138 Green Computing

Module -2: Green Assets and Modeling

Notes

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Structure:

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2.2 Green Assets
2.1.1 Basic Concept of Green Assets
2.1.2 Green Building and Facility Management

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2.1.3 Green IT Hardware
2.1.4 Green Data Centers
2.1.5 Data Center Building—Design, Layout, and Location
2.1.6 Data Strategy and the Carbon Emitting Bit

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2.1.7 Data Servers Virtualization
2.1.8 Cloud Computing and Data Centers
2.1.9 Smart Meters in Real Time

2.2 ers
2.1.10 Managing Devices for Central Green Services
Green Business Process Management
2.2.1 Green Processes: Individual, Organizational, and Collaborative
2.2.2 Green BPM and Standards
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2.2.3 Green IT Governance
2.2.4 Green Business Processes—Incremental Complexity
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2.2.5 Green Business Applications

2.2.6 Modeling Green Business Processes (UML, BPMN)
2.2.7 Green Mobile Business Process
2.3 Green Enterprise Architecture
2.3.1 Views of Green Enterprise Architecture
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2.3.2 Green Enterprise Architecture: Concept

2.3.3 Green IT and Organizational Systems
2.3.4 Green Portals in Green Enterprise Architecture
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2.3.5 Aspects of Green Solutions Architecture

2.3.6 An Example of Green Enterprise Architecture
2.4 Green Information Systems
2.4.1 Basic Concept of Green Informaion System
2.4.2 Phases in a GIS Development and Deployment
(c)

2.4.3 Features of GIS

2.4.4 Modeling a GIS Architecture

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 Green Computing 139

Unit -2.1: Green Assets

Notes

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Objectives:

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At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

●● Understand basic concept of green assets.

●● Learn about green building and facility management.

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●● Comprehend green IT hardware.
●● Analyze green data centers.
●● Evaluate data center building—design, layout, and location.
●● Learn about data strategy and the carbon emitting bit.

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●● Understand data servers virtualization.
●● Learn about cloud computing and data centers.
●● Comprehend smart meters in real time.
●● Analyze managing devices for central green services.

Introduction ers
When the soil disappears, the soul disappears.

- Ymber Delecto
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This chapter examines an organization’s assets from the standpoint of their impact
on the organization’s overall carbon contribution. While these assets have been divided
into tangible and intangible assets for accounting purposes, they should be divided into
two groups in terms of carbon: the organization’s static, infrastructural assets (e.g., the
data centre) and its non-static assets (which are mobile, such as a laptop computer).
(c)

From their acquisition and installation until their disposal, these assets have an impact
on the organization’s carbon footprint. Eventually, smart carbon management of these
assets leads to smaller carbon footprints that may be traded, exchanged, and used
to boost the value of the company, its products, and services. This chapter discusses

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 140 Green Computing

asset management strategies that reduce carbon emissions by being environmentally

Notes conscientious, such as asset maintenance and replacement, computer virtualization,

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and ethically right electronic waste disposal.

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An organization’s static, infrastructure part necessitates separate, special care.
The company’s long-term policies in terms of infrastructure asset ownership, design,
procurement, operation, and disposal all have an impact on its carbon footprint. This
is because infrastructure has a single-point decision-making point at the time of

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procurement and/or construction. After the initial decision-making process is completed
and an asset is purchased, the only method to reduce its carbon footprint is to optimize
its functioning. While a static, structural asset is acquired or created, however, the
upfront decisions have a far longer and strategic impact on the organization’s overall
carbon footprint than when that asset is in service. As a result, procurement and
construction methods become increasingly important in debates on Green IT.

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Similarly, when an asset is sold, particular attention is required. It is so because
after it is withdrawn from an organization’s asset register, it may no longer produce the
carbon emissions it did while in service. It may give the impression that the asset is no
longer the responsibility of the business. Has that electronic (usually computer) item,
on the other hand, been ethically disposed of? Is lead or cadmium from a desktop box

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or laptop battery leaking into a community’s water supply? What method is being used
to dismantle it? Electronic trash disposal can be more expensive in a wealthy country
(some estimates range from 10 to 20 times) than in a developing country, owing to
the availability of cheap labor and less severe regulations. . These costs need to be
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factored in the overall green strategies of the organization. Ā is chapter delves deeper
into these organizational practices associated with the assets and infrastructure of the
organization.
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The strategies and practices of a green organization mentioned in the previous

two chapters must be translated into practise in terms of how it procures, uses, and
then disposes of these electronic assets. This chapter explains how to establish and
implement certain practices. For instance, this chapter expands on the concepts of
green data centre strategies and their execution. In practise, these principles apply
not just to the servers and their placement within the physical data centre, but also to
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the influence of one additional bit of storage on the data center’s overall design and
management.

This technique includes mapping a bit to the overheads. It produces in the data
center, as well as educating and training personnel on how to use databases. Following
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that, there is a discussion in this chapter about mobile devices and smart meters, which
play an important role in detecting and monitoring overall carbon emissions. The usage
of smart carbon measurement equipment can simplify and automate the calculations
and reporting of the organization’s carbon performance. Finally, the role of networks
and connected devices in sustainability is emphasized in this chapter.

An organization’s carbon footprint is much more than its carbon emissions.

Aside from emissions generated during the operation of its assets, an organization’s
(c)

carbon footprint is directly influenced by its asset acquisition and disposal policies
and practices. Fifty-three percent of survey respondents agreed that a comprehensive
lifecycle assessment of energy-consuming assets is necessary (40 percent agreed and

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 Green Computing 141

13 percent strongly agreed). It will be difficult to begin implementing Green IT without

such an assessment and inventory list. Notes

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Take a look at the figures below, which is based on Trivedi and Unhelkar’s (2010)

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study. This graph depicts the relative importance of several organizational practices,
most notably those related to the organization’s assets, as accepted across the board.
While these practices were described in the previous chapter, this chapter places
a greater emphasis on the green practices related to the organization’s static and

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mobile assets. These practices range from reducing the usage of peripherals and their
consumables such as paper, ink, or toners to procedures linked with the acquisition
and operation of high-power computing equipment, such as data servers, housed in
the organization’s data centers, as depicted in Figure. For most of these assets and
hardware-related elements contributing to carbon emissions, Figure below regularly
ranks high on the “agree” choice (40 percent–45 percent). Most respondents gave
“yes” to “very agree” scores to encouraging product innovation and environmentally

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conscious design, reviewing the lifecycle evaluation of energy-consuming equipment,
and optimizing the overall operations of the assets. In Figure below, efficient equipment
operation through training, lifecycle assessments, and proper maintenance has a
combined score of more than 75% for “agree” and “strongly agree.”
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Green organizational-wide practices with emphasis on assets

2.1.1 Basic Concept of Green Assets

(c)

Green assets and infrastructure are an important aspect of the organization’s

long-term strategy for reducing carbon emissions. On the left, examples of enterprise
infrastructure assets (both movable and immovable) are depicted. The three key

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 142 Green Computing

phases or activities related with the lifecycle of these assets are illustrated on the right
Notes side of Figure below: how they are established or procured, how they are operated

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or run, and finally the strategies for their disposal or demolishment. Table following
summarizes these assets, which include the building, data centre, devices, and

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vehicles. Each of these three key infrastructure-related operations has the following
carbon consequences:

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Green assets need to be organized in an efficient way throughout their lifecycle
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●● Establish (Procure) is concerned with the asset’s environmental credentials in

terms of its design and development. It is a one-time decision-making procedure
that determines the carbon efficiency of a particular asset. Consider the initial
design of a car engine or a mobile phone, both of which are carbon efficient.
When a company purchases an asset, it is a one-time factor. Similarly, the one-
off component that comes into play in the case of buildings is its architecture and
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design, as shown in Table below.

●● Operate (Run): The method in which the asset is operated has an impact on the
organization’s total carbon contribution. The duration of asset operation, such as
operating a vehicle for ten years or a mobile phone for two years, has an impact
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on the asset’s overall emissions over its lifetime. The asset’s user is responsible
for running (using) it in a manner that reduces its carbon footprint. This is a
continuous, everyday decision-making process for us.
●● Dispose (Demolish): This is the asset’s final phase, and it has an impact on an
organization’s entire carbon footprint. This effect is caused by the organization’s
decision to sell or demolish the asset. This is also a one-time decision with long-
term consequences for the ecosystem. For example, ethical disposal of desktop
(c)

and laptop computers is a hot topic for debate and action, especially in medium to
big enterprises, where policies may govern the asset’s end of use rather than its
actual dysfunction. As a result, procedures for recycling assets that have passed

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 Green Computing 143

their “use by” date for the organization should be reviewed and updated to ensure
that the assets are disposed of responsibly and with minimal environmental Notes

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damage. Such policy changes will also make it easier to reuse and recycle items
before they are eventually disposed of.

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Types of Assets (Categories) and Their Impact on the Environment

Type of Assets Impact on Environment

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Buildings and Long-term impact as major environmental considerations
Facilities (e.g., offices, should be during architecture and construction. Purpose
meeting rooms, of buildings, people movements, geographical locations
training centers, (weather), and durability of the building impact their overall
social rooms, sports carbon contribution.
facilities) Examples of one-off decision making in design include the

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materials used in the construction, the extent to which the
building is facing the sun, the wind directions, and the way
in which these natural light and natural cooling are put
together to reduce energy consumption.

Data Center (as

separate, dedicated
buildings to house
servers)
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This is a special purpose building to house data servers.
In addition to the standard building considerations, the
ratio between power usage by the servers versus the rest
of the power is a popular environmental consideration.
CRAC (Computer Room Air Conditioning) is a discipline
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in its own right that separates the cooling of the servers
from the air conditioning required in rest of the building.
Thus, building technologies together with data server
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technologies are put to use here to reduce carbon.

Devices (e.g., laptop, Design, development, procurement, operation, and usage

mobiles) of devices is considered here. Example of this includes
low-power consuming design for laptops and mobile
devices, efficient batteries for them, carbon-conscious
electronic chip design, biodegradability of materials used,
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and soon. Apart from the operational carbon generated bv

these devices, their disposal itself is an important issue.

Vehicles (e.g., cars, Direct fuel emissions, pollution level of the type of
trucks, corporate fuel, design of the engines, and so on. Procurement,
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vans, and buses) operations and disposal activities apply to vehicles used
by the organization. These vehicles produce the Scope
1 emissions. Fleet maintenance systems need to be
updated with carbon calculations. The kind of vehicle,
its design, how long it will be operated, and the method
of its disposal has to be considered. Vehicle emission
consideration is vital when considering the entire
(c)

organization. This table lists vehicles as an important

reminder. However, detailed discussion on vehicle
emissions is out of scope for this chapter.

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 144 Green Computing

The P-O-D (Procurement-Operation-Disposal) lifetime of an asset is green. The

Notes graph also shows that each phase of the P-O-D process produces carbon, which

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affects the asset’s Total Carbon Cost of Ownership (TCCO) in different ways. As
a result, assets must be evaluated not just in terms of their current costs, but also in

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terms of their TCCO. The Gartner research consultancy popularized the idea of Total
Cost of Ownership (TCO) for ICT equipment (as reported by Kirwin, 1987). TCO is
based on the total cost of ownership of equipment over its entire life cycle, not just the
purchase price. It considers things like operating costs, maintenance, and upgrades. It

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is realistic to estimate the TCO of computing equipment to be three times or more than
the original purchase price. Counting the complete carbon costs of an asset over its
lifetime, including its carbon content in manufacture, the carbon generated during its
operation, and the carbon produced in its disposal, is critical.

Many TCO calculations did not include the price of power to run the ICT equipment
until recently. This is due to low power costs and the fact that ICT departments and

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users are rarely billed separately for the electricity they utilize and have no visibility into
it (Philipson, 2010). However, when calculating TCCO, it is necessary to account for the
carbon produced as well as the expenditures associated with equipment. With smart
metering capabilities and carbon calculations throughout the life of the equipment and

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its disposal, TCCO can be enhanced. As data centre power usage rises, so does the
heat created by data centre CPUs. The power used in the cooling effort must also be
factored into TCCO (Philipson, 2010).

The Green P-O-D lifespan is developed further in the following sections of this
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chapter, and it is applied to buildings, data centres, and other electronic assets of an
organization.

2.1.2 Green Building and Facility Management

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Buildings and facilities have an impact on a long-term carbon reduction strategy.

Consider, for example, Wal-Mart’s activities in this regard, as described on Wal-Mart.
com (2009). To decrease the heat created by direct sunshine, the roofs of most of its
warehouses are painted white. The cost of painting the roof is offset by a reduction
in cooling costs, as well as a proportional reduction in carbon emissions. Walmart,
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for example, installed LED lights in their freezer facilities instead of traditional
lighting to save money and minimize carbon emissions (WalMart, 2009). In 2007, the
company also offered an in-store education programme to urge customers to replace
incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (Sanders, 2008). Similarly,
solar panels have been rumored to have been put at Google’s US headquarters. In one
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day, these solar panels, which were installed on the roofs of eight buildings and two
solar carports, generated 5,327 kilowatt-hours of electricity from the sun. In terms of
environmental credentials, Google’s offices in Darling Park, Sydney, Australia, have
the highest 6-star ratings. These infrastructure initiatives are a mix of one-off strategies
relating to building architecture and design, as well as operational strategies dealing to
the usage of the buildings and amenities.
(c)

The organization’s physical buildings and facilities make up the bulk of its non-
movable assets. While buildings are rarely a direct part of I T, they are still a major
contributor to an organization’s carbon footprint. The material of the building, its air
conditioning, and related operational factors such as lighting and ventilation all influence

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 Green Computing 145

carbon generation from buildings. Businesses’ long-term carbon emissions are

influenced by the architecture and design of the buildings they utilize. While the majority Notes

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of current Green IT attention has been focused on the operational aspects of these
facilities, the architecture and design of offices, factories, and related facilities (such as

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a sporting complex or a community room) play a critical influence in the organization’s
carbon footprint. The necessity and need to consider carbon issues up front, during
original procurement and/or construction of buildings and facilities, and then focusing
on its optimized operations is critical to a green enterprise’s holistic strategy. It requires

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the construction industry to consider factors such as the type of insulation used, water
recycling systems, and the usage of natural light when calculating the TCCO for a
certain structure. These f actors would have an effect, either directly or indirectly, on
every preceding step taken into account. For example, during the daytime, the location
of an operational room, where staff is ideally positioned, should have natural and
sufficient sunshine, reducing electricity usage. Strategic features of environmental

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asset management include the use of translucent materials for dividers, a focus on
solar charging, and the utilization of solar equipment and cells. These principles, when
applied specifically to buildings, fall under the category of green facilities management,
which has the potential to generate significant long-term savings.

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When it comes to buildings that house huge enterprises’ data centres, the
entire perspective on their carbon productions flips to becoming IT specific, in
addition to office buildings and relevant manufacturing facilities. As a result, the data
centre component of Green IT touches on both building and IT management. The
management of data centres must be explored individually due to its importance and
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impact on the organization’s overall green credentials, as it has been done later in this
chapter.
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2.1.3 Green IT Hardware

The architecture and design of IT hardware, as well as how it is acquired and
operated, are all aspects of Green IT. While operational energy consumption is
becoming more of a concern for computer manufacturers, what’s even more intriguing
is the influence that a good, energy-efficient design may have on a piece of hardware’s
overall energy consumption during its lifetime. Over the course of its lifespan, a
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purpose-built computer chip or an efficient laptop battery design may have a higher
influence on lowering carbon emissions than its function.

Rating Building Features to Environmental Factors

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Building Features Environmental fielevance Comments and Actions

Location Use of geographically specific Locating a data center in

natural resources such as cool Iceland can reduce the
weather, natural sunlight. cooling costs, effort and
corresponding carbon.

Architecture and To maximize the use of Windows facing sunlight;

(c)

design available natural resources for cross-ventilation; air and

the building. water cooling of data
centers.

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 146 Green Computing

Notes Construction Use of material (concrete, Use terracotta roof

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carpets, terracotta) to instead of concrete.
compliment the location and

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design to ensure that the
material reduces wastage and
maximizes natural resources.

Livability People friendliness of the Optimizes the way in

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(occupancy) building/ facility that has health which people use the
as well as aesthetic benefits. facilities.
A naturally Jit, cheerful
building will need less
power.

Visibility Promoting the physical building Ivy’s climbing on the

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as a place of attraction adds walls. Terrace gardens.
marketing value, as also
improved asset value.

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In the context of its Green P-O-D, the figure below outlines a range of Green IT
gear that would be of interest to an organization. These Green IT hardware elements,
as shown in Figure below, are affected in various ways by their P-O-D, as mentioned
in Table (Types of Assets). The following is a more extensive summary of an
organization’s IT hardware assets:
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●● Data servers: The actual machines and the specific premises in which they are
kept are dealt with by data servers. These servers also feature both wired and
wireless networks, as well as matching communications equipment, that emit
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carbon directly. The subject of data centres begins in the next section and
continues throughout the rest of this chapter.
●● End-user computers: laptops, desktops, their capacity, operational efficiency,
and disposal (particularly as the lifecycle of a computer is increasing shorter by
the day) must all be considered from a P-O-D perspective. While the hardware
manufacturers are responsible for the efficient design and manufacturing of these
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end-user devices, the user organization is responsible for the efficient operation
and disposal.
●● Mobile devices—the mobile gadgets and accompanying hardware (e.g., extension
cords), their batteries, including the recharging method and battery disposal, as
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well as policies and actions when the devices become obsolete (quickly). The
P-O-D of mobile devices is greatly influenced by the corresponding attitude of
their users. A perfectly functional mobile phone, for example, may be discarded
by a youthful user if it becomes out of style. As a result, a social issue plays a
significant role in the carbon behavior of these devices.
●● Peripherals: Printers, photocopiers, shredders, and other peripherals. These
electrical gadgets are extremely popular in Greenland. I T due to their large
(c)

numbers, potentially unnecessary misuse, and operational waste (such as paper,

ribbons, and ink) generated as a result, and the carbon connected with the
eventual disposal of these “rapid moving” things.

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 Green Computing 147

Notes

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Range of Green IT hardware generating carbon
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The procurement, operations, and disposal (Green P-O-D) phases of the lifecycle
affect the carbon emissions from each of these Green IT hardware groups described
above. Procurement focuses on well-designed, low-carbon emitting data servers
or monitors, purchasing them from a green supplier and packaging and delivering
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them in the most efficient way possible. For example, the energy efficiency built into
blade server design would be a one-time contribution in reducing the server’s carbon
emissions during its lifetime. The continual use of hardware in an efficient and effective
manner is referred to as operation. The end-attitude, user’s which is frequently
influenced by observable measures, plays a significant role in this. Finally, as we all
know, disposing of IT equipment necessitates careful consideration. To strengthen
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its disposal function, the I T department, like the building and facilities management
department, can focus on recycling, reuse, and “buy-back” programmes.

The Green P-O-D phases are followed according to the company’s policies.
While most respondents were concerned about the energy-saving capabilities of new
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hardware (43 percent agree, 18 percent strongly agree), it is interesting to note that the
counting and monitoring of ICT de vices from the standpoint of carbon emissions was
not happening in many firms. This response implies that the environmentally concerned
firm must embrace smart metering (described later in this chapter) as well as alter their
existing ERP systems to include carbon calculations against their IT assets.

Other responses, such as those to questions about data centre energy efficiency,
(c)

open source software, server virtualization, and replacing traditional hardware with
environmentally friendly devices, were as predicted. That is, roughly 60%–70% of
respondents agreed-to-strongly agreed with these Green IT practices, indicating a
strong desire among these professionals to move toward cost-effective computing.

