World Environment Day 2009

Tags: green it, environmental sustainability

On June 5th (World Environment Day), I had the privilege of presenting (via videoconference) at an event organized by the Korean National Committee of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The topic of my presentation was "Green IT: Can Technology Drive Environmental Sustainability?". Apart from showcasing the topic while presenting it (by using video conferencing to prevent air travel), it was particularly pleasing to be able to concentrate on the potential positive impact that technology can have in terms of mitigating the effects of climate change (as opposed to talking about the issues relating to data center energy consumption that seemed to have been the main focus over the past 18 months). Of late, we have identified that while ICT may be a significant contributor to Green House Gas emissions, it has a key role in reducing the environmental burden too. In some cases this goal is clear – to sustain a low carbon future - but to understand what we are up against, we need to identify where energy is being used. For example, in the United States, we believe that buildings use 40% of all the energy consumed, industry accounts for 32% and transportation uses 28%. From the Climate Control Group report published in 2008, it is estimated that almost US$1 trillion of energy costs could be saved by the use of ICT by 2020– these savings have often been classified under the ‘SMART – xxx’ projects, such as SMART GRIDS, SMART METERS or SMART OFFICES.

But despite this potential, there are several inhibitors to action in this space. Lack of awareness and resistance to change are definitely high on the list. However we are also seeing business & operational requirements taking precedence over environmental concerns in the new economy. There are also issues with harmonizing targets at a government level as well the lack of benchmarking data to measure progress. Unless these inhibitors are removed, we do run the risk of missing a window of opportunity to initiate a transition in terms of the way that consumers and businesses operate by using technology as part of a 'carbon avoidance strategy'.