Addressing the myths that surround the implementation of sustainability in your IT organization
Sustainability for IT businesses, though much discussed, is pretty challenging to operate, streamline and follow holistically. Sustainability of an IT organization would mean understanding the economic viability of such initiatives, while ensuring that growth is in tune with social and environmental requirements. If you wish to create a sustainable (Green and socially responsible) organization, read on. We have identified FOUR myths that need to be dispelled before you implement sustainability in your IT organization.
1. Sustainability has a precise formula – The truth is that sustainability is no easy task that can be obtained with well-defined, instant formulas. Rather, carving out a clear strategy for sustainability in an organization comes with painstaking efforts. And once these strategies are formed, the company should implement it in small units, not as a whole. Green IT focuses on energy efficiency and equipment utilization – so only you can decide the pace and the focus.
2. All we need for the implementation is available online – Tons of information are freely available online, but meticulously choose only that information that makes sense with respect to your company, your culture, and leverages your strength. Green IT proposes telecommuting to reduce equipment footprint and emission, but if your organization does not have a telecommuting culture in place, it is safe to ignore this – for the time being
3. Sustainability requires huge investments – While management focus, engagement, and sponsorship is critical for sustainability, it does not need huge investments. Training your employees to do simple things – turn off the AC, the monitor, and the fan before they leave, for example – can add up quickly. On the other hand, replacing existing monitors with energy efficient thin clients or using virtualization software to run multiple operating systems in one machine will need additional investment.
4. Sustainability can be implemented one department at a time: An IT organization without a clear strategic sustainability plan tends to react to regulatory compliance and reporting pressures. Reactive thinking happens when certain functions have attained sustainability in some circles of the organization, but fails when attempting to bring sustainability across the entire company.
Though implementing a green IT initiative is pretty challenging, creating a sustainable IT organization should be the goal of every IT business. In fact, as a global player, it is our prime responsibility towards our clients, employees, and partners.
Source: http://globaltext.terry.uga.edu/userfiles/pdf/Green.pdf