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Notes

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Organizational policies and practices relating to Green IT hardware

2.1.4 Green Data Centers ers

The need for data centre capacity has been increasing around the world. As a
result, carbon emissions have been steadily rising. For example, the globe will need
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122 million servers by 2020, up from around 18 million in 2008–2009 (IBM, 2008;
Chuba, 2008). In addition to the annual increase of around 9% in server numbers, a
change in the kind of these server machines can be expected. This is because servers
will not only have to deal with more data, but they will also have to deal with more
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processing.

As previously said, data c is a major component of an organization’s overall Green

IT hardware assets. They host a set of massive computers and the organization’s
connected networks, forming the “heart” of most businesses. They store data and
information in the organization’s data warehouses, which are then housed within these
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data servers, which are then housed in the data centres. In practise, data servers can
be thought of as powerful computers with the ability to store and handle large amounts
of multiformatted data.

As a result, these data c entries are, understandably, an organization’s major

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power guzzler. This rise in demand for massive amounts of data storage, as well as
the demand for ever-faster processing, has resulted in increased carbon emissions.
Data, in its various multimedia formats, will have to be stored and made instantly
available upon request as Cloud computing progresses. Apart from business users
who must store data indefinitely to comply with legislation (such as the Sarbanes–
Oxley accounting data legislation), data consumers include school students working
on projects, doctors exchanging new techniques in treating patients, and social
users loading and watching video clips on YouTube. The demand for data storage
(c)

and processing is growing at an exponential rate. As a result, organizations that deal

primarily with content (e.g., entertainment, news) must improve the energy efficiency
of their data centres through innovative data management solutions. It entails locating

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 Green Computing 149

efficiency in the face of adversity. To keep up with quickly changing data needs, data
management solutions must be flexible. Data management that is dynamic and agile Notes

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means being able to modify, update, backup, and mirror data as organizational needs
change.

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Innovation is essential, as well as data centre operational management
that is disciplined. In the case of data centres, costs and carbon emissions are
likewise inextricably linked. The architecture, design, construction, operation, and

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decommissioning of green data centres includes the architecture, design, construction,
operation, and decommissioning of facilities specifically used to house servers. The
architecture, design, development, manufacture, procurement, installation, operation,
and disposal of data server machines and their accompanying paraphernalia—such as
monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems—all
fall under the purview of green data centres.

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Green data center influencing factors

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Figure above depicts the specific areas of a data centre that must be studied in
depth when talking about Green IT. These categories are enlarged based on the
previous discussion of an organization’s green buildings and facilities, and they must
be backed up with organizational and industrial data relating to carbon emissions from
buildings, racks of servers, and individual machines. The following are specific areas for
Green IT with relation to data centres, as depicted in Figure above:

●● Data center design, layout, and location: The data centre is housed in a physical
(c)

structure. This can be a single facility or a collection of buildings that house the
equipment but are geographically dispersed. The building’s architecture and
design (physical shape, naturally cooling and ventilation, natural light, ease of

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 150 Green Computing

access, and so on), as well as the geographical region (e.g., locating a data centre
Notes in Iceland) and the material used in construction (terracotta for roofing; painting

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the roofs white) are all important factors to consider. The size and architecture of
server rooms, as well as the location of server rooms within the data centre, can

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all contribute to carbon reduction. For example, if the server room is exactly the
right size for the server, cooling efficiency will be maximized. These purpose-built
data centre facilities have a significant impact on a company’s green efforts.
●● Cooling, air conditioning, power supply, and power consumption are all terms that

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are used interchangeably. This includes the server’s cooling procedures as well as
the actual building’s air conditioning. CRAC, as a specialized discipline, has a role
to play in this. Wherever possible, this also involves the utilization of renewable
energy sources (such as wind or solar). In addition, the impact of the physical
location of the cooling rooms that house the servers.

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●● Power management: Aspects of lighting and operation the number of workers
employed, as well as the opening and closing of doors. This would involve the
purchase and installation of environmentally friendly products (such as LED
light bulbs) as well as the utilization of environmentally friendly services. The
renewable energy source stated in the previous factor is also important in power

●●
management.
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Servers: Physical placement of the racks, their positioning (hot isle/cold isle), and
energy-efficient computing— the physical rooms in which they are placed, as well
as the architecture. Each server’s design—water cooled, air cooled, and other
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efficiency considerations—must be taken into account.
●● Data strategy: Security and backup are all part of a data strategy. Virtualization
on each server, as well as virtualization on several servers. Private cloud is
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the organization of a cluster of servers. Strategy for storing and utilizing space.
Virtualization tries to pool resources to deliver data centre services by combining
otherwise unused resources. Adopting virtualization strategies and developing
round-up virtualization architectures will enable companies to achieve greater
energy efficiency. Combining virtualization software like VMware and SWsoft
with consolidation analysis software like CiRBA can help people increase server
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production while maintaining the same level of dependability and usefulness

(Ryan, 2008). For greater control and insight into capacity consumption, new
server management tools have been developed.
●● Switchgears, routers, and modems are examples of network and communications
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equipment that can be used for both wired and wireless communications. The
data center’s carbon footprint is influenced by the number and capacity of these
machines.

These aforementioned data centre factors must be discussed with their financial,
attitude, and Total Cost of Carbon Ownership impacts (TCCO). The traditional linear
relationship between cost and energy may not be sufficient to elicit behavioral change.
(c)

Despite the high cost of energy, corporations rarely organize themselves so that
the individual paying for IT equipment also pays for the energy consumed by that
equipment.

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 Green Computing 151

Costs and carbon must be distributed appropriately between business and IT. Data
centres must be at the forefront of a significant consolidation trend that will aid in the Notes

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management of existing or legacy data centres. Furthermore, it is possible to determine
and reduce overall carbon emissions from equipment by focusing on the TCCO rather

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than either initial procurement costs or merely operational efficiencies.

The relationship between DATA and DATA servers is just as important as the
relationship between servers and data centres. As a result, data centre carbon prices

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must match data storage and utilization.

Actual data storage requirements are frequently linked with additional backup
storage as well as future storage requirements, as seen on the left in Figure above
(Green data center influencing factors). As a result, there are additional overheads
associated with backup storage and provision for future storage for every new byte kept
by the data centre, which adds to the data center’s otherwise nonproductive demand.

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Various features of these green data centre influencing components are further
addressed in the following sections.

2.1.5 Data Center Building—Design, Layout, and Location

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The data centre buildings are specialized structures that house the organization’s
big processing and communications equipment. The table above lists building features
and their environmental significance. Each of these elements affecting long-term carbon
generation must be taken into account in the data center’s content.
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The difficulty in dealing with data centres from a carbon standpoint originate from
the fact that data centre buildings are built with a 15–20 year ROI in mind, yet interior
equipment, data servers, and other computing equipment are often changed every
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3–5 years. As a result, the data centre building, along with the data center’s non-ICT
infrastructure, can easily (and frequently does) cost more than the data center’s ICT
equipment. This could be due to the legacy architecture and design of the infrastructure
and facilities, which may not have kept up with the latest server technology.

“Traditionally, the power required for non-IT equipment in the data centre (such as
that for cooling, fans, pumps, and UPS systems) comprised about 60% of total yearly
ity

energy usage,” according to Gartner. In many circumstances, most corporations’

newest data centres are seven or more years old, but the oldest servers in those same
data centres are less than five years old.” As a result, there is a mismatch between the
data center’s operational efficiency over its lifetime and the data server’s cooling tactics.
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As a result, older data centres may not be prepared to efficiently power and cool the
modern IT equipment (servers).

In order to meet the data center’s carbon efficiency criteria, it will almost always
be necessary to modernize the facility. Alternatively, the data centre may need to be
relocated to a building specialized to serving the server’s demands. These mismatches
between the building and the servers it holds necessitate a review of the structure’s
architecture and layout, as well as the amount of time it has been in use. The specific
(c)

design, layout, and placement considerations for data centres are listed below.

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 152 Green Computing

●● The building’s physical (geographical) location. It takes into account the weather
Notes patterns of the geographical location (such as hot or cold), the data centre

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building’s closeness to water and air (for cooling), and the staff’s ease of access.

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●● The data centre is housed in this structure. This could be a dedicated stand-alone
facility, a purpose-built facility within a larger facility, or a retrofitted facility into
existing facilities. Whatever the situation, a number of characteristics of the built
environment, such as insulation, will have an impact on electricity consumption.

On
●● The source of power. Dedicated power sources are common in data centres, and
there are often multiple of them. Their effectiveness varies greatly. Data centres
can also generate their own power, and backup power supplies are popular in the
event of a power outage.
●● Lighting and air conditioning. Modern ICT equipment usually necessitates a
large quantity of cooling, either by air or by water. There are a slew of design and

ity
implementation concerns that have an impact on power usage. Lighting is also a
component in regulating the temperature of a room.
●● Virtualization of servers and storage. While this technique is intended to minimize
power consumption by reducing the overall number of devices, in fact, data centre

●●
ers
power consumption may increase as virtualized servers become more powerful
and consume more electricity.
New and emerging technologies are facilitated. Wireless connectivity, Cloud
computing-related communication, and other best practices should be
iv
accommodated in the data center’s design.

2.1.6 Data Strategy and the Carbon Emitting Bit

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The data strategy is inextricably linked to the data server strategy. Data strategy
refers to how data is used, stored, mirrored, secured, backed up, cleaned up, and
organized. It covers both external and internal data management approaches.
Techniques like data normalization and incremental storage are used to improve data
efficiency in relational database management systems.

Such approaches allow for the production of no redundant and flexible data
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structures that, when duplicated on a large scale, tend to conserve data storage space.
The quantity of data space needed in each “bit” of data would be affected by using the
correct data type.

The influence of a single bit on the corresponding increase in the utilization

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of storage space in the data centre is depicted in the diagram below. Every “bit”
contributes to the data center’s carbon emissions. Only that one bit is normally available
to the end-user. One more “bit” of data, on the other hand, isn’t just that. There are
numerous entities associated with data that contribute to the data center’s carbon and
data challenges. The following are the effects of one extra bit in a data centre on the
organization’s green performance:

●● Additional s pace provisioning is available for free. For example, for a frequently
(c)

utilized bit, an additional 0.7 bit (70 percent) must be set aside as “unused” space
that may be required promptly in the future.

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 Green Computing 153

●● Density and speed. Each new byte of data creates an implied need for computer
power. As a result, increasing data storage requires not only more room, but Notes

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also more computing power. In addition, faster computer rates necessitate more
computing power.

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●● Backup. Every bit requires another bit or more of space for data backup.
As a result, backup consumes not just digital space but also communication
mechanisms, as this data must typically be stored away from the main data centre.

On
●● Mirroring. A bit may require a live duplicate of another bit (and that is more than
a backup). For mission-critical systems with security and safety concerns, this
live mirror copy would be required. Every data bit added in such systems has
significantly greater overheads than bits in noncritical systems.
●● Reliability and quality. Every new item of data increases the amount of effort
necessary to keep the data clean. Such data purification processes are likewise

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high in carbon. As a result, improving data quality and dependability can help the
organization’s carbon performance.
●● Safety is a priority. Every additional bit necessitates the provision of access
security. The effort required to examine and validate security access and security

●●
ers
levels can be carbon intensive, and this must be taken into account as data sizes
grow.
Provisioning is a term used to describe the process of putting together each
bit necessitates the provisioning of spare capacity, which necessitates the
iv
provisioning of spare room space, personnel, and infrastructure.

“[1 bit + m b it (additional) leads to → 1.m bit × n watts (direct energy need) →
leads to nxp watts (support energy-infrastructure) influences → People (attitude)]”
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The above calculation aims to summarize the influence of one additional bit on
the organization’s overall energy consumption. Provisioning requires an additional m
fraction of additional bit for each bit, as illustrated in the equation. This m percentage
may be more than 1.0 in mission-critical, security, or defence applications. As a result,
every bit has a power requirement, as well as a demand for supporting infrastructure.
The bit eventually continues to influence and is influenced by people’s attitudes (leading
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in the necessity for training and education).

In addition to the data server tactics covered thus far, intelligent IT governance
is required to enable incremental gains in data centre performance. IT governance,
with a focus on data centres, aids in the management of the total number of servers,
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their lifecycles, and the underlying server virtualization technologies. COBIT, ITIL,
CMMI, and Six Sigma are examples of governance frameworks that could be used to
improve server performance. Take, for instance, the implementation of ITIL. Hardware
procurement takes a long time in organizations that follow the ITIL standard (usually
a government department). Data centre directors can provision, acquire, and install
servers to avoid these issues. These servers would be prepared in advance, with the
necessary configuration and operating systems in place. This can result in excessive
(c)

and wasteful server uptime, as well as carbon emissions. ITIL, on the other hand,
can lessen the incidence of such anticipatory behavior provided it is implemented in
accordance with carbon control criteria.

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2.1.7 Data Servers Virtualization

Notes

e
Virtualization can be considered the most crucial of the many ways and solutions
explored in terms of efficient data server management. As a key strategy, data server

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virtualization entails the construction of multiple virtual servers from a single physical
server. Virtualization is well-known for its efficiency in utilizing hardware resources;
nevertheless, it also has a significant impact on lowering carbon emissions.

IBM has a $1 billion annual investment initiative that uses virtualization to

On
increase the energy efficiency of its data centres and those of its corporate customers
(IBM, 2007). Improved energy monitoring, advanced 3-D power management and
thermal modelling capabilities, better design techniques, cutting-edge virtualization
technologies, enhanced power management systems, and new energy-efficient liquid
cooling infrastructures are all goals of this data center-specific programme. These
initiatives can minimize carbon emissions by about 7,500 tonnes per year while

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simultaneously improving building (floor space) and data server (computer) use (IBM,
2007).

Data centres can condense their physical server infrastructure with virtualization
since several virtual servers can be housed on a smaller number of servers. As a

ers
result, power consumption is lowered, the number of servers is reduced, and the strain
on the data centre infrastructure is reduced. Virtualization, for example, minimizes the
requirement for data centre floor space, resulting in smaller buildings, fewer personnel
needed to run the centre, and less support jobs. Virtualization requires an operating
system that can distinguish between the underlying hardware and the software that
iv
runs on it.

The primary goal of virtualization software is to create several perspectives of

the same underlying hardware and operating system. Virtualization features are
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sometimes included into the operating system itself. Virtualization can be deployed
in a variety of methods and at various levels. Presentation virtualization (where users
have the impression of owning an application’s presentation when it is actually shared),
application virtualization (allows multiple users to use the same application), desktop
virtualization (applies server virtualization techniques to a local, desktop level), storage
virtualization (applied to databases), and network virtualization are among them (relates
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to the communications and networking equipment of the data center).

The various virtualization strategies are not mutually exclusive. Presentation

virtualization, for example, is closely related to application virtualization since it
allows users to access the presentation layer in a secure manner. The delivery of an
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application to the end-user in a virtualized environment independent from the underlying

operating system is known as application virtualization. When there are compatibility
difficulties between an application and the operating system, this method can also be
used to run several application versions.

Desktop virtualization would keep the user’s environment separate from the
hardware.
(c)

Operating systems may also provide session virtualization (as provided by Citrix) to
allow for the execution of several sessions on the same application and hardware.

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Notes

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li n
On
ity
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Data server virtualization
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2.1.8 Cloud Computing and Data Centers
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Cloud computing has a role to play in reducing carbon emissions. It must, however,
be a very well-balanced act. The cloud can assume responsibility for a company’s
carbon emissions outside of its walls. However, this does not always imply that the IT
industry has reduced its overall carbon emissions. A cloud, as a set of Internet-based
computer services, offers “a new consumption and delivery model for information
technology (IT)” (Mell and Grance, 2009). Consolidation and optimization of Cloud
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services, as a result of on-demand self-service, ubiquitous network connectivity,

location independent resource pooling, quick elasticity and provisioning, and pay-per-
use, all contribute to lowering the IT industry’s carbon footprint.

Cloud computing (Murugesan, 2011) offers enterprises significant opportunities to

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consolidate their hardware and data storage requirements. Cloud computing allows for
economies of scale that extend beyond a single data centre and a single company. This
is because Cloud computing offers the opportunity to not only consolidate service costs,
but also to shift carbon generation to a more centrally managed location where it can
be better regulated and optimised. According to Alford and Morton (2009), using Cloud
computing saves a company two-thirds of the cost of performing the identical workload
on a private, virtualized data centre.
(c)

The concept of Cloud computing is also used within businesses, particularly

in large, global corporations. This results in the organization’s applications, data
warehouses, and hardware being consolidated, resulting in a private cloud (discussed
by Velte et al., 2009). Cloud computing’s “software as a service” (SaaS) business model
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 156 Green Computing

allows organizations to use the Internet to access essential enterprise applications like
Notes customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM). As

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a result, the cloud eliminates the requirement for these apps to be hosted in a private
data centre.

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With the convergence of both hardware and software applications, there are more
chances to cut carbon emissions. Furthermore, SaaS-based application payment
structures are typically dependent on consumption, similar to the standard monthly bill

On
received for utilities such as gas or electricity. The conventional data centre planning
that accounts for contingencies can be bypassed in favor of a cloud service provider’s
overall planning. As a result, future corporate development (including mergers and
acquisitions) can be planned without resulting in an excess of data centre capacity that
would eventually be unusable. The carbon savings that occur from not having a private
data centre can be enormous.

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2.1.9 Smart Meters in Real Time
Smart metres are metres that not only automatically detect electricity use but also
provide real-time feedback to users. These smart metres allow businesses the ability

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to monitor and take rapid action to manage their power consumptions, according to us.
Households and companies can be encouraged to monitor and minimize their power
consumption by including price information and showing trends and patterns.

Smart metres can transmit data for additional analysis in addition to gathering real-
time data from equipment in use (such as PCs and monitors at work and microwaves
iv
and dryers at home). As a result, smart metres can serve as the interface for
environmental intelligence (EI) applications. EI apps can deliver actionable information
to users by computing carbon data in real time and comparing it with other data such as
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weather trends, production planning, and HR.

Polices and Practice of Green P-O-D in the Context of Devices and Peripherals

Tactical Green IT Comments and Reasoning

Activities
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Eliminate the use of The amount of energy used by a monitor with an active
active screen savers screen saver is almost the same as the one doing
useful work. Therefore, active screen savers should be
eliminated.
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Implement active power Operating systems of end-user devices should be

management controlling the switching-off of the devices when not
in use. Hibernate feature is much more useful than
standby in this case. Furthermore, standby, hibernation,
and switch-off features for end-user devices should be
automatically configurable—enabling their shutdown
without user intervention, at given times, and reducing
(c)

the overall energy consumption.

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 Green Computing 157

Central management of Many large office environments (such as banks and Notes

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machines insurance organizations) have thousands of computer
machines that can be managed centrally. At certain

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times, such as at night, these end-user machines need
not be even on standby power. Even if a fraction of these
machines are left on standby or running, they consume
power. Central management of these machines will

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enable much better handling of their on- and off-times.

Specify low-power System specifications should be optimum. Over

consumption CPUs and specifications with rich functionality on a device draws
high-efficiency power more power even if the features are not all used.
supply units (80% Similarly, power supply units with corresponding power
conversion or better) surge protection need to be specified for the power

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requirements at hand. Efficient power supply units can
go a long way in reducing energy consumption.

