Roadmap for ‘green’ IT

Dr Claire Cosgrove

“Greener & Smarter ICT”

Royal University for Women

16 May 2012

Roadmap for Green IT

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how to

navigate

Roadmaps are a navigation tool to help us find

our way.

how to get

from A B

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Eco-Efficiency

This presentation will be a roadmap for a sustainable

Information & Communication Technology (ICT) service

Eco-Innovation

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What do we understand by this

term: eco-efficiency?

• The concept of eco-efficiency is about finding ways to

deliver competitively priced goods and services that satisfy

human needs and enhance quality of life while

progressively reducing the ecological impacts and resource

intensity of products and services to levels that are in line

with the earth’s estimated carrying capacity (WCSBD

1992).

Or more simply . . .

• Improving eco-efficiency - achieving the

same or better levels of economic value

with the same or better levels of

environmental performance

And eco-innovation

• either improving the performance of

existing technologies, or creating new

technologies

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Need innovative solutions

All 21st century organizations need to manage the eco- impact of their IT services.

To drive sustainable solutions

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IT Managers

Facility Managers

Purchasing & Procurement

A team of professionals striving to achieve a competitive advantage via sustainable practice & innovative technology.

Tech Industry Professionals

Sustainability Officers

How these roles are interrelated?

• IT Managers – turn their

knowledge in action plans

• Sustainability / CSR

Officers – understand ICT

role & development of

sustainable organisation

• Tech Professionals lead

organisation with sustainable

operations

• Facility Management –

design & manage

sustainable buildings with

high tech equipment

• P&P – cost-saving

sustainable strategies for

purchasing & supply-chain &

EPP

Why Green IT?

Our appetite for electronics and energy is outpacing our supply

of renewable and non-renewable resources

Because the world population is increasing rapidly,

exponentially

Because we are generating GHG at an exhaustive rate

Because we generate excessive e-waste

Because we are producing lethal toxic & hazardous wastes

……..

Require socially responsible action

Smart resource usage

Savey technological innovations

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IT is part of the problem while at the same time IT is part of the solution

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Green IT has significant bottom-line benefits for any organisation

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Management Processes

Materials / Resources

IT Innovation

There is a need to establish the baseline of progress towards sustainable best practice in various areas.

Energy Usage & climate change

Waste production

Health & Safety

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Green IT Strategy requires a

Green IT Index

We cannot measure our improvements if we do not have a baseline of energy consumption and carbon emissions

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Profile the IT services of your organization

Create an IT roadmap of green initiatives

Reduce energy usage & carbon emissions & save BDs

We need to calculate, track and account for IT energy consumption & carbon emissions for every IT service

CARBON EMISSIONS

we keep addressing carbon emissions & energy usage . . .

ICT fastest growing energy

consuming sector

ICT global carbon emissions – est 2 -2.5% world

total carbon emissions

Same as airline industry

Developed nations ICT carbon emissions 5-6%

ICT sector’s carbon footprint expected to triple from 2002

figures in 2020

ICT & Office Energy

ICT energy expenses – presently 10% overall budget

2006 Gartner Report predicts that this will increase to 50%

e.g. Google already spends more on energy consumption than on

server expenses

Office energy consumption – min 20% used by

ICT systems

max 70%

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Life cycle environmental impact

From supply chain to operational use

Retirement & Disposal

The IT strategy needs to focus not just on reduction of carbon emissions but be more inclusive in other areas also.

Even goldfish have a strategy

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has grown incrementally

Starting an IT Sustainability Plan is a challenge for a number of reasons. The IT Infrastructure

Organisational barriers – not endorse sustainability initiatives

may be spread out across an organisation

Asset lists - different naming conventions Baseline

Evaluate

Redesign

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Produce a summary of energy demands and waste patterns

Baselining current energy consumption and waste production /carbon footprint provides

the necessary data for setting goals

Define priorities

Define short term action

Initial step is to create a snapshot of all your networked equipment

DEVISE LONG TERM

SUSTAINABILITY PLAN

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Replace CRTs

Extend life

Power management

Aspects that need to be evaluated in terms of energy, time, cost, savings factors.

Printer consolidation

Virtualisation

Cloud computing

Green IT roadmap should

include • Summary of usage

patterns

• Evaluate systems for

potential savings

• Estimate time to

execute plan

• Calculate present

costs and potential

savings

• Determine difficulty of

implementing

• Differentiate between

high potential

measures and low-

yield efforts

• prioritize

• timeline

Data

• Calculate energy and waste

• Determine costs

Short term

• Short term action / savings

• Prioritize action plan

Merge

• Efficiency plan

• Measure results / reassess

Long term

• Stakeholder buy-in

• IT savings

Green IT

• Strategic direction

• Involve all stakeholders

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1B cell phones / year

Let’s look at electronic production . . .

