News
 The
Bottom Line: Green IT Saves Cash
Rockwell Bonecutter, green IT lead, Accenture's
North America
There’s science behind green IT. Recent case
studies of emerging green technologies and practices
have demonstrated quantifiable results. It’s clear
that green initiatives save cash.
Organizations can realize major savings just by
virtualizing servers and using power-management
tools and variable-speed disk drives in data
centers, for example. These approaches can extend a
data center’s life span at a fraction of the cost of
building a new one, upwards of $1,000 a square foot.
When CIO’s shrink the carbon footprint of their data
centers, improve energy efficiency, and promote
recycling and telework, they directly boost the
bottom line. In any economy, that’s good news for
business.
The Cost of Not Going Green
Getting the business behind green IT is easier when
considering the cost of not going green. As
organizations ratchet up scrutiny of all IT
projects, CIOs are wise to point out the
consequences of inaction – both the tangible and
intangible costs. A tangible cost would be a loss of
revenue. An intangible cost would be the erosion of
a company’s reputation by its unwillingness to
invest in sustainability like competitors are doing.
Fallout from such erosion includes credibility
problems with key clients and difficulty in
attracting and retaining the best employees.
The case for green IT rests on cost savings and
operational impacts – and that includes the
consequences of falling behind the times.
For the two most popular green related projects,
virtualization and desktop management cost savings,
reduced energy consumption is the primary driver. As
companies increase their awareness and put action
behind words, leading better-informed and more
environmentally-aware businesses, they will want to
select IT providers that support
Active and Passive Approaches To Energy Savings
Several Fortune 500 companies have made strides to
reduce data center electricity consumption by
employing active and passive approaches. Examples of
active approaches include virtualization to limit
server sprawl at its source: the juice-thirsty
hardware and other resources companies rely upon to
run their applications. By consolidating and running
several servers from a single physical one, a
company can cut hardware, power and cooling costs in
one stroke.
HP is installing its “smart cooling” technology in
data centers worldwide, notably in a large facility
in Bangalore, India. Telecom giant BT –which owns
Europe’s most colossal data centers –– absorbs some
0.7 percent of Britain’s total power output. BT has
been able to cut power use there by more than 60
percent, with less than 18 months for investment
payback.
On the passive side of energy savings, IT operations
can institute policies to replace, as a matter of
course, old hardware on the floor with more
energy-efficient models – IT calls this “intelligent
refresh.” Other passive approaches may involve
partnering with facilities management to make
cooling and heating systems more efficient by, for
example, re-purposing waste heat or using
groundwater for cooling.
Getting to Work on Less
Green work practices are a potentially major sphere
of influence for CIOs and their leadership teams.
Enabling employees to work remotely by providing
thin client and Web-based business services and
fostering a telework culture extends the green IT
strategy from merely a technology solution to an
enterprise-wide transformation.
To map out a strategy for green work practices, IT
first should assess its myriad influences on how
people work. Its influences are far and wide.
Remote-access technology, personal communications
tools and collaboration are continuously reshaping
how we use energy and how we work, travel and live.
Working with Fortune 500 companies over many years,
I’ve observed that the growth and function of
workplace environments, procurement methodologies
and supply chains are all within IT’s sphere of
influence.
The next step for an IT organization in strategizing
for green work practices is to study how changes
could reduce energy consumption and waste. IT must
objectively weigh the risks and rewards (data
security issues for mobile devices, for instance)
and prioritize the practices that will yield the
highest energy savings at lowest risk.
The economy is pushing U.S. airlines to think more
about sustainability, for instance, and telework
plays a role. At JetBlue Airways, the call-center
staff is highly motivated and unusually productive,
in part because Web-based systems let employees work
from home and control their work hours. The systems
match staff to call demand, ensuring that JetBlue
always has the right level of staffing.