Consider thick versus Ensure right balance between a thick- and a thin-client
thin client carefully architecture. While a thin client is less complex than a

ers
PC and contains fewer components. However, additional
energy is required to support the greater bandwidth
necessary for connection to its server as well as to run
the server and its supporting air-conditioning equipment.
iv
Use timer switches to Peripheral devices, such as fax machines, printers,
gadgets (e.g., printers) and copiers consume power even when on standby.
Improved switch-off mechanisms including timer
switches can reduce their overall carbon footprint.
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The use of timer switches to turn off such equipment

automatically has to be a mandatory feature of these
devices.

Printer setup Setting the printer, centrally, to a default feature of draft,

duplex, and grey scale can reduce the amount of ink and
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paper used by printers. Other procedural features such

as providing only a limited number of common printers
(rather than one per desktop), counting and providing
real-time feedback to users on their paper usage, and
reducing the printing to only legal and formal documents
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can produce significant carbon savings.

Device consolidation Consolidating the total number of electronic devices

and sharing such as PCs and printers is a part of tactical/operational
strategy. Such consolidation and reduction in numbers
will reduce not only the energy consumed by the devices
but also their support and maintenance effort. For
(c)

example, shifting from a PC to laptop, using the same

laptop in the office and at home and using integrated
mobile phones can all reduce emissions.

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 158 Green Computing

Green P-O-D and the Polices and Standards on Peripherals

Notes

e
Tactical Green IT Comments and Reasoning
Activities

li n
Open source Open source systems are much better positioned to support
system software an agile organization. Changes to business processes can
(ICT) and be handled easily by the underlying applications as they are
applications not restricted to a proprietary environment. Cloud computing

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is likely to further add to the opportunities for open source
systems. Therefore, the relationship between open source
and carbon reduction is a positive one and should be
explored in the organizational policies on Green IT.

Device replacement Polices on device replacement should incorporate replacing

approach. conventional devices with environment-friendly devices. This

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replacement, however, should not be undertaken in one go—
but should be phased to coincide with the end of working life
of an equipment.

Attitude and practice Procurement, operation, and disposal of user devices are

Encourage product
ers
influenced by the attitude and practices of individuals.
Therefore, provide training to staff and support the practice of
Green IT.

This is an important consideration for manufacturers of

innovation and end-user devices. A carbon-efficient product design has
iv
environmentally tremendous opportunity to influence overall carbon reduction
conscious design over the life of the device.

Lifecycle Put together a maintenance program that also includes

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maintenance and preventative maintenance. Apply metrics to measure the

assessment emissions of a device over its entire lifecycle. This includes
calculations of the TCCO. Thus, a device that is produced
with less carbon emissions should also be measured for the
emissions it generates over its lifetime— and during disposal.

Maintain current Device inventories provide an understanding of not only the

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device inventory carbon-emitting devices that are in use, but also the ones
that are on standby or in the stores and not yet being used.
An improved understanding of the devices and their usage
can lead to a reduced inventory and corresponding reduced
carbon footprint.
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Green IT technical Apply standards such as the ISO 14001 family of standards
standards to reduce emissions.

Supporting ICT For every device within the organization, there are supporting
infrastructure infrastructure requirements. These include external cables,
routers, and repeaters. External to the organization are
the fiber optic networks, transmission towers, and related
communications infrastructures. Correlate the devices to
(c)

these external requirements. Reduction in the number of

devices can also reduce the infrastructure requirements.

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 Green Computing 159

Carbon data is also transmitted to the utility company that provides the electricity
or, more locally, to the business or householder. Smart metres can also automate the Notes

e
management of a single device or a group of devices. A smart metre, for example,
can be trusted to shut down a device when a particular amount of power has been

li n
consumed, in addition to providing real-time data on power consumption.

As a result, smart metres necessitate a supporting infrastructure that comprises

metre installation, configuration, and communication. Changes to the metre

On
configuration, activation and reading, and reporting mechanisms are all made easier
with this architecture. Smart metres, for example, can already be programmed to
generate hourly, half-hourly, or quarter-hourly readings. Increasing the frequency of
carbon data collection can help with monitoring and mitigation, but it will also add to the
infrastructure associated with the metres.

2.1.10 Managing Devices for Central Green Services

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Thousands of end-user devices, like as PCs and printers, will be present in most
large businesses (e.g., banks, airlines, and hospitals). The management of these
devices will not be left to individual users by Strategic Green IT. Instead, it’s becoming

ers
more common to manage these disparate devices through centralized green services.
The methods in which devices are employed for green services are shown in Figure
below. For example, all of the desktops or laptops in a large bank or insurance
company can be certified according to the company’s Green IT rules.
iv
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ity
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ICT devices as green enablers

This could include the deployment of software that allow for the operation of
thousands of PCs from a single server, consolidating and automating tasks such as
operating system upgrades and security management. Centralized management of a
large number of machines for an organization is expected to play a key role in reducing
an organization’s carbon footprint because it ensures consistency across all machines
(c)

in terms of power management software, low-level power settings, lower energy

configurations, and consolidated green procurement and disposal.

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To remotely monitor and administer a cluster of computers, centralized services

Notes for managing computers can make use of environmental sensors and intelligent

e
controllers. In reaction to the occurrence of an event, a wireless smart metre, for
example, can generate an alert. To mitigate the event’s impact, centralized device

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management can take appropriate action—a combination of automated response and
personal intervention.

Smaller, smarter mobile devices can also help reduce emissions significantly. This

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is because mobile devices can now support and handle asset management, marketing,
outsourcing, security and information sharing, and other location-independent corporate
collaborative operations. By allowing real-time access to the corporate system, this can
assure the performance and availability of the corporate system while also allowing for
simpler control of these smaller devices when compared to desktop computers. Mobile
de vices also reduces unnecessary human and material movement. Mobile devices,
on the other hand, may generate electronic waste due to the shorter battery life and

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the devices themselves. As a result, they should be introduced and used in a balanced
manner throughout the business.

Check your Understanding

State true or false

1.
ers
Green assets and infrastructure are an important aspect of the organization’s long-
term strategy for reducing carbon emissions.
2. Carbon data is also transmitted to the utility company that provides the electricity or,
iv
more locally, to the business or householder.
3. Smart metres are metres that not only automatically detect electricity use but also
provide real-time feedback to users.
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4. The concept of Cloud computing is also used within businesses, particularly in large,
global corporations.
5. Buildings and facilities have an impact on a long-term carbon reduction strategy.

Fill in the blanks

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1. __________ refers to how data is used, stored, mirrored, secured, backed up,
cleaned up, and organized. It covers both external and internal data management
approaches.
2. ___________ is well-known for its efficiency in utilizing hardware resources;
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nevertheless, it also has a significant impact on lowering carbon emissions.

3. __________ is the method in which the asset is operated has an impact on the
organization’s total carbon contribution. The duration of asset operation, such as
operating a vehicle for ten years or a mobile phone for two years, has an impact on
the asset’s overall emissions over its lifetime.
4. ________ allows for economies of scale that extend beyond a single data centre and
(c)

a single company.
5. _____________ is concerned with the asset’s environmental credentials in terms
of its design and development. It is a one-time decision-making procedure that
determines the carbon efficiency of a particular asset.
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 Green Computing 161

Summary
Notes

e
●● An organization’s static, infrastructure part necessitates separate, special care.
The company’s long-term policies in terms of infrastructure asset ownership,

li n
design, procurement, operation, and disposal all have an impact on its carbon
footprint.
●● The strategies and practices of a green organization mentioned in the previous
two chapters must be translated into practise in terms of how it procures, uses,

On
and then disposes of these electronic assets. This chapter explains how to
establish and implement certain practices.
●● An organization’s carbon footprint is much more than its carbon emissions. Aside
from emissions generated during the operation of its assets, an organization’s
carbon footprint is directly influenced by its asset acquisition and disposal policies
and practices.

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●● Green assets and infrastructure are an important aspect of the organization’s long-
term strategy for reducing carbon emissions.
●● The P-O-D (Procurement-Operation-Disposal) lifetime of an asset is green. The
graph also shows that each phase of the P-O-D process produces carbon, which

ers
affects the asset’s Total Carbon Cost of Ownership (TCCO) in different ways. As
a result, assets must be evaluated not just in terms of their current costs, but also
in terms of their TCCO. The Gartner research consultancy popularized the idea of
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for ICT equipment (as reported by Kirwin, 1987).
●● Buildings and facilities have an impact on a long-term carbon reduction strategy.
iv
Consider, for example, Wal-Mart’s activities in this regard, as described on Wal-
[Link] (2009). To decrease the heat created by direct sunshine, the roofs of
most of its warehouses are painted white. The cost of painting the roof is offset
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by a reduction in cooling costs, as well as a proportional reduction in carbon

emissions. Walmart, for example, installed LED lights in their freezer facilities
instead of traditional lighting to save money and minimize carbon emissions
(WalMart, 2009).
●● The need for data centre capacity has been increasing around the world. As a
result, carbon emissions have been steadily rising.
ity

●● The relationship between DATA and DATA servers is just as important as the
relationship between servers and data centres. As a result, data centre carbon
prices must match data storage and utilization.
●● Actual data storage requirements are frequently linked with additional backup
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storage as well as future storage requirements, as seen on the left in Figure above
(Green data center influencing factors). As a result, there are additional overheads
associated with backup storage and provision for future storage for every new byte
kept by the data centre, which adds to the data center’s otherwise nonproductive
demand.
●● The data strategy is inextricably linked to the data server strategy. Data strategy
refers to how data is used, stored, mirrored, secured, backed up, cleaned up, and
(c)

organized. It covers both external and internal data management approaches.

Techniques like data normalization and incremental storage are used to improve
data efficiency in relational database management systems.

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 162 Green Computing

●● Virtualization can be considered the most crucial of the many ways and solutions
Notes explored in terms of efficient data server management. As a key strategy, data

e
server virtualization entails the construction of multiple virtual servers from a single
physical server. Virtualization is well-known for its efficiency in utilizing hardware

li n
resources; nevertheless, it also has a significant impact on lowering carbon
emissions.
●● Cloud computing has a role to play in reducing carbon emissions. It must,
however, be a very well-balanced act. The cloud can assume responsibility for a

On
company’s carbon emissions outside of its walls. However, this does not always
imply that the IT industry has reduced its overall carbon emissions.
●● Smart metres are metres that not only automatically detect electricity use but
also provide real-time feedback to users. These smart metres allow businesses
the ability to monitor and take rapid action to manage their power consumptions,
according to us. Households and companies can be encouraged to monitor and

ity
minimize their power consumption by including price information and showing
trends and patterns.
●● Carbon data is also transmitted to the utility company that provides the electricity
or, more locally, to the business or householder. Smart metres can also automate

ers
the management of a single device or a group of devices. A smart metre, for
example, can be trusted to shut down a device when a particular amount of power
has been consumed, in addition to providing real-time data on power consumption.

Activity
iv
1. Identify the various Green assets for an organization.
2. Does your organization have a data center? Identify two important factors that are
affecting the carbon emissions of your data center.
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3. Update your Green IT strategy with approaches to improving data center building
based on the discussion in this chapter.
4. Apply data center strategies for carbon reduction such as server virtualization and
device optimization.
5. Identify the impact of asset management procedures on carbon reduction such as
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procurement of assets and asset disposal.

6. Incorporate smart meters in your EI implementation.
7. Incorporate green mobile in your EI implementation.
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Questions & Exercises

1. What is the impact of the data center aspect of Green IT strategies on carbon
reduction?
2. Describe how organization’s Green IT strategies could be translated into practices
in terms of procurement and disposes of assets that leads to reduction in carbon
emission?
(c)

3. How an efficient use of Green assets could lead to reduction in energy consumption?
4. Describe how the building location, design, and architecture has a direct impact on
the overall carbon generated by the organization?

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 Green Computing 163

5. List, with examples, the factors influencing Green data centers.

Notes

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6. What is just one extra “bit” for an end-user evolves into a significant overhead for the
organization. Discuss the various ways in which one bit influences the overall carbon

li n
footprint of the organization.
7. What is virtualization? What are the advantages and risks associated with
virtualization?
8. How can Cloud computing help reduce carbon emissions?

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9. What is the role of smart meters in Environmental Intelligence?
10. Discuss in detail the role of green mobile.

Glossary
1. Benchmarking: Technique for quantifying, measuring, and comparing the performance

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of an organization with the industry standard.
2. Carbon Dioxide Equivalent: Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) is the quantity of any
greenhouse gas that has the same effect on global warming as Carbon Dioxide itself
would have. In most carbon calculations, carbon dioxide (CO2) is used as a reference.
3.

4.
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Carbon Credits: Carbon credit refers to a unit (typically tonne) of carbon (or carbon
dioxide equivalent) saving that can be used, exchanged or traded.
Renewable energy: Electricity from replenishable sources such as geothermal,
hydropower, solar, and wind.
5. Environmental Intelligence (EI): An intelligent use of business tools and technologies
iv
that can lead an enterprise to a green enterprise.
6. Green networking The practice of selecting energy-efficient networking technologies
and products, and minimizing resource use.
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7. Cloud computing: A new computing or IT paradigm in which computing resources

– computing capacity, storage and applications – are delivered and consumed as a
service accessed over a network. It is easily scalable and highly flexible, and users
pay for the services they use.
8. Data strategy: it refers to how data is used, stored, mirrored, secured, backed up,
cleaned up, and organized. It covers both external and internal data management
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approaches.

References (Images/Graphs/Tables/Text)
1. Green IT Strategies and Applications using Environmental Intelligence by Bhuvan
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Unhelkar.
2. Green Information Technology: A sustainable approach by Collin Pattinson.

Further Readings
1. Gartner Research. Gartner’s Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users,
2008 and Beyond: Going Green and Self-Healing, Gartner Inc, 2008.
(c)

2. Aberdeen Group. The Product Compliance Benchmark Report: Protecting the

Environment, Protecting Profits, The Aberdeen Group, September, 2006.
3. Unhelkar, B., & Dickens, A. lessons in implementing green business strategies
with ICT, cutter it journal, vol 21, no 2, February 2008, cutter consortium, April
Amity Directorate of Distance & Online Education
 164 Green Computing

2008, 11(3), 2008.

Notes

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4. Murugesan, S. Going Green with IT: Your Responsibility Toward Environmental
Sustainability, Cutter Consortium Business-IT Strategies Executive Report, 10

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(8), August, 2007.
5. Philipson, G. Green IT and Sustainability in Australia 2009 – Attitudes, Plans
and Actions, A white paper by Connection Research, 2009.
6. Barnes, R., 2006. Evaluating Risk Appetite: A Fundamental Process of

On
Enterprise Risk Management. Standard and Poor’s.
7. Bhardwaj, A., Kumar, V., 2011. Cloud security assessment and identity
management. In: IEEE Proceedings of 14th international Conference on
Computer and Information Technology.
8. Carroll, M., der Merwe, A.V., Kotze, P., 2011. Secure cloud computing. In:
Information Security South Africa (ISSA), Johannesburg, August 15–17, 2011,

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pp. 1–9.
9. Chorafas, D.N., 2011. Cloud Computing Strategies. CRC Press, Boca Raton,
FL. Cloud security alliance, 2009. Security Guidance for Critical Areas of Focus
in Cloud Computing.

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10. Cloud Security Alliance, 2010. Top Threats to Cloud Computing V1.0. Twenty
Critical Security Controls for Effective Cyber Defense: Consensus Audit
Guidelines (CAG),
11. Federal Information Processing Standards Publication, FIPS PUB 199:
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Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information
Systems.
12. Chuba, M. (2008). Gartner Survey Suggests Extensive Data Center Expansion
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Plans Are on the Horizon. Stamford, CT: Gartner.

Check your Understanding – Answers

State true or false

1. True
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2. True
3. True
4. True
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5. True

Fill in the blanks

1. Data strategy
2. Virtualization
3. Operate (Run)
(c)

4. Cloud computing
5. Establish (Procure)

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 Green Computing 165

Unit -2.2: Green Business Process Management

Notes

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Objectives:

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At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

●● Understand basic concept green processes: individual, organizational, and

collaborative.

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●● Learn about green BPM and standards.
●● Comprehend green IT governance.
●● Analyze green business processes—incremental complexity.
●● Evaluate green business applications.

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●● Learn about modeling green business processes (UML, BPMN).
●● Understand green mobile business process.

Introduction

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Just understand the natural way of things, and do not go against nature, because
going against nature creates all sorts of problems. - Master Osho
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Am
(c)

Green business process management (Green BPM) is concerned with the

total management of an organization’s internal and external processes from a green
standpoint. BPM is a well-known industry practice that includes business process

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 166 Green Computing

modelling, reengineering, and optimization, as well as business process measurement,

Notes merging, and elimination. This chapter expands on and focuses on the process

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aspects of an organization to outline ways in which transformation can occur. Chapter
3 (3.1.6 Green IT Business Dimensions) previously highlighted the four dimensions

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of green transformation (technology, people, processes, and economic aspects of
the organization), and this chapter extends and focuses on the process aspects of
an organization to outline ways in which transformation can occur. The discussion in
this chapter is based on the assumption that if a company changes how it does things

On
because it is good for business, it can save a lot of carbon. The carbon savings from
the other aforementioned dimensions are not discounted by such a hypothesis. A
greening effort is largely reliant on activities, tasks, their sequencing, and their utility to
company goals, similar to the Lean approach to business optimization.

Green business processes are defined as business processes that are necessary,
efficient, effective, agile, and measurable in the context of a company. Table below

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summarizes the process qualities that are important in creating a good process.

In this chapter, processes and their aforementioned characteristics are investigated

in greater detail. A process must be defined and understood in order to undertake his
investigation and follow it with a green process of information. A process, in this sense,

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can be defined as the “how” things are done within and by an organization. As a result,
processes are the “how” part of an organization’s operations. These processes include
the manner in which a machine is operated, the manner in which a customer is served,
the manner in which human relations are administered, and the manner in which a
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company conducts sales and marketing activities. Other instances of an organization’s
“how” are how a customer withdraws cash from a bank, a traveler purchases an
airline ticket, and a patient is admitted to a hospital. These are common instances of
business processes that are extremely complicated and linked with other processes,
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technologies, and people in reality. As a result, modelling and examining them in depth
reveals priceless potential to reduce the organization’s overall carbon emissions. In
the green process optimization exercise, processes are tested for their requirement
in the first place, then improved for efficiency, then made more efficient and agile,
and last quantified to determine their carbon contribution. During a green enterprise
transformation, this type of process investigation leads to several chances to improve
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and optimize operations.

It’s worth noting that focusing on carbon reduction from a process standpoint
indicates that this effort would be autonomous in some ways from changes to the
organization’s hardware and applications. While technological and personnel changes
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are unavoidable in a comprehensive enterprise transformation, it is critical to note that

significant benefits can be realized just by changing the way things are done in the
business.
(c)

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 Green Computing 167

Basic Process Characteristics and Corresponding Green Connotation

Notes

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Process Description (Lean Careen Business Connotations
Characteristic Business)

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Necessary Challenges the need (or the Eliminating an unnecessary
process. in (he first plate. process (not involving in value
There is no point in making creation) will also eliminate its
a process efficient and carbon contribution.

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effective if it is not creating
business value.

Efficient Models the process to study Aims to reduce the carbon

its various activities/tasks. generation within the process by
Challenges, automates, and optimizing and/or eliminating the
merges activities to ensure activities/tasks within the process.

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they are performed with the Technology is used by being
best tools, technologies, and embedded in the process.
people.

