NEWS: A case of two sides to ICT

WHEN the phrase “green IT” is mentioned, many keywords come to mind such as the Kyoto Protocol, carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.
While ICT increases efficiency and allows more activities to be done virtually, it is also a voracious consumer of energy and contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
While ICT increases efficiency and allows more activities to be done virtually, it is also a voracious consumer of energy and contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

What do all these mean to the industry and ICT enterprise users and consumers as a whole? Is it really that big a deal, big enough to warrant an urgent call for action at both the local and global level?

To understand the issue, one needs to first understand the significance of the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The major feature of the protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialised countries and the European community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period starting from 2008.

So, how is this linked to the ICT industry?

According to the International Telecommunications Union, since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in December 1997, the number of users of ICT worldwide has tripled.

It is estimated that the ICT sector produces two to

2.5 per cent of total emissions of greenhouse gases, and this figure will increase as ICT makes a larger contribution to the global economy.

With regard to this, ICT is seen as both a hindrance and help to the environment. While ICT increases efficiency and allows more activities to be done virtually, it is also a voracious consumer of energy and contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. To illustrate, fast-proliferating data centres can use as much electricity as a small city.

Players in the ICT sector are certainly no laggards in playing their role to reduce the environmental impact of technology. The greening of IT is now big business with a booming market for energy-efficient computers, servers, printers, routers, and software and services aimed at consolidating multiple machines.

EPEAT and Energy Star are eco labels that some of the players have adopted to help buyers identify green products. Some companies even create labels for greater impact.

If done right, a McKinsey report says green IT could help eliminate 7.8 metric gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually by 2020, which is equivalent to 15 per cent of global emissions today.

But green IT deployment needs some encouragement and persuasion to take off. This is because users need to be convinced of the benefits – both from the environmental point of view and in terms of benefits that can be gained as a country, enterprise or even a consumer. And various entities have taken some initiatives to do just that.

For example, the Green Grid, a global consortium of IT firms, has proposed “miles per gallon” type standardised metrics that allow firms to compare the efficiency of competing servers, storage systems and networking equipment. The European Commission has issued a set of efficiency benchmarks to guide IT managers as they build new data facilities or upgrade existing ones. And countries such as Australia and US have some form of green policy involving ICT.

But it is disheartening to note that the move towards green IT is mostly seen in industrialised countries where ICT usage has advanced to a mature stage.

As observed by ICT market analyst IDC, the concept of green IT has yet to go big in developing countries such as Malaysia where first-time ICT deployment is still happening in certain areas. Surely, going green straight away will make all the difference in energy savings and climate control.

IDC has noted that government legislation is key in pushing green IT, as seen in the move by the EC. Of course, awareness and education need to be raised to help organisations understand the magnitude of the problem and take the proper measures.

Climate changes and other environmental issues are global issues, so they affect everyone. The ICT industry has begun to put its house in order to make a difference. It’s time for the rest of us to do our part.