Green IT: Opportunities, risks and the way ahead

Abstract

The Climate Crisis is increasingly being termed as the defining challenge of the 21st century. The IT industry has the potential to become a key player in creating a low carbon society and do a lot more to help push the world in this direction in the coming decades. However, to achieve the same, the IT sector must act quickly to demonstrate what is possible, get clear messages from regulators about targets and continue to innovate radically to reduce emissions. IT can provide solutions that enable organizations to assess energy and emissions in real time and could provide the means for optimising systems and processes to make them more efficient. Efficiency in the short term, can achieve savings equal to 15% of global emissions is a radical proposition. Green IT can be formally defined as optimal use of information technology (IT) for managing the environmental sustainability of enterprise operations and the supply chain, as well as that of its products, services, and resources, throughout their life cycles. A fair amount of academic research and commercial consulting has been carried out on Green IT in India, however, as of present, no comprehensive analysis exists which looks at Green IT as a key corporate strategy element. At the same time, the approach of Indian IT firms and Global IT firms with Indian efforts, have been similar yet contrasting, with different firms focusing on different elements of the opportunity. The current study aims to evolve: 1. A comprehensive Green Strategy Framework, aimed at analyzing, assessing and re orienting strategic thinking on green issues within the firm 2. Evolving frameworks which can be used for Risk analysis by other stakeholders including Investors and Communities 3. A contemporary assessment of critical issues in Green IT 4. Case studies of Indian IT firms and global IT firms with Indian operations, with a focus on comparing and contrasting their approaches 5. Addressing other important issues including Industry wide initiatives and Green (IT) Branding.