Effective Ensure that the process is Substantial wasteful cur bun is

actually achieving the goals
it is mean! to achieve. A
process that is otherwise
efficient and agile, but
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gene rated by a p recess that
is not effective—as it does not
achieve business goals. Also, a
process that is repeated more
does not achieve business than once in order to produce
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goals is not considered as the desired effect is a carbon-
effective. inefficient process.
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Agile Deals with the ability of An agile process will change

the process to change easily and effortlessly in response
itself in response to (or in to changing external situation.
anticipation of) external and The agile virtue also renders the
internal changes affecting process green, as it can change
the organization. Deals with minimum carbon generation.
with the dynamicity of the
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process.

Measurable Enables monitoring, control, In addition to the standard

and ascertaining the process measures, such as
success of its optimization. cost, time, and quality, now
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Ongoing management of the “carbo n content” of a

process performance is also process is measured. This helps
supported. in identifying the slack and
optimizing it.

For example, in the cash withdrawal procedure, efficiency can be accomplished

from a carbon standpoint by not printing a physical receipt; or by using operations
(c)

research methods to reduce the time spent in line for a physical cash withdrawal. While
process reengineering and associated process management have been a component
of company strategies for more than two decades, that knowledge and expertise is
applied to organizational processes from a green viewpoint in this chapter. This chapter

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 168 Green Computing

expands on the concepts of BPM to become a Green BPM, a lean business process to
Notes become a lean-green business process, and BPR to become a Green BPR.

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2.2.1 Green Processes: Individual, Organizational, and Collaborative
Individual, organizational, and collaborative reengineering of business processes
is required to reduce their carbon content. As the business advances from individual
processes to departmental and organizational-level processes, these levels become

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increasingly strategic, requiring more time and effort.

Collaborative processes cut across various organizations and systems, making

reengineering them in the perspective of carbon reduction even more difficult.

The diagram below depicts the various levels of processes within an organization,
as well as the actors who play those roles. Individual, organizational, and collaborative

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processes all need to be carefully evaluated throughout GPR. Changes might be
tactical (with immediate effects) or strategic (with long-term effects). Individual
procedures, in general, are tactical and deliver immediate victories, such as people
turning off their computers when they are not in use. Changes in collaborative
processes have a ten-year impact on the liver’s long-term outcomes. Modeling and

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optimizing collaborative processes takes more time and effort, as well as involving more
people and systems.

It is necessary to comprehend and relate the organization’s core functions as

well as peripheral activities to the carbon contents. The hazards of modelling and
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optimizing core operations from a carbon standpoint are higher than those of peripheral
processes. A hospital, for example, has a core expertise in treating patients. A hospital
is frequently paired with pharmacies for drug distribution and pathology laboratories
for patient testing. These pharmacy and pathology processes work in tandem with
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the fundamental activities that deal with patient treatment. From a carbon standpoint,
the core and peripheral or supporting processes must be modelled, measured, and
optimized. A hospital, for example, cannot afford to change its patient-related core
procedures, even if they are carbon-intensive, if they put the patient at risk. As a result,
before every stage in the process is changed or abolished, it must be thoroughly
investigated.
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The table below highlights these processes and outlines the major aspects to
consider while dealing with the carbon aspect of them. Processes can vary greatly
in terms of importance, technology support, and the end-goals they achieve for the
company. Processes should ideally be identified and modelled from beginning to
Am

end. In fact, layers inside processes will exist, especially in large firms, leading to the
concept of composite processes—processes having sub processes and sub processes
including activities.

Furthermore, Green BPR must address the business rules built inside the
business processes. For example, regardless of the carbon content, existing business
procedures related with, say, a cash withdrawal process that requires two pieces of
(c)

identification must be followed. Modeling, researching, and modifying the actions of

the process might improve the way the rule is implemented (for example, matching
signatures with stored electronic signatures or validating pin-codes).

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 Green Computing 169

Notes

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On
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reengineering.
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Individual, organizational, and collaborative green processes and their

During a Green BPR exercise, all of these business processes must be carefully
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evaluated at the individual, organizational, and collaborative levels within the
organization. These processes are listed, ranked (prioritized), modelled, optimized, and
either kept or deleted during this e valuation. These procedures are depicted on the
right in Figure above, since they apply to all processes in the company. These phases
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can be further explained in terms of Green BPR as follows:

●● Listing: All procedures inside an organization are listed. This is a preliminary list
that will be refined as the green transformation project progresses. Based on
major operations of the company such as manufacturing, inventory, supply chain,
customer relations, finance, and HR, a list can be developed based on the value
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generation of the business and categorized into primary, secondary, or supporting

processes. Levels can be assigned to each collection of processes, such as end-
to-end processes, sub processes, activities, and tasks. Each process in the list can
have a description of what it does or which organizational goal it helps to achieve.
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●● Ranking: The carbon criteria can be used to rank the processes contained inside
the process list. While traditional BPM exercises evaluate processes based on
variables such as cost and effectiveness, Green BPM ranks processes based on the
amount of predicted carbon they produce. While this estimate may seem shaky at
first, as the firm moves forward with its Green BPM project, it can readily reevaluate
its carbon estimations. This rating is intended to help people understand which
processes should be given top priority in terms of green reengineering.
(c)

●● Modeling—accurate modelling of processes is required for process reengineering.

If a company has already completed a BPM exercise, it should have access
to process models for all major processes. If this is not the case, the green
transformation project can begin by modelling the processes that scored highly in

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 170 Green Computing

the previous step. Process modelling is a broad topic in and of itself; nevertheless,
Notes it has been explored here in the context of Green BPR. U ML (especially in its

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use cases and activity graphs), user stories, BPMN (business process modelling
notation), and I DEF (Integration Definition) are all well-known methodologies

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for process modelling. For process modelling, any of these techniques, or a
combination of them, can be utilized.
●● Optimizing: This step is about optimizing, the study of the processes that are
modeled from their carbon effect. As a result, each activity in the process model

On
can be investigated, and the carbon generated within each activity may be
calculated. However, that activity can be modified to decrease carbon emissions,
supported by technologies and systems to further reduce emissions, or removed
if it is deemed superfluous. Process optimization is a critical component of the
Green BPM exercise, and it must be done in conjunction with other aspects of the
company.

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●● Retaining—processes that have been studied and optimized will contribute
less carbon to the atmosphere. These are the processes that can be kept and
optimized on a constant basis. These procedures will also be the organization’s
essential business processes, which must be maintained to the highest standard

●●
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feasible. As a result, the rankings for processes that must be retained will be high,
and the optimization process will be iterated two to three times.
Removing—the BPM exercise will also discover processes that are redundant/
duplicated, or are so inefficient in terms of carbon that they must be replaced.
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These are the business procedures that will be phased out of the system. Before
any processes are deleted, the impact of their removal must be assessed across
all other dimensions. In practice, it is also revealed that some activities, usually
manual procedures, which were carried out without the full knowledge of the rest
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of the company will be removed. However, because they lack suitable process
models and accompanying technologies, informal processes are the most difficult
to eradicate.

Green Process Categories and Their Carbon Impact

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Green Process Key Factors That Comments

Categories influence Carbon

Individual Attitude, Training Personalized processes are influenced

by attitude and training. Motivation of the
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individual may be based on personal value

system, personal reward, and growth.

Organizational Policies, Rules, KPIs Dynamic creation and management of

business rules that optimize processes.
Metrics are crucial to demon-strate the ROI
on investment for green enterprise.

Collaborative Portals, Forums, Collaborative processes transcending

(c)

Standards organizational boundaries. Portals

containing green knowledge, regulations
across regions.

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 Green Computing 171

2.2.2 Green BPM and Standards

Notes

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BPR entailed reorganizing the business along process lines with the help of
technology in order to improve business performance several times. Green BPR use

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the same BPR techniques to investigate the prospect of lowering the organization’s
carbon footprint by multiples. This multiple carbon reduction will be accomplished
not just by improving existing operations, but also by establishing a new business
architecture that may not require all of the existing activities. GPR may make

On
significantly more effective and efficient use of organizational resources by reviewing
business rules, using systems and apps, and inviting customers to participate in this
project. With Internet-based procedures, for example, not only may queuing times in a
line be decreased, but waits can also be eliminated, lowering the overall carbon content
of the operations and the organization’s footprint.

Green BPM can be done in a variety of ways and with a variety of tools and

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methodologies. BPR innovation is a synergy of business process thinking and the tools
and techniques that go with it. Inn ovation, Ken Orr (2007) described the concepts
and strategies involved in business process thinking, including the major strands of
business process thinking. This debate also includes technical techniques that are
closely related to BPM, such as service oriented architecture (SOA). The relationship

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between SOA and BPM becomes increasingly important in the green enterprise space
since changes to processes to make them green cannot be accomplished without the
information and enterprise architecture. In their Cutter article, Michael K. Guttman
and John H. Parodi also highlight the potential confluence of the BPM, SOA, and
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MDA models. Convergence not only leads to efficiency and effectiveness, but also to
business success. Because each of these traits is significant from a green standpoint,
they serve as justifications for Green BPM/Green SOA. Green BPM continues to
be a subset of Green BPR. Excellence in Green BPM is built on an organization’s
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understanding and execution of reengineering and process management concepts, with

an emphasis on carbon reduction and cost reduction.

The key to putting Green BPM into reality is to look at the organization as a
whole, including its people, processes, and technologies. The diagram below depicts
several characteristics or layers of an organization, each of which has its own set
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of procedures. The end-user can be seen using the device, which is coupled to a
presentation process.

The business or system level processes then support this.

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Applications, corresponding data warehouses, and eventually technical

infrastructure such as data servers and communications networks support business
processes. During the Green BPM effort, each of these technologies and people
involved in the processes are affected. Because a comprehensive Green BPM
combines technology-enabled but business-driven process management, this is the
case. Another key feature of Green BPM is the application and usage of standards for
process improvement, governance, and even project management, as shown in Figure
below. The following are the key features of using these standards in Green BPM:
(c)

●● TQM, Kaizen, and Six Sigma are all methods for optimizing and improving
business processes. As a result, product quality will improve, and
organizational performance will improve. The business efficiency measures

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 172 Green Computing

developed as a result of these quality management methodologies can also

Notes be used to improve the organization’s carbon credentials.

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●● As a result of increased production capacity, efficient business processes

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may also provide the potential to produce a larger amount of goods. However,
caution must be exercised to ensure that increased production does not
jeopardize the process’s environmental credentials.
●● Process reengineering allows for the customization and personalization of

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products to meet the needs of customers. Again, caution must be exercised
to ensure that personalization does not result in the addition of carbon to the
process.
●● The internal organizational structure is also optimized as a result of process
reengineering. It entails relocating and repositioning individuals.
●● The consumer can now effectively create his or her own product and service

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that is tailored to a specific need thanks to communications and IT; dynamic
development of products and services is the outcome of Internet-based
communications, which must be considered into the Green BPM.
●● Knowledge management allows you to keep track of customer references,

●●
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and it can now be used to manage customer preferences and process
performance.
Integration of underlying applications and systems facilitates process
integration. Customers have a lot of options when it comes to meeting their
specific demands thanks to integrated processes. Simultaneously, such
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integration opens up possibilities for overall carbon reduction.
●● Outsourced processes are another example of the possibility of reducing
overall carbon emissions. Outsourcing vendors’ processes are frequently
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tuned for a specific purpose (Unhelkar, 2008), which results in carbon

efficiency.
●● Knowledge of the customer, suppliers, and manufacturing process can be
leveraged to strategically structure the organization’s manufacturing, call
centre assistance, and other assets to achieve maximum green potential.
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(c)

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 Green Computing 173

Notes

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On
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Applying business, governance, and project management standards to green
business processes.

Green BPM makes it possible to leverage user-driven processes to reduce

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the organization’s overall carbon footprint. Is influence is based on consumer input
and criticism about business procedures. Customers are eager to provide input into
business operations that will assist the company improve its green credentials if given
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the opportunity.

Customers should not be regarded “external stakeholders” throughout the

reengineering of business processes toward green processes, but rather welcomed to
participate in the modelling, optimization, and management of the processes. From a
green standpoint, the following are some of the most essential aspects in customer-
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driven reengineering:

●● Establishing constant communication with clients in terms of their specific

requirements. Customers’ needs can be identified in advance, allowing
for more efficient and effective provisioning, decreasing the carbon costs
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associated with unplanned provisioning of customer requirements.

●● Creating and measuring customer focus groups that can then participate in
green strategy planning sessions and green policy creation. It can be done
both in person and over the internet. An online cooperation that results in an
asynchronous discussion group can provide important insight into present and
future customer green expectations.
●● Customers’ input can lead to the provision of training packages that make it
(c)

easier for customers to use such processes. Customer education and training
can also lead to more effective usage of green business procedures, which
make use of technologies and positive attitudes to reduce carbon emissions.

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 174 Green Computing

Is it possible to employ organizational processes more effectively through

Notes education and training?

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●● Customer service evaluation and feedback. The use of real-time carbon

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indicators in conjunction with a business process (such as smart meters) can
have an immediate impact on customer behavior.

Green BPR can be aided and supported by information and communication

technology, particularly apps and systems. This assistance is provided, for example,

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when a specific stage in the process is automated utilizing a software service or a
network device. Even if the introduction of network and communications technology will
streamline the process, there will be carbon overheads in the network and computer
infrastructures, necessitating careful consideration. When reengineering efficiency
necessitates technical assistance, the possibility of increasing carbon generation exists
and should be taken into account.

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Reengineering of processes also leads to changes in existing organizational
processes, which necessitate a thorough awareness of the potential for disruption. The
way the company interacts with customers, the way the internal business is organized,
and the prospective modifications to the operating platforms are all examples of these

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changes. Green BPR can entail the use of virtualization technologies or the introduction
of a new technology into the process with the goal of lowering its carbon footprint.
However, because most practical business processes are highly complicated and have
associated infrastructure, there is a risk of increased carbon in the absence of thorough
modelling and research of processes.
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Consider how organizational services are remodeled and delivered, for
example. The overall services offered may be lowered as a result of Green BPR
effort. Alternatively, new green services with appropriate infrastructure and support
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requirements could be established. As a result, even when virtualization is used,

there are hazards associated with an increase in carbon emissions. Similarly, if only
carbon performance is considered during Green BPR, there are hazards to customer
happiness.

Every green process optimization must be carefully weighed to account for the
technology-process nexus. Business process modelers must examine the performance
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of ICT applications in the context of customer satisfaction ratings. It is critical to address

the GPR’s risks in order for it to succeed.

2.2.3 Green IT Governance

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ITIL, as a best practice framework for describing an end-to-end service

management environment, can play a significant role in the development of Green
IT business rules and policies. Green business standards, for example, can be
incorporated into ITIL’s service management. This would lead to more efficient and
effective IT service management, as well as the application of green metrics to the
services and internal and external reporting on carbon content. By bringing together the
service goals, policies, norms, and practices from each, ITIL may assist in mapping IT,
(c)

business, and green strategies.

As proper business governance, including performance governance, project

governance, change governance, and IT governance and control, is applied to
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 Green Computing 175

green process management, it matures. Incorporating green components into the

organization’s existing governance structure is a great place to start. This can take the Notes

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form of changing the business process architecture, the business score card, and the
business rules for better management.

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When these policies are put into practice, they demand organizational compliance
in order to achieve a green result. This opens the door to modernizing corporate and IT
governance standards and applying them to green compliance. Legislation, regulation,

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industry standards, contract agreements, and internal regulations are all brought
together in a synergistic way by governance standards. These standards also provide
a framework for BA to capture and define requirements from a variety of internal and
external sources on an ongoing basis, addressing compliance requirements at both the
enterprise and project levels.

Green business policies necessitate business norms. These business rules are

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either electronically implanted or manually observed. These business rules have a
broad impact on both manual procedures employed by humans within the organization
and software systems and applications with business incorporated business rules,
according to us. Whether or not business rules are embedded within the application
software, they nevertheless have an impact on the requirements. As a result, policies,
rules, and requirements must all be linked.
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External business processes are likewise subject to these business standards,
ensuring that external and, in particular, collaborative business processes are carbon
compliant. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), also known as
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Infrastructure Management Service, is the most commonly used governance standard
when it comes to buildings, data centres, communications, and network infrastructure
(IMS). In the context of Green IT process and management, the five core publications of
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ITIL (ITIL, 2009) are briefly reviewed below.

Business Policies, Rules, and Process Requirements

Green Business Corresponding Business Green Business Purpose

Policy Rule Description

Carbon con All deployments must be Ensures lhat the green solutions
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lent of solutions preceded by the evaluate themselves are not carbon intensive.
cannot exceed alternatives for reducing Servers and data center infrastructures
current levels the solution’s total power should not add to the carbon footprint
consumption. that exists.
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Apply automation Power management Prevent waste of energy by shutting

in all power systems to be used off, hibernating, or putting systems
management in all organizational on standby. Centralized device
environments. management is of immense value here.

Reduce data Make extensive use of Effective reduction in emissions due to

center carbon Cloud computing to shift the consolidation of data center resources
data center activities and on the Cloud.
resources.
(c)

Increase carbon EPEAT style labeling of Carbon value calculations appearing

awareness in products and services on products and services can assist Ihe
products and resulting from the customers in choosing products that are
services organization. low in carbon.

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 176 Green Computing

Business Introduce KPI for all major Assists in understanding, benchmarking,

Notes

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processes activities and processes and improving green performance
to be carbon in the organization; apply for each iteration of activities and
responsible metrics to measure process processes.

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outcome for carbon.

Reuse and Reuse equipmens through Reduces not only emissions during Ihe
recycle their entire lifecycle, ihen life of the equipment, but also reduces
recycle. electronic wastage toward the end of
useful life.

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●● Service Strategy: provides direction on how to explain and prioritize the
investments in services made by service providers and their consumers (Addy,
2007). Service strategy should include a “Green” factor, which can influence how
an organization’s IT services are delivered, and this is even more important now
that the green factor has been established. Is service strategy has an impact on

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both service providers and service consumers? In this situation, green business
processes can be described using use cases or user stories to specify the rules
that must be followed during the execution of those processes. For example, to
determine the quantity and breadth of services, green business priorities and
technical estimates might be integrated. As previously indicated in the context of

●●
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connected standards, an organization’s service strategy can be based on SOA
and contain web services—which, in turn, would have embedded rules during
service cooperation (Unhelkar, Ghanbary, and Younessi, 2009).
Service Design: Through a catalogue, Service Design gives help on the design
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of new or modified IT services. Each service’s design can be based on Green
IT rules and practices, guaranteeing that the systems and applications that use
these services have an implicit green aspect. Customer feedback can be included
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into these service designs to ensure that they meet the growing demand for
green services. Furthermore, green service designs will ensure that providing the
necessary level of service does not have a negative impact on the environment.
Here, both functional and nonfunctional (or operational) aspects of services are
addressed in order to reduce their carbon footprint.
●● Service Transition—facilitates the transition of a service to the operational
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sector of the business while taking into account environmental considerations.