130M new PC’s / year

FASTEST GROWING WASTE

STREAM GLOBALLY

E-waste

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500M obsolete computers in USA / past 10 years

This brings us to the concept of e-Waste (aka WEEE)

ONLY 12% obsolete computers and discarded

mobiles are recycled per year

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Solid waste items are recycled at rate closer to 42%

Household appliance recycled at a rate of 70%

E-Waste only 2% MSW by weight

Now compare electronic waste with other waste items (USA statistics – Municipal Solid Waste (MSW))

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E-Waste accounts for 70% heavy metals in landfill

E-waste accounts for 40% lead in landfill

BUT there is always a ‘but’

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Exported to developing nations

Disassembled by hand – or burned in open air

EVEN Dumped at seas

And what happens to e-waste that does not go to the landfill?

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Stockpiled locally – USA 70% obsolete systems

Waiting for disposal solutions

And what happens to e-waste that does not go to the landfill?

Practical example

• Use power

management to

reduce energy waste

• Switch from free

running to power

managed

• e.g. average

computer and monitor

combination

consumes 2000 kWh

electricity per year

• Use power

management and

save 500-1000 kWh

per year

Practical example

• Use power

management to

reduce energy waste

• e.g. replace desktop

computers with

laptops with LCD

monitors

• power usage ~ 570

kWh per year

What kind of financial savings is

this? • USA figures – energy

costs of 0.15c per

kWh (2007)

• organisation with 500

computers

• Switch to power

management

• SAVINGS!!!

• US$100,000 per year

Practical examples

• Printer default

settings

– e.g. double sided

• Reprogramme users’

mindset

– Preview

– Select relevant page

ONLY

– Margins

– # pages per sheet

ACT ON ECO-RESPONSIBILITY

Requires systematic planning, buy-in across

organisation, staffing and funding

baseline measurement

evaluation

planning – short term and long term

execution

re-assessment

OTHER OPTIONS

Green IT Initiatives

Teleworking – reduce transportation emissions

Smart energy applications – adjust energy

consumption to real time needs and climate

conditions

Virtualization – eliminate wasteful network

equipment, reduce energy consumption , reduce

floor space requirements

Energy Management Systems

Server rooms currently consume excessive energy and actually waste 30-60%

Integrated planning – use of modern technology – use best

energy management systems - could reduce power

consumption 50-80%

Also reduce the floor space allocated will also reduce

energy consumption – up to 65%

How can this be done?

High-efficiency technology for cooling

power sourcing

virtualization techniques

Green supply chains

Procurement Departments seeking EPP – environmentally

preferred purchasing

IT sector needs to work with Sustainability Officer and

Purchasing Dept to secure the most desirable providers

The need to evaluate life cycle environmental footprint of

suppliers and buyers

Requires communicating & educating suppliers of the green

needs and expectations

This is an approach to sustainable supply-chain initiatives

Environmentally preferred

purchasing - EPP

Look for Energy Star compliance or EPEAT guidelines

Universities campuses

• Capitalize on training

opportunities

• Awareness of waste

cycle

• Value of 3R’s

• Build up IT technical

skills

• Prepare for workplace

readiness

• EXTEND LIFE IT

hardware

• REFURBISH

hardware

• RESELL REBUILT

PC’s

Other IT / E-waste initiatives

• Recycle mobiles

• Partner with

RecycleIT

• Awareness

campaigns

Unregulated energy waste are

fast becoming a thing of the past

Governments around the globe are implementing

carbon emission capping measures

Implementing environmental regulations to apply to

IT sector

Responsible Recycling

R2 is a standard using downstream

auditing to ensure that electronics

recyclers are operating to the highest

international environmental, health,

safety and security standards.

There are systems to track materials as

they move down the supply chain,

providing a fully auditable chain of

custody.

E-waste programmes

Action plans from producers to suppliers to end user back to

suppliers and on to producers

Educational awareness programmes – schools,

communities, organisations, nation-wide

Government impose a fee on purchase items for recycling

expenses downstream

Purchase recycled policy

Buy-back policy of suppliers

General Summation

Plan and strategize Green IT riadmap

Energy management systems

Purchase greener electronic products

Reduce /reuse minimise impact of products being

used

Dispose of obsolete products in environmentally

safe way