Chapter 2.
Actors of innovation in Green IT
In this chapter I introduce the various drivers in Green IT. After starting by defining
Green IT in terms of ecological, economic and societal aspects, I present a survey analysis
that was produced during my PhD. This survey helped us to define the relevant actors of
technology transfer in the domain of Green IT. Their main characteristics are defined and the
difference in their approaches to Green IT is analysed. This chapter continues with different
kinds of cooperation the actors can set up.
2.1. Definition of Green IT
Numerous definitions of Green IT have been proposed in the scientific and public
press. Each of these definitions is taking different aspects into account and is more or less
general. Some of them are focused on server centres, some will include the screens, the
printers, the IP phones while others will concentrate on the core computers. Some will limit
their definition to the usage of IT and energy management some will include economic
thoughts as well.
Already, Lorenz Hilty [7] has given a definition of the life cycle. There is the use
phase, the production, and the end of life. Green IT can apply to every phase, decreasing the
ecological damages. In this definition of Green IT, the real costs for production are missing.
Real costs, hence operating costs are very difficult to associate with one product. They
include fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs stay the same regardless the number of products
(e.g. overhead); variable costs can vary according to the number of products produced (e.g.
material). To include real costs in a life cycle each single product would have to be studied,
therefore a simplification is suitable in order to raise awareness.
Also the “costs” for the environment, which we all have to pay, are not taken into
account, e.g. the water consumption for raw material production. These costs will be paid – in
reality – only by the producing countries, requiring us to take a closer look at the people
producing servers/components and the people living in these areas.
San Murugesan defines in [8] the field of green computing, which might be seen as
Green IT, as "the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of
computers, servers, and associated subsystems — such as monitors, printers, storage devices,
and networking and communications systems — efficiently and effectively with minimal or
no impact on the environment”.
Green by IT (also: Green through IT) covers the support of sustainable development
by means of ICT. This includes for example software that reduces environmental problems
through optimization. Green IT (also: Green in IT) denotes actions through which ICT itself
could become more sustainable. This concerns hardware and software, where the hardware
part is common knowledge. [9]
In [10] Esfahani proposes a literature review on Green IT and Green Information
Systems (Green IS). He noted that “Information technologies can affect the natural
environment through two broad categories named as first order and second order effects [11].
The first order refers to the negative impact of IT production, use, and disposal on the
environment. This perspective considers IT as part of the problem [11], [12]. So, making IT
production, use, and disposal more environmental friendly and greener is referred to as Green
IT [12], [11], [13], [13]. The second order effect refers to the positive impact of IT on the
environment, which
considers IT as part of the solution. Hence, utilizing IT to make business
processes and activities greener is known as IT for green or Green IT ». [14],
[12], [15], [16].
The term Green IT “denotes all activities and efforts incorporating
ecologically-friendly technologies and processes into the entire lifecycle of
information and communication technology” [17].
Green computing or Green ICT refers to environmentally sustainable
computing or ICT. A holistic view, greening ICT is not just about reducing
direct power consumption. [11]
All the definitions are representing various ideas about Green IT and
one reason might be that IT is in general a rather young topic, and Green IT is
even younger. 50 years ago the number of information technologies was that
low that the impact on the environment was insignificant. The impact of IT on
the environment during the last 5 decades increased due to the growth of IT
related devices. The interests of providers and the demand of users are
changing dynamically and accordingly. Taking the example of the rising
electricity costs, it is obvious that companies understood this impact and
started setting up counter measures. These measures addressed energy
reduction to reduce costs. This action - together with other actions related to
the reduction of energy consumption in the field of IT- , were summed up
under the name of Green IT. In the last years, more companies, citizens, and
governments were considering Green IT leading to the fact that there is no
final definition of Green IT under such changing interests. Following the work
of others, I believe that three main reasons drive the interests for Green IT and
its development: ecology, economy, and society.