It necessitates careful planning and managed service adjustments. It’s a unit-
level change to the organization’s overall changes in business processes, with a
delta move toward “Green.” A service transition to a green service, according to
us, entails changes to operations that rely on technical web services to achieve
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process objectives. Green business standards will now be included in formal

service transitions based on ITIL, which will improve overall carbon performance.
These measurements can also be used to track and manage services.
●● Service Operation: When environmental factors are taken into account, the service
becomes operational and is referred to as “Green Service.” These are often the
web services-based activities of a business process, and as a result, their carbon
footprint during operation must be monitored. The ITIL guidance for monitoring
(c)

and recording failures during service operation can be extended to assess the
service’s carbon footprint. ITIL includes identifying and fixing service failures while
they are in use, as well as swiftly restoring service operation to a user. As a result,

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ITIL may be used to measure, understand, and improve the carbon emissions
generated by such services. Notes

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●● Continual Service Improvement—offers direction on the items that must be

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regulated and measured in order to improve service quality, particularly from
a green business standpoint. ITIL’s Continual Service Improvement focuses
on maintaining a dialogue between IT and business management. This type of
conversation would also provide metrics for service availability, reliability, and
performance, as well as reporting. Because continuous service improvement and

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maintenance can result in highly efficient services with the smallest carbon impact.
Developers should be able to make continuous enhancements by isolating and
updating services on a “need” basis, resulting in minimal carbon losses.

2.2.4 Green Business Processes—Incremental Complexity

ity
The four elements of green business transformation (economic, technical, social,
and process) influence the design of green company strategies and policies, as shown
in the diagram below. These policies and their accompanying regulations are then
applied to the organization’s procedures. Individual, organizational, and collaborative
processes were discussed earlier in this chapter. The categorization of processes is

processes, which sought a finer categorization. ers

based on Unhelkar’s (2003) and Unhelkar and Murugesan’s (2010) original work on

The diagram below shows how these processes are becoming more complicated,
as well as how lean and agile principles may help businesses stay sustainable at the
iv
operational and collaborative levels.
Un
ity
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Green business strategy drives incrementally complex GPR

The rising complexity of these green processes is depicted in Figure below. These
processes are also covered in the context of mobile green processes later in this
chapter.
(c)

●● Broadcast processes: When it comes to one-way broadcast processes, which

are commonly utilized by companies to market and advertise their products,
these are the easiest to understand, model, and optimize. Reducing the “bells
and whistles” around the actual contents, need-based broadcast, and keeping
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 178 Green Computing

the contents direct and brief are ideal ways to reduce the green contents of
Notes these broadcast procedures.

e
●● Informative processes: The informative category’s green element stems from

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the fact that the recipient of the product of his informative process is already
familiar with the organization.
●● These useful tools provide information on carbon emissions each day,
per asset, and so on. By merely seeking the bare minimum and necessary

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information, such a receiver can contribute, if in a modest way, to carbon
reduction.
●● Transactive processes: Electronic commerce processes are those that
need a three-way interaction between the vendor, the customer, and the
payment facility (such as PayPal or Visa credit). Because numerous parties
are involved and the transaction is recorded electronically in a secure and

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also mirrored format due to its higher value (including the accompanying
legal responsibilities), the carbon content of a transaction is higher than the
previous two procedures. It increases the amount of “bits” to be saved on
servers and, as a result, the total stress on the organization’s data servers.
●● Operative processes: These are more complicated processes that deal

ers
with the organization’s internal operations. As a result, they encompass
HR, inventory management, and time management. These processes also
involve the organization’s supply networks, procurement, and, eventually,
disposal operations. Because the organizational inventory of equipment and
iv
materials falls under these activities, the carbon content connected with these
operational procedures can be significant. The only method to increase the
carbon performance of operational processes is to use rules-based modelling
and optimization.
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●● Collaborative processes: When multiple organizations interact with one

another through collaborative web-based procedures, the carbon generation
is not only significant, but it is also becoming increasingly difficult to track
because the organizational borders of these processes are exceedingly
hazy. When collaborative corporate operations are carried out electronically
via web services, the level of complexity is so high that determining the
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true carbon content that can be attributed to single, participating firms is

impossible. This is especially relevant when determining Scope-3 emissions,
because organizational borders are hazy in collaborative procedures. As
a result, determining if a Scope-3 emission from one company is truly a
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Scope-1 emission from another becomes difficult. Despite these obstacles,

collaborative procedures provide a unique perspective on carbon reduction.
This is because collaborative procedures, as outlined by Unhelkar and Tiwary
(2010), have the potential to save carbon by preventing the reinvention of
essential business tasks. Name and address, for example, can be acquired
as a service from a third-party supplier, eliminating the need to develop
software to store names and addresses in the systems of each collaboration
(c)

participant. Although collaborative processes are referenced again later in

this chapter in the context of mobile green, it is a topic that warrants further
analysis and inquiry.

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 Green Computing 179

Notes

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On
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Increasing complexity of green processes
iv
2.2.5 Green Business Applications
Most green business processes will require green systems and software to
support them. Understanding the relationship between processes and applications is
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critical because changes to processes will necessitate modifications to the systems

and applications that support them during BPM exercises. Figure below depicts the
link between green business processes and the corresponding organizational levels,
systems, and applications. Figure below, for example, depicts how the broadcast,
informative, transactive, operative, and collaborative processes influence business
applications like financial management information systems (FMIS), enterprise
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resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), and customer relationship
management (CRM). There are many more specialized and in-house built custom
applications that are industry specific and are affected by GPR in addition to these.
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2.2.6 Modeling Green Business Processes (UML, BPMN)

Modeling, quality of service (QoS), and goal documentation are all important
aspects of green business applications. QoS is particularly essential because it
can not only improve the user experience but also be legally obligatory in several
circumstances. Most crucially, the better the QoS, the less the need to repeat the
procedure, resulting in a direct reduction in carbon emissions.
(c)

Process modelling is a critical stage in process optimization. There are several

different approaches to process modelling. If, on the other hand, process modelling

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 180 Green Computing

is based on constraints, it must start with a business process architectural view of the
Notes enterprise architecture—which might be based on the value chain notion. The value at

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the end of the process in Green BPM is not independent of the carbon created. As a
result, carbon must be considered at each stage and for each process in all process

li n
models. As a result, each process must be modelled in an optimum manner, with
the fewest possible activities and tasks that are related to one another and meet the
process goals while reducing carbon emissions.

On
Process modelling standards such as the UML or the BPMN’s process-specific
notations can be used to model processes. Process modelling notations are available
through process modelling tools (Unhelkar, 2003) and can be utilized in a team
structure where a group of BAs can work together to generate and optimize process
modifications.

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Relating green business processes to systems and applications

2.2.7 Green Mobile Business Process

Through location independence and customization, mobile technology can be
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applied into business processes to improve carbon efficiency. From mobile-broadcast

to mobile-collaborative, this integration of mobility must be done in a way that increases
the complexity of those mobile processes.

Unhelkar (2009, METM) discusses how to use mobile technologies into the
business processes of a company that is undergoing a green enterprise transformation.
From an environmental perspective, is green mobile business was defined in the
context of the four aspects established earlier in Chapters (economic, technological,
(c)

process, and social issues). These dimensions, which make up the core of any
enterprise transformation, are also included in the ERBS (Unhelkar and Dickens, 2008).

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 Green Computing 181

The impact of each of these characteristics on green mobile business processes is

discussed in this section. These four dimensions function together in an organization’s Notes

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environmentally conscious strategy and are thus not a separate and isolated part
of the business. As previously noted, the way in which mobile green processes are

li n
implemented by incorporating mobility into business processes is also based on the
increasing complexities of the processes. The broadcast, information, transactional,
operational, and collaborative business processes are all included. Understanding
this growing complexity also opens up the possibility of reducing the carbon content

On
of these processes through the use of mobile technologies. Increasing transaction
complexity also suggests the possibility of reducing that complexity and, as a result,
lowering carbon emissions in those operations.

●● Mobile-Broadcast—by utilizing mobile technology, one-way information can be

sent to a huge number of people who may or may not be registered as users.
For example, sending traffic flow information to a group of mobile devices in

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a certain area is an example of broadcast mobility. The possibility of rerouting
traffic during a congested period has significant carbon implications (as
discussed by Bhalla and Chaudhary, 2011).
●● Mobile-Informative—mobility gives the company the ability to share

ers
environmental information with its numerous stakeholders. There is the
potential to collect content on carbon emissions, temperature levels, and other
factors from the organization’s activities and disseminate it via mobile devices.
The informative era of mobility allows for real-time updates to regulatory
agencies’ benchmarks on allowable amounts of carbon emissions for specific
iv
businesses.
●● Mobile-Transactive—Collection, compilation, and reporting of environmental
data using handheld mobile as well as stationary but wireless devices are
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all examples of mobile-transactive utilization. Wireless devices, for example,

could be used to measure the temperature of a furnace or an engine. This
data is then examined and put to use in order to manage, monitor, and control
the system in question. Mobile or wireless devices’ transactive capabilities
can thus be put to good use in measuring and monitoring carbon emissions,
as well as reporting on those emissions to internal management and external
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regulatory bodies. Transactive mobility has a larger chance of positively

impacting the environment than informational mobility in the United States.
●● Mobile-Operative—use allows the company to model and optimize its internal
operations in order to achieve environmentally friendly outcomes. People
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management that reduces unnecessary movement, virtualization of teams

to enable dispersed team members to get together without travelling, and
enabling internal inventory management processes that reduce the burden
on the environment, as well as reporting and optimization of these internal
processes, are examples of such initiatives. Mobile telecommuting is a major
issue for business mobile-operative use, in which workers are not have to
be physically present at the company’s facilities. Employees have access to
(c)

environmentally intelligent systems that can assist them in carrying out their
day-to-day tasks in an environmentally sustainable manner.
●● Mobile-Collaborative—in which organizations are influenced by their business
partners’ environmental policies and strategies. As a result of its influence, a

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 182 Green Computing

cluster or group of enterprises develop ecologically friendly practices that are

Notes not confined to the confines of a single company. Instead, mobile collaboration

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has an impact on the entire “ecosystem” of organizations that work together
and communicate via mobile. Environmental intelligence collaboration is also

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a futuristic topic.

After discussing the constantly growing complexity and impact of mobility on the
environment, the four dimensions are examined in this part from an environmental

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mobile perspective.

Environmental–Economic Mobile Use

The economic impact of mobility must be considered in this context in terms
of its environmental impact. The economic reasons for migrating to and managing a
sustainable mobile business, for example, might be extended and analyzed in terms of

ity
the economic reasons for switching to and managing a sustainable mobile business.
Costs and competitiveness are major economic considerations for mobility transitions,
and they have a link to environmental concerns. In the short term, focusing on
environmental issues can give the perception that they will incur expenses (such as
costs related with recycling gadgets or costs associated with altering mobile business

ers
procedures). These costs, on the other hand, translate to goodwill and, as a result,
client retention and growth over the long term.

Economic attitudes also transfer into environmental attitudes at the individual

level (for example, not discarding old, out-of-date, and outdated mobile devices but
iv
repurposing those mobile devices or their parts).

Aside from the mobile devices, there are costs connected with developing and
implementing environmental plans, as well as expenditures related with maintaining
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them through environmental programmes within the company. Furthermore,

participating mobile enterprises must take into account economic aspects, such as their
own budgets and desire to invest money on environmental issues.

Organizations are eager to promote their “green awareness” by allocating a portion

of their profits to environmental projects. For example, iPrimus’ Green Broadband is a
green project that invites users and service providers to join in tree-planting efforts to
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offset greenhouse gas emissions for a monthly fee of less than a dollar.

Environmental–Technical Mobile Use

Every year, millions of new mobile phones are purchased around the world for a
Am

variety of reasons, including social motives for the adolescent market (Unhelkar, 2009,
METM). Mobile devices are hazardous to the environment both during production and
disposal (Unhelkar and Dickens, 2008).

Manufacturers of mobile devices may play a major role in reducing the

environmental impact of their products by ensuring that they are free of hazardous
materials including brominated flame retardants (BFRs), PVCs, and heavy metals like
(c)

lead, cadmium, and mercury. Manufacturers may increase the reuse and recycling
of their mobile devices starting with their design, including the use of efficient and
responsible take-back and recycling that can be put to good use by users.

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 Green Computing 183

Mobile phones that can be recycled more effectively at the end of their lives are
better for the environment than those that can’t. It is also possible to employ regulatory Notes

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techniques for product reuse and recycling.

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The concept of reuse is also used to the design and distribution of mobile gadgets
by environmentally conscious mobile firms. Technical designers strive to make mobile
devices that have as little environmental impact as possible. Is it possible to create a
mobile phone that is ecologically responsible, lowering the number of materials needed,

On
minimizing the impact of those materials, and so boosting the efficiency of using mobile
phones with customers?

Nokia has released a model named the “3110 Evolve,” which is marketed as
having a “bio-cover”—the phone’s casing, which is made of 50% recycled material,
and packaging made of 60% recycled material. Furthermore, in addition to the phone’s
specifications, this Nokia phone model includes a high-efficiency charger and an

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environmentally friendly user interface. The “Sunfl ower Phone” by Green Mobiles,
which was introduced in the United Kingdom and promises to be biodegradable since
it has a built-in plant seed that would sprout once the phone is buried in the ground, is
one example.

ers
Aside from mobile devices, environmental concerns must be addressed through
the efficient use of other mobile gear like as base stations, transmitters, and computer
servers that enable mobile apps. An environmentally responsible mobile infrastructure,
for example, will include the proper placement of mobile transmission towers to ensure
the least amount of environmental impact on people and forests. Due to the challenges
iv
of environmental considerations, the intrinsically complex issues of mobile infrastructure
planning require greater analysis.

As a result, mobility infrastructure planning becomes a critical technical part of a

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mobile organization’s environmental planning. Such infrastructure planning extends

beyond a single organization and becomes an important component of governmental
or regulatory initiatives. Taking into account the impacts of the transportation system
on environmental and social quality is a major challenge in the design of systems and
architectures (Borriet al., 2005).
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Environmental–Process Mobile Use

As previously stated in this chapter, how businesses function can have a significant
impact on the environment. Business process modelling, analysis, and optimization
must all be done from a mobile standpoint. The potential for mobile devices to reduce
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people movement is evident; nevertheless, this potential must be weaved into an

organization’s green business operations. A mobile worker who can get the information
he needs from wherever he is reduces physical and vehicular movement, making
company processes more environmentally friendly.

Wireless capabilities can also be used by business intelligence (BI) procedures to

implement, operate, and sustain environmentally intelligent business systems. IT has
been thrown into the spotlight as a critical component in attaining strategic business
(c)

objectives, and mobile BI undoubtedly plays a crucial part in accomplishing these goals.
As a result, in order to maintain and sustain the overall ecosystem, IT must have its
own set of mobile BI capabilities (Imhoff, 2005).

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 184 Green Computing

Enterprises are trying to employ mobility to extend BI solutions that coordinate

Notes decision-making in the office, in the field, and at home. Environmental intelligence is a

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branch of business intelligence that applies to the real world (EI). Users get real-time
access to essential business applications, analytical apps, decision-making systems,

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performance queries, and consumer data thanks to mobility. As a result, businesses
are turning to mobility solutions to expand their business intelligence (BI) solutions
to include and coordinate decision-making at the office, in the field, and at home,
resulting in community benefits. These enhancements allow businesses to achieve an

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environmental edge by maximizing their mobile labor and field.

The B I users (executives, analysts, financial planners, strategists, and field

workers) with mobility can take advantage of their time and location-free connectivity
to reduce movements. Mobile technologies and EI are being used by companies
with a large number of mobile sales and service staff in areas such as retail, financial
institutions such as banks, healthcare, and manufacturing to increase data and

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information access to mobile workers.

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Example existing digital library—core business processes

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Environmental–Social Mobile Use

Mobile technologies’ social aspects, particularly their gadgets and social networks,
interact with the environment in a variety of ways. The capacity to send customized
messages, for example, can be used to raise environmental awareness among certain
people. Mobile enterprises can also take on additional social duties by investing in
communities that can benefit from assistance in learning, working, and thriving in a
(c)

“green” environment. Mobile enterprises can also encourage mobile networking among
users who are concerned about environmental issues. Green blogs, for example, can be
put up by all transitional organizations as an integral element of their green endeavors.
Blogs, wikis, and discussion forums can all be effective tools for raising and spreading
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 Green Computing 185

environmental awareness. The open exchange of information between participants and

readers can become a significant aspect of public discussion on environmental issues Notes

e
(Dicum, 2006). “Climate change has become a significant concern,” says Alex Steffen,
founder of one of the most frequently read green websites. Green construction, green

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fashion, and green product design all pique people’s attention.” These social networking
opportunities should be encouraged and supported by mobile firms, allowing users and
consumers to express their opinions and share creative green ideas.

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Example—Digital Library GPR
Take, for example, the reengineering of a digital library’s processes. Clients
approach the library through the loan process, and vendors keep the library’s offerings
up to date. A full process flow of a digital library is depicted in the diagram below. The
procedure can be divided into two domains: internal and external. The internal business
process includes demand estimation, purchasing, catalogue management, storage

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management, delivery management, and disposal. The external process includes
systems such as web search, physical search, loan service, return management, and
delivery management. Apart from that, there are similarities between the reservation
and circulation management processes. Some of these components can be deleted or
consolidated after a thorough examination.

ers
In practice, process reengineering revolves around three key elements: roles,
activities performed by roles, and technologies that enable the activities. Client,
supplier, and owner of organizational processes that are all concerned with carbon,
for example, are all possible roles. Check-in and check-out of things given directly to
iv
clients are examples of activities. As part of Green BPR, these are the phases that are
combined or eliminated. The supporting technology can eventually migrate from the
local data warehouse to Cloud computing, for example.
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The physical search on the external process, for example, can be substituted with
an overall search system. Storage, reservation, and loan processing are all intertwined
systems with many components that overlap. These could be designed as a single
central system to manage all of these processes if intelligent reengineering is used.
The centralized system might be maintained in-house, outsourced to third parties, or
implemented on the cloud. As a result of these diverse computing equipment being
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disposed of, a high-end energy conservation panel may be applied to the remaining
equipments, resulting in decreased carbon emissions.

The services may also be offered to other digital libraries if they were delivered
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to an external agency or to a cloud environment. It has the potential to minimize the

number of systems used by particular libraries while also lowering total carbon
emissions.

Finally, this chapter on green business processes concludes with a straightforward

yet well-known example of a digital library that lends or sells digital media for
amusement or educational purposes.

The goal of these examples is to demonstrate how a change in process can

(c)

minimize the carbon footprint of an entire company.

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 186 Green Computing

Notes

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(a) Digital library GPR. (b) Digital library GPR—results.

The present digital library’s key processes deal with content vendors and clients.
To serve clients, content vendors provide digital content, while the library manages
the catalogue and digital content storage. The Green BPR’s digital library is the centre
of our attention in this situation. The digital library is responsible for acquiring digital
(c)

content, managing inventories, ensuring delivery, and providing loan services. In the
existing processes, some of these are in manual and physical form. The first stage of
GPR is to model existing processes in order to offer a comprehensive perspective of
the digital library.
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 Green Computing 187

Before beginning to optimize those processes under the GPR effort, the model is
studied and essential business rules are documented. Notes

e
Green business policies will aid in the rewrite of business standards governing

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digital library processes. The core process c a b e re-engineered once the policies and
procedures have been documented and the relevant performance indicators have been
established. The figure depicts considerable process automation and a reduction in the
number of annual procedures. All of these processes should be monitored using key

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performance indicators (KPIs) that are linked to broader business KPIs. These KPIs will
enable the business to gain a better understanding of the carbon footprint generated
throughout the processes, as well as aid to develop and green the digital library.

These green core digital library processes could be matched to the Green BPM
variables. The carbon footprint of storage facilities, for example, can be lowered by
implementing a smart inventory management system. Enabling online search and loan

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services can help to cut transportation and, as a result, carbon emissions. The digital
library’s adoption of Cloud computing can also help to reduce the amount of carbon
produced by information storage and processing. Green BPR will also make it easier for
people (clients, vendors, and society) to adopt and follow green business practices.