In addition to promoting telework, IT departments
can reinforce policies encouraging employees to
conserve energy. Actions like turning off computers
after use rather than leaving them on standby,
recycling waste and printing documents only as
necessary can go a long way toward reducing the
carbon footprint of an organization. Working with
facilities managers, IT departments can install
energy-efficient office equipment. Examples include
double-sided printers to save on consumables such as
paper and toner, and timers for office lights and
equipment so they consume less energy when not in
use.
The possibilities for organizational change are
numerous. Postponing desktop replacement can make a
big difference. The energy used to manufacture an
average PC equals four-fifths of that computer’s
energy consumption over its lifetime. Internet
protocol links for all communications - including
VoIP to replace traditional phone landlines - can
cut production, installation and duplication of
office cabling.
IT executives in service industries are ideal
candidates to lead a commitment to responsible
disposal of office equipment. That’s because their
servers, PCs, routers, storage systems and other
hardware make up the bulk of capital expenditures.
IT departments can organize recycling of
nonfunctional or obsolete equipment, or find new
homes for outdated gear.
Another way to make a difference is to “buy green.”
CIOs can require that all hardware purchases be
accredited through ENERGY STAR or similar programs.
Favor suppliers that are proactive about reducing,
reusing or recycling their packaging. Rate suppliers
on their record for running their businesses in
environmentally acceptable ways and put them on the
preferred list. Only a quarter of companies have
written green criteria into purchasing processes,
according to IT analyst firm Forrester Research, so
there’s much room for improvement.
CIOs in industries that produce and distribute goods
can achieve environmental benefits by focusing on
energy efficiency throughout the procurement
lifecycle, from acquisition to usage and,
ultimately, to disposal. IT departments can
collaborate with their companies’ supply chain and
logistics experts. They can pinpoint processes and
tools that engender “smart logistics” - maximizing
freight payloads, consolidating shipments, improving
supply chain visibility to minimize distances
shipped, and evaluating the carbon footprints of
transportation options. Results will be maximized by
taking a holistic view all along the supply chain
and into suppliers’ and customers’ operations.
By participating in community activities, CIOs also
can contribute to the company image as a responsible
corporate citizen. Activities can include recycling
IT assets to local charities or helping small
businesses in the neighborhood to do so. A
communications campaign in collaboration with
regional government, encouraging the public to turn
off PCs and unplug various mobile phone and related
chargers from the wall when not in use, can bring
the company’s corporate citizenship to the public
eye. Other communications ideas include sharing
green IT triumphs and perspectives through articles
and Web content. IT operations can share successes
with customers, suppliers, investors, analysts and
the media – all of whom take a keen interest in the
environmental performance of companies these days.
Gaining a Global Perspective
European companies have several incentives in place
for green IT – including government regulation,
social pressure and operational concerns. On May 13,
2008, the European Commission issued a document
focused on the role IT can play in tackling climate
change issues. It covers the need to reduce IT’s
carbon footprint and examines how IT can be used to
develop energy efficiency technology – paving the
way for cooperation among member states.
The EC’s Code of Conduct for Data Centers states
“there are efficiency gains … still to be realized
without prohibitive initial costs, and that lowers
the total cost of ownership.” The EC calls for
organizations to voluntarily comply with guidelines
for energy-efficient IT capacity and heating and
cooling systems. IT can reduce the 2 percent of its
global carbon dioxide emissions, the EC says. While
not laying out a mandate, the EC is allocating
resources to help IT tackle some high-carbon areas.
The U.S. is less far along than Europe in
proscribing change. But as one of the country’s
biggest fuel guzzlers, IT is in a unique position to
lead big business toward sustainability. First, IT
needs to curb its own energy appetite – if only to
keep up with the rising demand for its services
that’s outpacing efficiency gains and to save cash.
Then, IT leaders can lead by example, inspiring
American businesses and organizations to embrace a
greener future.
---Source:
Information Management April 1, 2009 newsletter (www.information-management.com).
Rockwell Bonecutter can be reached at
rockwell.bonecutter@accenture.com.
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