IS6600-10

CSR and Green IT

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IntroductionClimate Change is a significant driver of

green initiativesThis may be most obvious at the individual

level We are asked to turn off lights and to buy

carbon credits when we fly Earth Hour is another popular appeal to what

we might call Personal Social Responsibility (PSR)But there are also significant organisational

issues and interests in the broader area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

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MotivesWhy do organisations care?

Economic incentives?Tax credits?Green is cheaper?Green is more profitable?

Moral incentives?Appeal to ‘do the right thing’ for society?

Political incentives?Government pressurePreparation for future legislation?

Consumer / society pressure?Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Initiatives

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Green Drivers

From a recent survey of IT Executives:57% green > cost savings43% green > better public image42% sense of social responsibility >

green24% their customers demand green17% green can help secure competitive

advantage

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Economic PositivesGoing green can:

Save spaceWhen employees telecommute, virtual teams

Improve systems efficiency Reduce power consumption

Because greener computers are more efficient

Up to 50% of power >> heat in PCsCloud computing also helps significantly

All these reduce costs and carbon emissions

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The Cost & CO2 Benefits of Migrating to the CloudAccenture reports that for larger firms

migrating IT services to the cloud can cut energy use and carbon emissions by 30 to 60%.

For mid-sized firms, the reduction can be 60 to 90%

For smaller firms, typical reduction exceeds 90%.

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Calculating a Carbon FootprintThere are many tools that you can use to

calculate carbon footprintsHere are a few examples

http://www.wwf.org.hk/en/news/press_release/?2560/WWF-Reveals-the-Latest-Carbon-Footprint-Data

http://www.climateers.org/eng/contents/climateer_calculator.php

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Energy Losses

Energy is lost when servers are idle – consuming power but not processing data Vampire Devices

Cloud servers may be running all the time, but for multiple clients, who are each sharing part of the load.

Data centres are heavy consumers of power. 15% of total UK power consumption is for

office equipment.

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Consumer-Focused Initiatives

EnergyStar is a US-based initiative Products can be labelled if they are

certified as low power consuming devices

In the EU, the Ecolabel is found Others (not energy) include the

FSC (for paper), MSC for seafood In Hong Kong, the Energy Label

from the EMSD of HK Govt

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Industry InitiativesThe Climate Savers Computing Initiative

(WWF) aims to reduce the electric power consumption of PCs in active and inactive states

The Green Electronics Council offers the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool to assist in the purchase of "greener" computing systems.

The Green Grid is a global consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centres and business computing ecosystems.

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Case in point: Coca-ColaPlans to monitor energy consumption

data from devices continuouslyThe software will identify devices

connected to the company's network Both for office equipment And for data centres

In effect, this will be a dashboard to highlight, in real time, where energy consumption is taking place

Coca-Cola CSR Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByHcNZ2c8Mo

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Case in point: GreenpeaceGreenpeace outsources its data

processing to a Dutch firm, EvoswitchEvoswitch uses 100% renewable energy,

with 50% from a Dutch windfarmGreen organisations in particular feel the

need to burnish their green credentialsSee the WWF’s Green Initiatives for its

HQ here:http://

www.worldwildlife.org/pages/wwf-s-green-headquarters

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Case in point: Green Power PartnershipThis is a US Govt Initiative to

promote Green Power It seems to work with major electricity

consumers to help them access green power suppliers

http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/

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TelecommutingWorking at home

AT&T increased the number of sales people working from home; 15-20% more time with customers, saving US$550M.

IBM saved US$100M in one US unit through telecommuting.

Perkin-Elmer encouraged telecommuting and shut 35 branch offices altogether.

Air conditioning (hot and cold) and lighting account for 70% of a building’s energy consumption.

But, it only makes a major difference if corporate offices get smaller or disappear. If the office is unused/empty, there is less effect.

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Virtual TeamsAre characterised by

Distributed members (city, region, country) Longitudinal tasks (days to months) A strong need for Collaboration, Cooperation &

ControlBut not all people like to work like this –

and not all organisations permit such work

Further, there can be serious barriers to effective virtual team work

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But We Prefer Proximity…Biologically, humans are coded for itFood tastes better when eaten with

othersOur blood pressure rises and heart beat

quickens when close to othersWe also conform more when with others

than when aloneSocial habits are often group related –

cohesive groups sit together, socialise, …

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MRO’s Regional Software SalesSales Managers & Executives spread

around SE Asia / Greater ChinaLiving in one place, but responsible for a

broad area (e.g. TW+HK+MO+HI or SG+MY or GD)

No office space provided – work from home, road, i-café, hotel, airport, …

Boss is in Shanghai – see him once a year, or less.