Conclusion
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The management of business processes is a vital component of an organization’s
operation.

Reengineering the business process can assist in identifying numerous factors that
iv
can improve the organization’s overall efficiency. Incorporating a “Green” component into
the BPM can have a significant environmental impact. There are numerous benefits to
eliminating duplicate stages and integrating multiple components into a unified system.
Un

As a result of the removed and consolidated systems, the amount of money invested
in the business process decreases. The organization’s maintenance costs are also
reduced when it outsources. In addition, the introduction of mobile devices for remote
computing might provide a number of benefits. This might be used for better process
management and reductions in carbon emissions with appropriate strategic planning.
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Check your Understanding

State true or false

6. The concept of reuse is also used to the design and distribution of mobile gadgets by
environmentally conscious mobile firms.
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7. Technical designers strive to make mobile devices that have as little environmental
impact as possible.
8. The key to putting Green BPM into reality is to look at the organization as a whole,
including its people, processes, and technologies.
9. Green business policies necessitate business norms. These business rules are
either electronically implanted or manually observed.
(c)

10. Individual, organizational, and collaborative reengineering of business processes is

required to reduce their carbon content.

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 188 Green Computing

Fill in the blanks

Notes

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1. _____________ use allows the company to model and optimize its internal operations
in order to achieve environmentally friendly outcomes.’

li n
2. ___________, is the study of the processes that are modeled from their carbon
effect.
3. ___________ mobility gives the company the ability to share environmental
information with its numerous stakeholders. There is the potential to collect content

On
on carbon emissions, temperature levels, and other factors from the organization’s
activities and disseminate it via mobile devices.
4. __________ refers to the trading of permits or savings accrued by one organization
or country associated with carbon reduction with another organization or country,
thereby enabling them to achieve carbon reduction obligations.

ity
5. The carbon criteria can be used to rank the processes contained inside the process
list. While traditional BPM exercises evaluate processes based on variables such
as cost and effectiveness, ___________ ranks processes based on the amount of
predicted carbon they produce.

Summary
●●
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Green business process management (Green BPM) is concerned with the
total management of an organization’s internal and external processes from a
green standpoint. BPM is a well-known industry practice that includes business
iv
process modelling, reengineering, and optimization, as well as business process
measurement, merging, and elimination.
●● Green business processes are defined as business processes that are necessary,
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efficient, effective, agile, and measurable in the context of a company.

●● Individual, organizational, and collaborative reengineering of business processes
is required to reduce their carbon content. As the business advances from
individual processes to departmental and organizational-level processes, these
levels become increasingly strategic, requiring more time and effort.
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●● During a Green BPR exercise, all of these business processes must be carefully
evaluated at the individual, organizational, and collaborative levels within the
organization.
●● BPR entailed reorganizing the business along process lines with the help of
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technology in order to improve business performance several times. Green

BPR use the same BPR techniques to investigate the prospect of lowering the
organization’s carbon footprint by multiples.
●● Green BPM can be done in a variety of ways and with a variety of tools and
methodologies. BPR innovation is a synergy of business process thinking and
the tools and techniques that go with it. Inn ovation, Ken Orr (2007) described the
concepts and strategies involved in business process thinking, including the major
(c)

strands of business process thinking.

●● The key to putting Green BPM into reality is to look at the organization as a whole,
including its people, processes, and technologies. The diagram below depicts
several characteristics or layers of an organization, each of which has its own set
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 Green Computing 189

of procedures. The end-user can be seen using the device, which is coupled to a
presentation process. Notes

e
●● Green BPM makes it possible to leverage user-driven processes to reduce the

li n
organization’s overall carbon footprint.
●● Green business policies necessitate business norms. These business rules are
either electronically implanted or manually observed. These business rules have
a broad impact on both manual procedures employed by humans within the

On
organization and software systems and applications with business incorporated
business rules.
●● Service strategy should include a “Green” factor, which can influence how an
organization’s IT services are delivered, and this is even more important now that
the green factor has been established.
●● The four elements of green business transformation (economic, technical, social,

ity
and process) influence the design of green company strategies and policies.
●● Process modelling is a critical stage in process optimization. There are several
different approaches to process modelling. If, on the other hand, process
modelling is based on constraints, it must start with a business process

ers
architectural view of the enterprise architecture—which might be based on the
value chain notion. The value at the end of the process in Green BPM is not
independent of the carbon created. As a result, carbon must be considered at
each stage and for each process in all process models. As a result, each process
iv
must be modelled in an optimum manner, with the fewest possible activities and
tasks that are related to one another and meet the process goals while reducing
carbon emissions.
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●● Wireless capabilities can also be used by business intelligence (BI) procedures to

implement, operate, and sustain environmentally intelligent business systems.

Activity
3. List the existing processes in your organization. Divide the list into individual/single
user processes, departmental-organizational processes, and the ones that go beyond
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an organization and into the collaborative space where multiple organizations are
involved.
4. Apply a “rough” Green IT metric to ascertain the amount of carbon each of these
processes are generating.
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5. Focus initially on the departmental-organizational processes as that is where the

maximum carbon value will be derived.
6. Rank the processes based on their carbon generation—highest carbon generators
being listed on the top.
7. Categorize them as broadcast, informative, transactive, operative, and collaborative
processes.
(c)

8. Undertake process modeling of the top five “transactive” business processes using
BPMN, use cases or any other appropriate mechanism.
9. Step through each activity/task of the process. Reengineer the processes to optimize
them by combining activities.
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 190 Green Computing

10. Eliminate activities that do not add value to the goals—or replace them with system
Notes supported services.

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11. Identify the individual processes (such as ones carried out by staff members) that

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are carbon intensive. These may also be categorized as operative processes that
deal with the operations of the business.
12. Model and optimize them by studying each activity, task, and deliverable within the
process.

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13. Collaborative processes are the most challenging of all. In the initial attempt at
Green BPR, collaborative processes should only be modeled as far as possible.
Once collaborating partner organizations are on board, collaborative BPR can be
applied to these processes from a carbon reduction/elimination viewpoint.

Questions & Exercises

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1. What is Green BPM? Discuss the role Green BPM plays in the reduction of an
organizational carbon footprint.
2. What are the characteristics of a process and how do they apply to a green process?
3.

4.
ers
Explain how you understand individual, organizational, and collaborative processes.
Discuss why individual green processes are short-term strategies, whereas
collaborative green processes are long-term strategies.
Discuss how “Green” BPR can improve organization’s efficiency and aid in achieving
better carbon efficiency.
iv
5. What is the relevance of process modeling in Green BPR? What techniques you
would use to undertake green process modeling?
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6. Take any one phase of ITIL. Discuss how it is applied in the context of a green
initiative.
7. Discuss how to employ mobile technologies to reduce paper-based work and how to
reduce the carbon footprint with careful planning.
8. What are the advantages of Cloud computing in the context of Green IT? What are
the challenges and risks associated with Cloud computing in the same context?
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Glossary
1. Carbon Neutral: Carbon Neutral refers to an organization or its activities that ensure
a zero balance between the carbon it emits and the corresponding offset it creates
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through one or more activities such as using renewable energy source and buying or
trading carbon credits.
2. Carbon Offset: Action—typically payments—by organizations generating carbon, in
lieu of directly reducing the emissions (e.g., planting of trees by an airline).
3. Carbon Trading: Carbon trading refers to the trading of permits or savings accrued
by one organization or country associated with carbon reduction with another
(c)

organization or country, thereby enabling them to achieve carbon reduction

obligations.

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 Green Computing 191

4. Environmentally Intelligent System (EIS): A management tool enabling an organization

of any size or type to identify and control the environmental impact of its activities, Notes

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products, or services to improve its environmental performance continually and to

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implement a systematic approach to setting environmental objectives and targets, to
achieve these and to demonstrate that they have been achieved.
5. Environmentally Responsible Business Strategy (ERBS): A business approach that
incorporates environmental factors in it.

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6. Green Audit: Assesses a company’s environmental credentials and its claims for
green products, processes, and services. Green audits ascertain whether the
company’s products and processes are truly as they claim to be. Green audits of IT
systems also help determine the accuracy of measurements and reporting. Green
audits help address the accusation of green washing.
7. Green Business Architecture: A four-layered architecture that deals with keeping

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organization’s environmental footprint small; reducing waste; measuring, monitoring,
mitigating, and monetizing the carbon emissions.
8. Green ICT Framework: A taxonomy that takes the many different components of
Green ICT and relates them to each other.

References (Images/Graphs/Tables/Text)
1.
ers
Green IT Strategies and Applications using Environmental Intelligence by Bhuvan
Unhelkar.
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2. Green Information Technology: A sustainable approach by Collin Pattinson.

Further Readings
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1. Gartner Research. Gartner’s Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users,

2008 and Beyond: Going Green and Self-Healing, Gartner Inc, 2008.
2. Aberdeen Group. The Product Compliance Benchmark Report: Protecting the
Environment, Protecting Profits, The Aberdeen Group, September, 2006.
3. Unhelkar, B., & Dickens, A. lessons in implementing green business strategies
with ICT, cutter it journal, vol 21, no 2, February 2008, cutter consortium, April
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2008, 11(3), 2008.

4. Murugesan, S. Going Green with IT: Your Responsibility Toward Environmental
Sustainability, Cutter Consortium Business-IT Strategies Executive Report, 10
(8), August, 2007.
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5. Philipson, G. Green IT and Sustainability in Australia 2009 – Attitudes, Plans

and Actions, A white paper by Connection Research, 2009.
6. Xanthopoulos, S., 2010. On Risk Appetite. University of the Aegean, Summer
School 2010 - “Enterprise Risk Management for Actuaries”, Karlovassi, Samos,
June 29 - July 2, 2010, Samos, Greece.
7. Murugesan, S., 2008. Harnessing green it: principles and practices. IT
(c)

Professional 10 (1), 24–33.

8. Mell, P., Grance, T., 2009. The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing, Version 15.
National Institute of Standards and Techonology, Gaithersburg.

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 192 Green Computing

9. Rittenberg, L., Martens, F., 2012. Enterprise risk management: understanding

Notes and communicating risk appetite. Committee of sponsoring organizations of the

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tread way commission.

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10. Cloud Security Alliance, 2010. Top Threats to Cloud Computing V1.0.

Check your Understanding – Answers

State true or false

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6. True
7. True
8. True
9. True
10. True

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Fill in the blanks
1. Mobile-Operative
2.
3.
4.
5.
Optimizing
Mobile-Informative
Carbon trading
Green BPM
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(c)

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Unit -2.3: Green Enterprise Architecture

Notes

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Objectives:

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At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

●● Understand views of green enterprise architecture.

●● Learn about green enterprise architecture: concept.

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●● Comprehend green IT and organizational systems.
●● Analyze green portals in green enterprise architecture.
●● Evaluate aspects of green solutions architecture.
●● Understand an example of green enterprise architecture.

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Introduction

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I, Cyrus, the Emperor of Persia, say . . . Who keeps the earth cleansed, Appreciates
rain, Respects Mother Nature and her kindness . . .
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- Cyrus the Great; circa 600 BC, first Zoroastrian Persian emperor

This chapter examines enterprise architecture (EA) in the context of a company’s

green ambitions. All other architectures that make up a part of the organisation are
grouped under the EA. These architectures are designed to provide stability and agility
to the business. These architectures are also crucial in helping the firm to achieve its
own objectives. As a result, despite the existence of several general EA frameworks,
(c)

the majority of real EA is organisation specific. The Enterprise Architecture (EA) defines
the relationships between the various domain architectures, as well as how the various
architectures interact with one another and contribute to the broader enterprise (Rosen
et al., 2011, HRG). When these architectural links are examined and developed in light

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 194 Green Computing

of their underlying carbon implications, the result is a Green enterprise architecture

Notes (GEA). As a result, a GEA is an EA that provides a solid foundation for a company to

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alter its systems, applications, and processes in order to support a green organisation.

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GEA extends enterprise-level architectural concepts to provide a long-term, strategic
foundation for modernizing existing systems, procuring future systems, and integrating
them into the green organization’s day-to-day activities. A GEA is also important in
defining the technological parameters under which the organisation must operate.
Existing organizational systems and procedures will face hurdles in the absence of such

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limits, particularly when they must be integrated with new Green information systems
(GIS). This chapter delves into these issues in detail.

The organisation can define, assess, measure, analyze, report, and monitor the
systems and processes that explicitly deal with Green IT using an EA-based approach.
This architectural approach to Green IT not only provides limits, but it also leads to the
development of common terminology that bring clarity, comprehension, and consistency

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to the green corporate endeavor. As a result, taking an architecture approach inside
the Green IT paradigm might help an organisation implement sustainability in a more
integrated way. Rosen et al. have also described in detail the positive value and
influence of EA on an organization’s long-term initiatives. Extending an EA to a GEA

●●
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and then using that GEA as a foundation for greening an organization’s systems,
applications, and processes provides the following benefits:

An awareness of the organization’s current technological capabilities and

restrictions, as well as its existing systems, applications, and procedures.
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●● The link between current EA systems and emerging Green IT systems and
applications.
●● Synergetic alignment of existing and new infrastructure, operations, systems,
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and applications with each other and with the organization’s environmentally
responsible business strategy (ERBS).
●● Developing and describing generally used terminology, semantics, and
business rules related to the corporation and its green programme.
●● The creation of specific Green IT frameworks, which are based on well-known
architectural frameworks, is developed or built from the ground up, according
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to the needs of the business.

●● Providing inputs from different elements of an organization’s carbon
performance and bringing together previously fragmented information in a
knowledge base—leading to environmental intelligence (EI).
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●● Provide a foundation for improvements to the organization’s large

applications, such as CRM, SCM, HR, and financial applications, with a focus
on SCM.
●● Reduce the hazards of introducing new carbon content (such as carbon
emissions and regulatory benchmarks) into the organisation.
●● Incorporate service oriented architecture (SOA) and web services (WS) into
green systems as easily as possible.
(c)

●● Investigate the possibilities of Cloud computing in Green IT, which will not only
reduce carbon emissions but also source and deliver carbon content from
sources other than the organization’s own systems.

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●● Enable the creation of GIS portals with associated models for green content
producers and consumers. Notes

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●● Business intelligence (BI) evolution toward EI using data, information,

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processes, and knowledge associated with organizational systems.
●● Through architectural models, transforming green contents and processes into
collaborative green processes that extend beyond organizational borders.
●● Enhancing existing enterprise knowledge and incorporating emerging

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technologies (such as C loud, SaaS, SO A, and Web 2.0) into the growing EI.

An “enterprise” is a high-level, strategic vision of the company, whereas

“architecture” refers to an organized framework for resource analysis, planning, and
development. Business functionality or application logic is made available to SOA users
or consumers as shared, reusable services on an IT network. In both technology and
process dimensions, an EA-based approach to Green IT helps decrease risks. This is

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because a GEA aids in visualizing the influence of new carbon data, processes, and
services on the organization’s existing systems. A GEA provides a solid foundation for
the creation of GIS and portals.

2.3.1 Views of Green Enterprise Architecture

Green Enterprise Architecture

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A GEA’s goal is to develop an understanding of various perspectives on business,
technology, and the environment in which the company operates. This knowledge also
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helps to mitigate the dangers of the green transformation. Creating such an EA would
necessitate a thorough understanding and modelling of the organization’s business and
technological spaces. A model of how information is used by the business, for example,
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might be included in an EA.

This model could be a flow chart or, at a higher level, a basic block diagram.
Similarly, the solution architecture would represent the organization’s technological
space. Green resources, networks, their speeds and bandwidths, as well as content
and applications, would all be included in this solution paradigm. The GEA sets
organizational and technical constraints on the architecture of information and solutions.
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Zachman and TOGAF are two EA frameworks that provide a practical approach
of integrating technology and business together and a comprehensive manner of
modelling a company. The Zachman architecture, for example, provides a cleanly
set out 6 rows by 6 columns picture of a business. This perspective might be used to
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comprehend a firm that is experiencing transformation. In addition, TOGAF provides a

technical architectural foundation for green transformation.

As a result, the GEA can be composed of well-defined and reusable business

and technical components that are assembled to manage quickly changing external
business. Understanding and integrating heterogeneous enterprise applications (that
contain internal historical code and/or new software components that could be sourced
as services and collaborative apps from business partners) is especially helpful with
(c)

a GEA-based approach to Green IT. Data integration, process integration across

many systems, collaboration between internal and external business applications,
and extension to real-time information via mobile technologies and systems are all

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outcomes of this. The end result is a unified corporate picture that can be updated and
Notes fine-tuned for a green firm.

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Interfaces with the organization’s clients, suppliers, and other trading partners are

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also included in a GEA.

The technical Interfaces (Green web services) as well as people-to-people

interactions are included in these interfaces (Between business leaders, and also
workers). Suppliers and partners of the company must follow all environmental rules

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and regulations just as much as the company itself. However, it might be difficult for a
company to enforce compliance on its suppliers at times. A GEA can be used to help
suppliers comply with regulations and standards by providing technical assistance (e.g.,
training, CEMS implementation, policy interpretation). A good GEA also aids clients
by providing them with the necessary Green web service interfaces, advertising the
organisation, and assisting corporate customers in setting up their own GEA.

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Views of Green Enterprise Architecture

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A complete GEA includes an awareness of the organization’s multiple perspectives

and interrelationships. Figure below depicts the different architectural perspectives,
as well as the main functions and roles that are responsible for those views. e Green
information architecture (GIA), as depicted in the upper half of Figure below, focuses
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on information capture and supply models for both external and internal partners in the
business area. In this area, the information architect and the business analyst establish
and model the information needs.

From a business standpoint, the GI A describes the company. This design is

based on the “problem space’s” business requirements and takes into account the
organization’s strategies and policies (Unhelkar, 2003).

The GIA identifies the fundamental functional requirements that are modelled
(c)

within the context of the enterprise’s Green IT strategy, processes, applications, and
IT governance. As a result, a prioritized set of functional and operational requirements
for the green transformation programme would emerge. Green solution architecture,

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 Green Computing 197

which appears in the lower half of the architectural spaces, is concerned with the
technological design and development of systems. This responsible for the models Notes

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and implementation of content, networks, and applications, as well as their testing and
deployment.

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The solution architect is primarily responsible for this area, which is supported by
systems analysts and developers. Finally, the all-encompassing GEA, shown in the
background in Figure below, sets the constraints for all systems and applications. The

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information and solution architecture models are also influenced by the GEA. These
three are the organization’s basic enterprise architecture views. There are many more
architectural views of the organisation available. Different architectural domains, such
as business architecture, information architecture, application architecture, technology
architecture, and operational architecture, have been outlined by Rosen et al. (2011,
HRG).

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They’ve also introduced a performance architecture, which is supposed to cut
across all other domain architectures for the sake of enterprise responsibility and
continuous improvement. All of these architectures are covered by the overall GEA,
which includes constraints, limitations, and requirements for each of these architectural
domains. The GIA domain, for example, deals with the organization’s needs and

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capabilities, the technical-solution space with the implementation of green portals
and data warehouses, and the background-enterprise space with the integration
and constraint models that are also superimposed on the information and solution
architecture in Figure below. THE architectural work is aided by the project manager
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and quality manager, who assist in the formulation and scoping of Green IT projects, as
well as the use of relevant and developed standards and processes.
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Various views of a comprehensive Green enterprise architecture: Business,

(c)

technology, and enterprise spaces.

