director at Gartner.
Many technologies in data center, storage and desktops have significantly reduced their energy consumption and have gone mainstream in their reduction of energy intake in idle modes and during a use phase. CIOs and IT leaders who consider energy efficiency in sleep modes, or internal power supply efficiency, should look at extreme low-energy servers, together with server digital power module management systems and data center infrastructure management tools.
The operational cost of making energy-efficient resources available is pressuring CIOs to develop strategies to optimize their utilization of information and communication technology, including companywide energy management, while not compromising on the growth or deployment of newer technologies.
Electronic waste (e-waste), recycling and refurbishment are key areas of green IT, and have received sporadic attention based on some waste scandals in the industry. This is a compliance issue for many IT leaders and CIOs; therefore, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, and Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), as well as e-waste regulations, provide the regulatory guidance framework for OEMs and end-user organizations to assess the environmental footprint of their e- waste.
Renewable energy sources have become an integral part of a differentiated energy strategy for organizations. They add to the energy profile of an organization by adding building-integrated PV solar. Especially in emerging countries, solar PV projects are required to partially replace electricity from diesel generators. The process capabilities of energy harvesting, fueling sensors, devices or lights are still in the innovation phase. However, with the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) and wearables, energy harvesting will be a critical component for the electrification and constant power supply for those sensors.