Colleagues, data, information are ‘virtually there’ with Lotus SameTime or MS Groove.

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MRO – It Works, but…Success depends on

The right technology, people, attitudeSuccess involves

A new style of work, thinking, sense of responsibility

Success is measured with Results, sales … not hours or seniority

A successful culture has to be created and maintained

So, it can be green, but green may not be for everyone

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Technology SupportGlobally accessible web-based

resources that support virtual workeRoom, SameTime, Groove, GSS,

Google Docs/Apps, Wiki, G+, …Interorganisational Systems, e.g.

TradeLink, connecting clients with:Banks, insurance, govt depts, trade

agents, port authorities, customs & excise, shipping companies, etc

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Technology CSFsSpeed of connection (inc. bandwidth)Freedom of access to information

Internet censorship of key public resources

Political Green LightsNo corporate censorship or blocking of

IT applicationsFunctionality and Ease of UseSecurity, Privacy and Integrity

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3 Barriers to Going Green

I. Misaligned IncentivesII. Competing PrioritiesIII. Lack of Expertise

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I. Misaligned Incentives The IT Dept/CIO decides how to manage

networks, but does not pay the electricity bill

Any solution means bringing together the CIO, the CFO and whoever is responsible for CSR

How much could be saved? Is there a role for an energy efficiency expert?

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II. Competing PrioritiesAn IT Manager / CIO is primarily

concerned to keep all the computers up and running.

The need respond to security threats, viruses, malware, hardware failures and software upgrades occupy almost all the available resources.

Everything else, e.g. being Lean, Green and Efficient, is a low priority

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III. Lack of Expertise

It is very rare for IT Professionals to be trained in issues related to energy efficiency

If they need to acquire this knowledge on the job, well, there will not be enough time.

Who else in the organisation has the skills – and the ear of the CGO?

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Nevertheless…

Consulting firms recognise the opportunity to create value (for themselves as well as their clients)

Given the lack of expertise and the tensions in the firm, consultants may rebrand themselves as CSR experts and seek both to advise on process and sell their products.

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Measuring Green IBM reports that “leading companies are

beginning to capture & report energy, water, waste and GHG emissions information”. Discover what information is needed, at what

frequency so as to drive change. Ensure that the right investments are being

made to meet long-term commitments IBM suggests that “smarter” companies will

track this kind of information on a daily, real-time basis and send it to "smarter" people who are trained and rewarded to drive continuous improvement.

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GreenSigmaTM: www.greensigma.org

“The adaption of Lean Six Sigma to environmental and climate protection”

“The Green Sigma™ Dashboard for Energy proactively monitors KPI data, alerts and trends, and enables drill-down analysis…”

“The Green Sigma™ Dashboard for Water monitors KPI data, alerts and trends to drive Water related benefits”

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GreenSigmaTM Energy Dashboard

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GreenSigmaTM as a CSR Enabler?The charts are simple but they only work

if you have the dataThey can highlight challenges by

Illustrating patterns over time Breaking down data by function

They can also help with analysis Where is energy, water, gas being used and

when?But they can’t solve problems directly

Human interpretation of the data is still essential

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Enforcement of Policy Issues Reduction of consumption Extension of product lifetime

Power is needed to manufacture IT The longer an object is used, the more

value is obtained from that energy How often do you change your phone? How frequently does your company change

IT hardware? IT waste is a significant problem – 50 million

tons a year is dumped, not recycled, and much of it is highly toxic

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Operates many green initiatives Reduce, reuse, recycle

When an old photocopier is replaced, all reusable parts are reused in the same customer’s new photocopier

Toner cartridges always reused Did you notice that CityU

encourages recycling of toner cartridges?

In future, no toner cartridges at all – solid ink sticks instead!

Case in point: Xerox31

32Your Green Future?Enabling a low carbon economyReducing CO2 emissionsEnvironmentally friendly (or less

unfriendly) applications Domestic, industrial, government

Propose a Green Technology Strategy for some aspect of Hong Kong life (6 slides max)

Be creative, bold and set strict (but achievable) targets)

Focus on technology please!!!