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 198 Green Computing

2.3.2 Green Enterprise Architecture: Concept

Notes

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The GEA is not a stand-alone organisation. A GEA affects both the GIA in
the business world and the GSA in the technical world. It deals with restrictions,

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compliance, integration performance, and security challenges. As a result, GEA
activities cover the problem, solution, and background space.

The figure below expands and groups the various activities that make up the
enterprise’s overall green architecture. The needs are the activities that deal with the

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business and information aspects of the organisation; the ones that are in the solution
space are related to the data and applications; and the overall GEA that provides
limitations and is in the background space. However, it should be noted that the GEA
depicted in the background of Figure below is not a different entity.

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Categories of requirements in the various green architectural spaces

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The GEA is influenced and influenced in the background by the GIA and the GSA
from the problem and solution space, respectively.

The GIA provides the foundation for you to create enterprise applications,
processes, and content. The master data semantics, including green data, are defined,
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and operational and analytical information are modelled in this architectural space. The
business, information, and enterprise domains all have requirements that influence the
information architecture. The context for supporting integration across diverse apps is
provided by this information architecture.

The method of capturing and modelling requirements is also outlined in the

information architecture.

In addition, the information architecture maintains a repository of overall

(c)

applications and their interrelationships. A thorough understanding of these

interrelationships can aid in the elimination of redundancy and, in the long run,
contribute to resource reduction.

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 Green Computing 199

●● Customer requirements for green products that are based on the needs and
desires of the customer for good products and services. Notes

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●● Green marketing guidelines that highlight the company’s environmentally friendly

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products and services.
●● Green supply chain process requirements that interface with suppliers’ systems,
as well as green technical requirements that outline the technologies required to
manage the Green IT effort.

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●● Green facilities management criteria that specify the infrastructure of buildings and
facilities, as well as the method for measuring and lowering carbon emissions. The
design and construction of facilities are critical in this situation.
●● Metrics for the environment and measuring requirements that specify the elements
to measure report. Green recycling and e-waste management regulations for one-
time asset disposal.

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In the information realm, the GSA encompasses the models of technologies and
infrastructure required to support applications, operations, and reporting requirements.
Distribution, scalability, dependability, device support, security, and application

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integration must all be addressed in the architecture of these solutions (Rosen et al.,
2011). Infrastructure is a major source of carbon emissions as well. As a result, the
solution space use of IT to reduce emissions and lower the IT domain’s emissions is a
two-pronged strategy.

●● Green data centre design and solutions are concerned with IT-specific
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architectural and facilities requirements.
●● Green content techniques influenced by backup, mirroring, and other factors.
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●● The communication hardware is provided by green networks and architecture

solutions.
●● GIS programming solutions with a focus on green data and solutions.

Constraints, compliances, integration, performance, and security are all addressed

in the background space architecture. This establishes a standardized method for
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defining, collecting, analyzing, and reporting metrics (e.g., KPIs at the business level,
paper usage at the application level, and server and power usage at the technology
level).

●● Green enterprise-level constraints that span across both information and solution
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●● Green compliance requirements that are dictated by the regulatory portals

●● Green systems integrations (SOA based)
●● Green performance (KPI that are related to all dimensions
●● Green security deals with carbon data, storage, transmission, and its interfaces
with other data
(c)

2.3.3 Green IT and Organizational Systems

A GEA gives many perspectives on the organisation and its systems. These
perspectives reflect the impact of changes in one part of the business on other areas

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 200 Green Computing

and systems. This perspective allows for a more comprehensive knowledge of the
Notes charges’ implications, lowering the risks connected with changes to the organization’s

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systems and operations as a result of green efforts.

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The diagram below expands on those effects and illustrates the significant areas of
an organization’s systems that have been affected by changes brought on by Green IT
operations. The impact of Green IT transformation on the organization’s infrastructures
and portals is also summarized in the diagram below. The typical IT systems affected

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by the modification are shown on the left in Figure. Existing systems that need to be
changed, as well as the changes associated with the new GIS’s implementation, are
included.

A good GEA is a mechanism for incorporating the changes related with Green IT
transformation into the systems and processes on the left in Figure below. The following
are the system changes:

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Green enterprise architecture helps in handling the impact of Green IT

transformation on the rest of the organizational systems.
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Organizational Systems
These are the organization’s basic systems, which are mostly internal. The normal
CRM, SCM, and Payroll programmes, for example, must be updated with the new
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carbon data and integrated with the GIS/CEMS. These integrations are made possible
through SOA.

External Systems
These are not only external systems to the organisation; they’re also external
interfaces to organizational systems. These external systems and interfaces are part
of the green organizational portals that connect to the regulatory portals, as well as the
(c)

collaborative services that the organisation offers and consumes.

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 Green Computing 201

Infrastructure
Notes

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These are the servers and communication networks.

In contrast to buildings and facilities, these are the organization’s IT-specific

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infrastructures.

They are being updated to replace existing carbon-intensive equipment and to

serve as a foundation for GIS/CEMS communication and integration.

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The many IT areas that need to be managed when an organisation embraces
Green IT are shown on the right in Figure above. The following are some of them:

●● Conversion of some existing data to ensure that it is compatible with the new
carbon data. Some apps and user interfaces may also need to be converted to a
new format (e.g., XML interfaces that have to now deal with carbon data exchange
with other data).

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●● Data integration with applications, as well as data integration across apps,
including existing business applications and new carbon-specific applications.
●● At the technological level, there are standards for web service interfaces, and ISO

●●
business processes.
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standards apply to systems at the organizational level. Technical standards help
with data conversion and interfaces, while business standards help streamline

Testing of new applications and their interfaces, which necessitates a set of

carbon test data in order to verify the systems’ functionality and operational
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characteristics, as well as their integration.
●● Deployment of new applications, especially since CEMS are most likely to be
SaaS-based cloud deployments.
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●● Contracts that implement SOA and SLA policies. When green organisational
portals interact with other external portals of cooperating organisations and
regulators, electronic contracts become more prominent.
●● Users and support people for the new green apps should be trained on how to
use their metering capabilities, record and analyse carbon data, and spot trends in
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carbon emissions.

2.3.4 Green Portals in Green Enterprise Architecture

A portal is an electronic interface that allows an organisation to communicate with
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the outside world.

The carbon statistics and information will be the focus of a green portal. Portals
give organisations access to the information they need to collaborate with other
organisations, government agencies, and standard bodies (tasked with benchmarking
and regulating carbon emissions).

This section examines the design and usage of Green ICT portals, as well as
(c)

the information that results from them. Deshpande and Unhelkar (HRG, 2 011) have
explored many areas of green portal data and information collection. The first is a list of
potential green information sources. The scale of this green information that is available
at any given time is the second aspect.

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 202 Green Computing

The third factor combines the accuracy and usefulness of the information provided
Notes to the organisation in issue. After acquiring the necessary data, it must be processed

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and made available to management, employees, and customers, all while keeping in
mind their distinct viewpoints.

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Green ICT portals can gather (source) and distribute information in a variety of
ways.

Distributed problem solving and production models are used in outsourcing, in-

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sourcing, and “crowd-sourcing.”

The external and internal aspects of these data collecting and dissemination
techniques for an organisation are depicted in Figure below. External agencies,
technologies, and ontological elements would support a Green ICT information portal’s
data collection strategy—outside of the company. The internal strategy for carbon data
for the portal will include internal stakeholders, solution space technologies (such as

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SOA and WS outlined earlier), and access media.

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Elements of a Green ICT information portal. (Based on Deshpande, Y. and

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Unhelkar, B., Information systems for a Green organization. In B. Unhelkar,

ed., Handbook of Research in Green ICT: Technical, Methodological and Social
Perspectives, pp. 116–130. IGI Global, Hershey, PA, USA, 2010.)

Figure below depicts the evolution of these tactics into the Green ICT information
portal. The portal is displayed in the centre, with information sources and destinations
on either side. The information from external sources is represented on the left side of
the gateway in Figure below. These are the portal’s content sources. In Figure given
(c)

below, the internal sources and destinations for information correspond to the right side
of the site. Content consumers who, in turn, give internal information are referred to as
these. The arrows indicate the direction of information flow into and out of the portal.

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 Green Computing 203

Green materials are dynamic, rapidly changing content that is typically shared
among many agencies and media both within and beyond the company. ICT groups, Notes

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governments, business, research organisations, and standard-setting bodies are
examples of such organisations.

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Companies like Intel, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and Google, as well as professional
bodies like ACM, BCS, and IEEE, are among the organisations that provide and use
carbon data. Sources of “government” could be local, state, or national. “Research

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centres” include general research institutes with specific Green ICT initiatives, as well
as specialist research institutions focusing on Green ICT, such as GreenGrid, or more
general ones, such as the IPCC. For the Green IT portals, “standards bodies” cover
standards as well as regulations dealing with carbon data.

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Inputs and outputs in a Green ICT information portal. (Based on Deshpande, Y.

and Unhelkar, B., Information systems for a Green organization. In B. Unhelkar,
ed., Handbook of Research in Green ICT: Technical, Methodological and Social
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Perspectives, pp. 116–130. IGI Global, Hershey, PA, USA, 2011.)

2.3.5 Aspects of Green Solutions Architecture

The GSA creates a technology synergy that allows for more efficient use of IT
resources. Thus, the resources are used efficiently, and these IT resources, in turn,
create the foundation for improving the efficiency of the rest of the organization’s
(c)

equipment and operations.

Sherringham (HRG, 2011) went over the influence of Green IT solutions on the
green enterprise in great depth. Internal carbon recording, external carbon reporting,

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 204 Green Computing

and implementation of green IT solutions are all covered under green IT solutions.
Notes Technology-based opportunities for new green services, including SaaS-based

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solutions, collaborative green services, and technology-based chances for new green
services. Figure below depicts these on the left.

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The enterprise’s solution space employs a variety of technologies to address
the aforementioned impact. By offering the appropriate interfaces and models, GEA
makes it easier to incorporate technology into Green IT solutions. Virtualization, Cloud

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computing, real-time decision making, smart network management, self-healing,
alignment, integration, and optimization are all shown in Figure below on the right
(extending Sherringham, HRG, 2011).

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Various aspects of a Green solutions architecture

The solutions space has its own internal Green IT framework, which encourages
solutions architects and systems analysts to continue to find new and emerging
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technologies, model them to examine their ramifications, and eventually incorporate

them into the organization’s overall architecture. The identify-modify-incorporate phases
have an impact on all solution space technologies. The following sections go over e se
technologies in more detail:

Cloud Computing
As previously said, the Cloud is a significant technology in the solution market.
(c)

Cloud computing is already in use, but there are still a lot of new features to it. The
identification and implementation of Cloud-based solutions result in an immediate
reduction in major data centre carbon emissions. This is because, thanks to the Cloud,
data and programmes that were previously stored and executed on data servers are

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now able to cross organisational boundaries. The organisational data, as well as new
and updated green solutions, have been data is stored and executed externally. Notes

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In the solution area, cloud computing reduces the organization’s carbon footprint

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by allowing it to focus on the remaining end-user computer devices. However, because
this solution moves infrastructure outside of the organisation, the total emissions,
when measured jointly between the Cloud and the business, may still be significant.
As a result, in a Cloud computing scenario, it is critical to clearly define and document

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the sharing of carbon emissions resulting from this infrastructure change in the
service contract. The overall reduction in carbon can only be determined when the
carbon obligation is divided appropriately among the consumers and providers of
Cloud computing. However, because the Cloud unifies infrastructure across multiple
enterprises, it ensures service delivery and risk sharing, ultimately resulting in a green
advantage.

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Virtualization
Virtualization, on the other hand, as part of the solutions architecture, enables
the consolidation of data centre hardware, lowering the organization’s overall carbon
emissions. As the name implies, virtualization produces many operating perspectives

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on the same physical computer, resulting in a significantly lower utilisation of hardware
than if the servers were all physical. Virtualization carbon performance criteria should
be identified, recorded, and measured in accordance with the organization’s overall
green plans and objectives. A green solution design, on the other hand, will ensure
that the specific virtualization technologies can coexist with the new, SaaS-based
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implementations of the new systems.

Smart Networks
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Automated devices, complex switch management, streamlined network operations,

and real-time reporting of network performance are all used in smart networks and their
management. The delivery of goods at a lower cost and with a smaller environmental
footprint is ensured through efficient network operations.

The ability of these networks and communications devices to self-diagnose

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is another exciting advance in both wired and wireless network architecture. As a

result, these networks are able to fix their linkages and continue to operate without
interruption. Sherringham (2011, HRG) emphasises how updating an organization’s
communication networks may ensure service delivery, reduce operating costs, and
reduce environmental impact.
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Incorporating the networks’ self-healing capabilities into the green solutions space
gives chances for network efficiencies in operations, lowering the organization’s overall
carbon emissions.

Real-Time Decision Making

In the solution area, real-time decision making is based on the accurate availability
(c)

and delivery of information in the context of the user’s requirement. Mobile technology,
devices, and applications are largely used to convey information in real time (Unhelkar,
2009).

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Incorporating mobile computing capabilities into the GSA has two unique but
Notes connected benefits: (a) it improves the real-time component of decision-making. This

e
type of decision-making also allows employees to devote more time to value-added
services. Travel times are shorter, which has a positive environmental impact; and (b)

li n
the ability to understand and interpret carbon data and information is improved, which
can be utilized to fine-tune the organization’s performance in real time to minimize
carbon emissions.

On
Alignment
Data, processes, and interfaces alignment is an architectural issue in the solution
space that focuses on decreasing friction between and within systems. As a result, ideal
Green IT solutions can be understood as a collection of inconsistencies, processes, and
interfaces.

ity
Ghose and Biliau (2011, HRG) have expanded on these concepts of alignment
by demonstrating how an optimization architecture can aid an organization’s carbon
footprint reduction efforts. They went on to say that they needed to know how to
evaluate (or monetize) the trade-offs between an optimizing factor’s local goals and the
organization’s overall (carbon mitigation) goal. This component focuses on modelling

ers
and studying the influence of changes in data, processes, and interfaces in one aspect
of the system on the remainder of the system and organisational functioning. To have
the desired positive impact of carbon reduction, green IT solutions must be aligned
with current organisational structures. If Green IT systems are not aligned, the friction
indicated above will occur, resulting in a waste of organisational energy.
iv
Optimization
Alignment is closely related to optimization, and it deals with the alignment of
Un

solution technologies including servers, applications, and databases. The GSA defines
optimization as the selection of feasible alternative solutions that are aligned with
the organization’s carbon footprint reduction goal. In the sake of the global goal, us
optimization incorporates techniques to incentivize an agent to adopt behavior that is
possibly suboptimal compared to its own aims (Ghose and Billau, HRG, 2011).
ity

Integration
This is a major activity in the green solutions space that spans two technological
areas: (a) carbon data integration with green services and interfaces within an
application; and (b) application-to-application integration. Integration in the GSA is a
Am

comprehensive process that necessitates separate discussion as the next step.

2.3.6 An Example of Green Enterprise Architecture

An example of GEA is shown in the diagram below. This is an example architecture
that incorporates a company’s business, technology, process, and people dimensions.
The drivers and transformation dimensions for Green IT make up the business layer.
(c)

On the left, you can see the legislative requirements for carbon emissions that directly
affect the company layer.

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 Green Computing 207

Figure below depicts the corporate decision-making, environmental data collecting

and processing, the influence on systems, supply chains, and people, as well as the Notes

e
emissions monitoring layers. The WS and infrastructure layers support the elements
of a GE A, as shown in Figure. These technical layers are nevertheless influenced by

li n
policies, practices, and procedures.

The adoption of environmental principles and practises, the development of

environmental skills and protocols, and the facilitation of fresh CEMS application

On
opportunities are all covered by this example architecture. Such GEAs include
provisions for environmentally sensitive business principles inside company processes.
Figure depicts the multiple strata of such architecture, which Unhelkar and Trivedi
examine in depth (2009).

ICT plays a critical role in developing systems/technologies that systematically and

continually manage energy usage, inform businesses about energy consumption, and

ity
enforce environmentally conscious consumption. The input-analysis-output activities,
which are technically enabled by the emissions monitoring layer, are visible in Figure
below. (CEMS).

The smart metering devices depicted on the top left side of Figure are typically

ers
mobile devices. These smart metres must be connected to the machinery whose
emissions must be detected and monitored on a regular basis. Smart metres serve
as the foundation for a lifecycle assessment of an item and can result in beneficial
adjustments in how that item is used in terms of carbon emissions.
iv
Finally, the GEA makes it possible to link corporate infrastructure challenges to E I.
With the help of a GE A, the hardware, networks, public infrastructure, and third-party-
owned infrastructure are all identified, understood, and positioned in such a way that
they are most carbon and cost effective.
Un

These infrastructure elements may, on occasion, be beyond the organisational

boundary and hence not easily interchangeable. Furthermore, a GE A provides input
and advice for EI data, services, and interfaces quality assurance and quality control
(testing). This is because a strategy for absorbing modifications, testing those changes,
and planning the deployment can be developed based on the design. A GEA can also
ity

help in comparing and contrasting differences between EIS-specific apps and other
business applications. However, EI applications are not as prevalent as other business
apps today, making comparisons and audits difficult.
Am
(c)

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 208 Green Computing

Notes

e
li n
On
ity
ers
An example of ERBS architecture. (Based on Unhelkar, B. and Trivedi, B., Merging
web services with 3G IP multimedia systems for providing solutions in managing
environmental compliance by businesses. In Proceedings of the Third International
Conference on Internet Technologies and Applications (Internet Technologies and
iv
Applications, ITA 09), Sep. 8–11, 2009, Wrexham, North Wales, UK, 2009a).

Check your Understanding

Un

State true or false

1. A GEA’s goal is to develop an understanding of various perspectives on business,

technology, and the environment in which the company operates.
2. A GEA affects both the GIA in the business world and the GSA in the technical world.
3. GEA makes it possible to link corporate infrastructure challenges to E I.
ity

4. Data, processes, and interfaces alignment is an architectural issue in the solution

space that focuses on decreasing friction between and within systems.
5. Distribution, scalability, dependability, device support, security, and application
Am

integration must all be addressed in the architecture of these solutions.

6. A portal is an electronic interface that allows an organisation to communicate with
the outside world.

Fill in the blanks

1. ___________ evolution toward EI using data, information, processes, and knowledge
associated with organizational systems.
(c)

2. The ________ defines optimization as the selection of feasible alternative solutions

that are aligned with the organization’s carbon footprint reduction goal.

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 Green Computing 209

3. __________ carbon performance criteria should be identified, recorded, and

measured in accordance with the organization’s overall green plans and objectives. Notes

e
4. In the solution area, ________ decision making is based on the accurate availability

li n
and delivery of information in the context of the user’s requirement.

Summary
●● GEA is an EA that provides a solid foundation for a company to alter its systems,

On
applications, and processes in order to support a green organisation. GEA extends
enterprise-level architectural concepts to provide a long-term, strategic foundation
for modernizing existing systems, procuring future systems, and integrating them
into the green organization’s day-to-day activities.
●● The organisation can define, assess, measure, analyze, report, and monitor the
systems and processes that explicitly deal with Green IT using an EA-based

ity
approach.
●● An “enterprise” is a high-level, strategic vision of the company, whereas
“architecture” refers to an organized framework for resource analysis, planning,
and development.
●●

●●
ers
A GEA’s goal is to develop an understanding of various perspectives on business,
technology, and the environment in which the company operates. This knowledge
also helps to mitigate the dangers of the green transformation.
A GEA can be used to help suppliers comply with regulations and standards by
iv
providing technical assistance (e.g., training, CEMS implementation, policy
interpretation). A good GEA also aids clients by providing them with the necessary
Green web service interfaces, advertising the organisation, and assisting
corporate customers in setting up their own GEA.
Un

●● A complete GEA includes an awareness of the organization’s multiple perspectives

and interrelationships.
●● The GIA identifies the fundamental functional requirements that are modelled
within the context of the enterprise’s Green IT strategy, processes, applications,
and IT governance.
ity

●● A GEA affects both the GIA in the business world and the GSA in the technical
world. It deals with restrictions, compliance, integration performance, and
security challenges. As a result, GEA activities cover the problem, solution, and
background space.
Am

●● The GIA provides the foundation for you to create enterprise applications,
processes, and content. The master data semantics, including green data,
are defined, and operational and analytical information are modelled in this
architectural space. The business, information, and enterprise domains all
have requirements that influence the information architecture. The context
for supporting integration across diverse apps is provided by this information
architecture.
(c)

●● A portal is an electronic interface that allows an organisation to communicate with

the outside world.

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 210 Green Computing

●● The carbon statistics and information will be the focus of a green portal. Portals
Notes give organizations access to the information they need to collaborate with

e
other organizations, government agencies, and standard bodies (tasked with
benchmarking and regulating carbon emissions).

li n
●● External agencies, technologies, and ontological elements would support a Green
ICT information portal’s data collection strategy—outside of the company. The
internal strategy for carbon data for the portal will include internal stakeholders,
solution space technologies (such as SOA and WS outlined earlier), and access

On
media.
●● Green materials are dynamic, rapidly changing content that is typically shared
among many agencies and media both within and beyond the company. ICT
groups, governments, business, research organizations, and standard-setting
bodies are examples of such organizations.

ity
●● Sherringham (HRG, 2011) went over the influence of Green IT solutions on the
green enterprise in great depth. Internal carbon recording, external carbon reporting,
and implementation of green IT solutions are all covered under green IT solutions.
●● Virtualization as part of the solutions architecture, enables the consolidation of

ers
data centre hardware, lowering the organization’s overall carbon emissions. As the
name implies, virtualization produces many operating perspectives on the same
physical computer, resulting in a significantly lower utilization of hardware than if
the servers were all physical.
iv
●● Alignment is closely related to optimization, and it deals with the alignment of
solution technologies including servers, applications, and databases. The GSA
defines optimization as the selection of feasible alternative solutions that are
aligned with the organization’s carbon footprint reduction goal.
Un

Activity
1. Organize a workshop to review your existing EA.
2. Create/cross-check inventory of your BI system suite.
3. Plan to modify/update existing data within BI suite to incorporate carbon calculations
ity

(this will be more than just a database update). New applications/modules may get
added to your existing systems.
4. Create the outline of a green information portal. Identify the elements specific to the
portal for your organization.
Am

5. Create a strategy for integrating your SCM system.

6. Identify areas to modify in existing data structures to accommodate new carbon data
elements.
7. Convert existing organizational data to accommodate external carbon data such as
regulatory requirements and standards.
(c)

Questions & Exercises

1. Explain the various types of Green architectures within the enterprise, such as
information architecture and solutions architecture.

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 Green Computing 211

2. Describe the importance of GEA in an organization transformation to a green

organization. Notes

e
3. Explain how a Green systems architecture evolves from a basic to a linear and

li n
eventually a collaborative process-based architecture.
4. What comprises green contents? What are the sources and the users of green
contents?
5. What is a Green ICT information portal? Discuss the important elements of the inputs

On
and outputs of a green portal.
6. Discuss the role of EI together with Cloud computing. What are the various people to
system interactions facilitated by EI?
7. Explain the role of SCM systems in the GEA.
8. Describe how carbon emissions could be reduced by extending SCM with mobile

ity
technology.
9. Discusses your current organizational portal. What challenges you expect to face
when you add sources and provisioning of carbon data to this portal?
10. Give an example of green enterprise architecture.

Glossary
1.
ers
Green ICT (or Green IT): The study and practice of using computing (ICT) resources
efficiently so as to reduce their carbon impact on the organization’s performance.
iv
Thus, Green ICT includes technologies, tools, and techniques to reduce carbon
emissions through reduced power consumption.
2. Green ICT Framework: A taxonomy that takes the many different components of
Un

Green ICT and relates them to each other

3. Green Policies: Provides environmental parameters to reduce the environment impact
of business operations and promote sustainable development to the organization.
4. Green Web Services: The web services that endeavor to play a significant role for
measuring the carbon footprints of a business and thus help the enterprise to take
ity

effective action to shrink the carbon footprints.

5. Carbon Credits: Carbon credit refers to a unit (typically tonne) of carbon (or carbon
dioxide equivalent) saving that can be used, exchanged or traded.
Am

References (Images/Graphs/Tables/Text)
1. Green IT Strategies and Applications using Environmental Intelligence by Bhuvan
Unhelkar.
2. Green Information Technology: A sustainable approach by Collin Pattinson.

Further Readings
1. Gartner Research. Gartner’s Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users,
(c)

2008 and Beyond: Going Green and Self-Healing, Gartner Inc, 2008.
2. Aberdeen Group. The Product Compliance Benchmark Report: Protecting the
Environment, Protecting Profits, The Aberdeen Group, September, 2006.

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 212 Green Computing

3. Unhelkar, B., & Dickens, A. lessons in implementing green business strategies

Notes with ICT, cutter it journal, vol 21, no 2, February 2008, cutter consortium, April

e
2008, 11(3), 2008.

li n
4. Murugesan, S. Going Green with IT: Your Responsibility Toward Environmental
Sustainability, Cutter Consortium Business-IT Strategies Executive Report, 10
(8), August, 2007.
5. Philipson, G. Green IT and Sustainability in Australia 2009 – Attitudes, Plans

On
and Actions, A white paper by Connection Research, 2009.
6. Azvine, B., Cui, Z., Nauck, D. D., and M ajeed, B. (2006). Real time business
intelligence for the adaptive enterprise.” Paper presented at the E-Commerce
Technology, 2006, Ā e 8th IEEE International Conference on and Enterprise
Computing, E-Commerce, and E-Services, San Francisco, CA, USA.
7. Clark, T. D. J., Jones, M. C., and Armstrong, C. P. (2007). Ā e dynamic

ity
structure of management support systems: theory development, research
focus, and direction. MIS Quarterly, 31(3): 579–615.
8. Kimball, R., Reeves, L., Āornthwaite, W., and Ross, M. (1998). Ā e Data
Warehouse Lifecycle Toolkit: Expert Methods for Designing, Developing and

9.
ers
Deploying Data. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, NY, USA.
Rosan, M., Krichevsky, T., and Sharma, H. (2011). Strategies for a Sustainable
Enterprise. In B. Unhelkar, ed., Handbook of Research in Green ICT: Technical,
Methodological and Social [Link] Global, Hershey, PA, USA.
iv
10. Sherringham, K. and U nhelkar, B. (2011). S trategic business tr ends in the
context of green ICT. I n B. Unhelkar, ed., Handbook of Research in Green ICT:
Technical, Business and Social Perspectives, pp. 65–82. IGI Global, Hershey,
Un

PA, USA.

Check your Understanding – Answers

State true or false

1. True
ity

2. True
3. True
4. True
Am

5. True
6. True

Fill in the blanks

1. Business intelligence (BI)
2. GSA
(c)

3. Virtualization
4. real-time

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 Green Computing 213

Unit -2.4: Green Information Systems

Notes

e
Objectives:

li n
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

●● Understand basic concept of green information system.

●● Learn about phases in a GIS development and deployment.

On
●● Comprehend features of GIS.
●● Analyze modeling a GIS architecture.

Introduction
In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things

ity
you have long taken for granted.

- Bertrand Russell
iv ers
Un

This chapter explains how to create a general Green information system (GIS).
A green information system (GIS) is a system dedicated to the administration of
ity

carbon data. As a result, a GIS serves as the foundation for the organization’s carbon
data measurement, monitoring, and reporting. As a result, this system is critical to an
organization’s environmental strategies. The design and development aspects of such a
GIS are the topic of this chapter. To distinguish this discussion of green system software
design and development from the general list, the system is referred to in this chapter
Am

as GIS (rather than Carbon Emission Management Software [CEMS]).

GIS can be complex or simple, and it can work at several levels. The majority
of GIS are web services-based and available as SaaS. Philipson has put in a lot of
effort into researching, compiling, analyzing, and listing around 60 vendors who offer
over 100 GIS solutions. These CEMS products, which range from spreadsheets and
free online calculators to large vendors and consulting firms offering entire green ERP
(c)

solutions, have been aggregated on CEMSUS.

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 214 Green Computing

2.4.1 Basic Concept of Green Information System

Notes

e
li n
On
ity
ers
A GIS (also known as a CEMS or EIS) is a software system that helps a company
implement environmentally responsible business strategies (ERBS). As a result, this
system must cover the entire length, breadth, and depth of the company’s structural
and dynamic aspects. Some aspects of this system are similar to those of any other
iv
software system: it has underlying carbon emissions data gathered from the devices
that emit that carbon, processes and applications to help analyze.

A generic GIS should be built and developed in such a way that it can be trusted
Un

and used across various industries. A decent GIS should also be able to support the
product service and infrastructure industries.

The construction of a GIS must also account for interfaces with current software
packages (such as ERP programmes that provide customer relationship management,
CRM, and supply chain management [SCM]). The creation of a GIS must have a
strategic goal, especially if it is built from the bottom up. that data and identify trends,
ity

and, eventually, interfaces to present, report, and interact (and collaborate) with other
external sources of carbon services and data.

An underlying content management system, an object-oriented design

methodology, an object-relational database, support for mobile devices and interfaces,
Am

and implementation in an object-oriented language (say, Java) will all be employed.

Almost all new GIS deployments are expected to be SaaS-based. As a result, SaaS
and Cloud computing should be recognized by the system.

The GIS system is software that allows you to measure, monitor, and check the
performance of the various missions generated by the vices employed in business
activities.
(c)

The system calculates the values of organizational emissions. These values are
then compared to the regulatory organizations’ norms.

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 Green Computing 215

2.4.2 Phases in a GIS Development and Deployment

Notes

e
The primary steps of any typical software development lifecycle are depicted in the
diagram below. They are as follows in terms of GIS:

li n
Develop—GIS must be built using agile approaches and taking into account the
key phases of the SDLC, which include requirements, analysis, design, and code, as
well as testing.

On
Deployment, integration, and operations are all concerns that must be considered
during development. The system is analyzed and designed using the unified modelling
language (UML) diagrams, which aid in the modelling of the problem space and the
development of a solution in design space (model of solution space). This general
methodological approach is provided by CAMS.

Configure—Configuring GIS in accordance with organizational criteria and rules.

ity
This would be a unique activity for each company inside each industry area.

Use—Using GIS will result in the continuing recording of carbon data, as well as
the generation of reports and comparisons.
iv ers
Un
ity

Major phases in GIS: development, configuration, and use.

2.4.3 Features of GIS

Am
(c)

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 216 Green Computing

All important characteristics for supporting the organization’s green initiative must
Notes be included in GIS. Support for the routine, operations, and strategic trends are all

e
included. Enhancement of business systems with green capabilities is also part of GIS.
It would allow the company to make use of its existing data and procedures while also

li n
extending them for carbon reduction.

Integration difficulties must be considered when implementing GIS, especially

when firms have numerous established ERP programmes that will continue to be used

On
regardless of environmental objectives. The preceding debate on technologies and EI
will greatly benefit integration initiatives within ERBS. The previously described metrics,
as well as the three carbon emission scopes, are all implemented using GIS.

The following are some of the aspects of a GIS that play a significant part in
boosting a company’s ability to coordinate ecologically responsible approaches:

●● Collecting data on the surroundings in real time. The GIS must be configured

ity
to collect information such as the number of devices in use and on standby.
GIS must also relate his data to other business applications. Mobility
enhances this data capture ability and makes it more efficient.
●● In the area of EI, providing quality assurance to key performance indicators

●●
ers
(KPIs), and business analytics to field employees and decision makers.
The availability of querying techniques can offer data that allows unneeded
servers, desktops, and other equipment to be shut down.
Increasing senior management’s decision-making capabilities by collecting
iv
and calculating up-to-date data from a variety of external sources (e.g.,
government regulatory agencies and meteorological data) and feeding it into
GIS. As a result, knowledge management in the organization’s green domain
has improved. This is a service-oriented GIS strategy and the resulting real-
Un

time analytics go a long way toward improving the organization’s green

credentials.
●● Through analytics, GIS substantiates the organization’s green effort, providing
positive feedback and impacting employee work satisfaction.
●● GIS continues to improve and identify business processes and practices
ity

in manufacturing, sales, and field support operations in order to make them

environmentally responsible. The use of green information systems (GIS) can
aid in the optimization of corporate processes.
●● GIS also provides feedback to customers and external users of the business
on its environmental performance, which could lead to improved customer
Am

service and satisfaction, particularly for environmentally conscious and

responsible customers.
●● Using GIS to align work and home activities can be a huge help to an
organization’s efforts to improve its green credentials. This is owing to the fact
that GIS can identify areas of work that overlap due to their location-specific
character and make them as location-independent as possible.
(c)

●● GIS extends business management tools and techniques (such as KPIs,

business analytics, and reporting) to the environmental side of the firm.
Mobility improves the use of these management tools and processes even
further.

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 Green Computing 217

●● GIS gives the company the ability to self-sustain for an extended period of
time. A sustainable business and an environmentally conscious business Notes

e
complement each other. For environmental sustainability, GIS may bring
together technologies and processes.

li n
●● GIS allows businesses to collaborate in order to fulfil their environmental
commitments.

2.4.4 Modeling a GIS Architecture

On
ity
iv ers
Un

The GIS models were presented using the UML model. The following are the UML
modelling constructs that are utilized in this chapter:

●● Package diagrams: Used to create and model subsystems/Green information

portals. Packages can also be used to create increments and sprints in an agile
development approach.
ity

●● Use cases: From a user’s perspective, it’s used to show functionalities and
business processes. This is the system’s expected behaviour, which is recorded
as interactions.
Am

●● Use case diagrams: Provides a model that describes all of a package’s connected
business processes and functionalities. The scope of the system is also provided
by these diagrams.
●● Activity graphs: A thorough representation of each phase in a business process.
They define the flow of a use case or a GIS programme.
●● Class diagrams: A static model of GIS based on its major business entities is
provided. This diagram can also be used to model the carbon data warehouse
(c)

behind it.
●● Sequence diagrams: Provides a model for the interactions between items as well
as architectural principles for these relationships.

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 218 Green Computing

●● State machine diagrams: Provides a picture of how a certain entity changes states
Notes while a business process is carried out.

e
●● Component diagrams: Used to depict how each component interacts with the

li n
others.
●● Deployment diagrams: Used to show how an application, including hardware and
supporting infrastructure, will be deployed.
While these diagrams are designed to demonstrate the many parts of a GIS, they

On
also emphasize the system’s most significant features. A large ERP application will
necessitate significantly more effort and complexity than GIS simulations suggest.

Check your Understanding

 State true or false

ity
1. A green information system is a system dedicated to the administration of carbon
data.
2. GIS also provides feedback to customers and external users of the business on its
environmental performance, which could lead to improved customer service and

3.

4.
use and on standby.
ers
satisfaction, particularly for environmentally conscious and responsible customers.
The GIS must be configured to collect information such as the number of devices in

GIS must also relate his data to other business applications. Mobility enhances this
iv
data capture ability and makes it more efficient.
5. A decent GIS should also be able to support the product service and infrastructure
industries.
Un

Summary
●● A green information system (GIS) is a system dedicated to the administration of
carbon data. As a result, a GIS serves as the foundation for the organization’s
carbon data measurement, monitoring, and reporting.
●● GIS can be complex or simple, and it can work at several levels. The majority of
ity

GIS are web services-based and available as SaaS. Philipson has put in a lot of
effort into researching, compiling, analyzing, and listing around 60 vendors who
offer over 100 GIS solutions.
●● A GIS (also known as a CEMS or EIS) is a software system that helps a company
Am

implement environmentally responsible business strategies (ERBS).

●● A generic GIS should be built and developed in such a way that it can be trusted
and used across various industries. A decent GIS should also be able to support
the product service and infrastructure industries.
●● The creation of a GIS must have a strategic goal, especially if it is built from the
bottom up. that data and identify trends, and, eventually, interfaces to present,
(c)

report, and interact (and collaborate) with other external sources of carbon
services and data.

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 Green Computing 219

●● The GIS system is software that allows you to measure, monitor, and check the
performance of the various missions generated by the vices employed in business Notes

e
activities.

li n
●● The system calculates the values of organizational emissions. These values are
then compared to the regulatory organizations’ norms.
●● All important characteristics for supporting the organization’s green initiative must
be included in GIS. Support for the routine, operations, and strategic trends are all

On
included. Enhancement of business systems with green capabilities is also part of
GIS. It would allow the company to make use of its existing data and procedures
while also extending them for carbon reduction.

Activity
1. Compare the cost-benefits of developing an in-house GIS as against procuring a

ity
ready-made GIS. Consider the importance of SaaS-based deployment of the GIS
selected.
2. Discuss the key functional requirements for a GIS for your organization.
3. Discuss the key nonfunctional or operational requirements for your organization.
4.
ers
List the challenges in configuring, testing, and deploying GIS in your organization.

Questions & Exercises

1. What are the major areas of a GIS (refer to package diagram)?
iv
2. How would you separate functional from nonfunctional requirements of a GIS?
3. Create a use case diagram for the major aspect of a GIS relevant to your organization.
Un

4. Study the two class diagrams provided in this chapter as a starting point for discussion
on key business entities. Expand a few classes with all attributes and operations you
can think of.
5. List the operational requirements for the GIS from your organization’s viewpoint.

Glossary
ity

1. GIS is a system that is dedicated to management of carbon data. GIS forms the basis
for measuring, monitoring, and reporting on the carbon data of the organization.
2. Carbon footprint: A measure of an organization’s or entity’s impact on the environment
in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of CO2
Am

equivalent.
3. Carbon Emissions Management Software (CEMS): A category of software that
helps organizations manage and report their CO2 and other greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions.

References (Images/Graphs/Tables/Text)
(c)

1. Green IT Strategies and Applications using Environmental Intelligence by Bhuvan

Unhelkar.
2. Green Information Technology: A sustainable approach by Collin Pattinson.

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 220 Green Computing

Further Readings
Notes

e
1. Gartner Research. Gartner’s Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users, 2008
and Beyond: Going Green and Self-Healing, Gartner Inc, 2008.

li n
2. Aberdeen Group. The Product Compliance Benchmark Report: Protecting the
Environment, Protecting Profits, The Aberdeen Group, September, 2006.
3. Unhelkar, B., & Dickens, A. lessons in implementing green business strategies with
ICT, cutter it journal, vol 21, no 2, February 2008, cutter consortium, April 2008,

On
11(3), 2008.
4. Murugesan, S. Going Green with IT: Your Responsibility Toward Environmental
Sustainability, Cutter Consortium Business-IT Strategies Executive Report, 10 (8),
August, 2007.
5. Philipson, G. Green IT and Sustainability in Australia 2009 – Attitudes, Plans and

ity
Actions, A white paper by Connection Research, 2009.

Check your Understanding – Answers

State true or false

1.
2.
3.
True
True
True
ers
4. True
iv
5. True
Un
ity
Am
(c)

Amity Directorate of Distance & Online Education