Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
regardless of the platform. By streamlining the
number of physical servers, floor space is reduced.
Cooling and capital costs are also reduced. Similar
to consolidation, virtualization efforts are often
undertaken with a business continuity benefit in
mind, and these benefits are far-reaching. While
the green benefits are often not the initial business
driver in implementing virtualization technology,
they can serve as an added incentive for funding
and implementation.
als to take pride in implementing organizational
initiatives for green IT, the organization benefits
not only in cost savings through reduced energy
consumption but also a greener environment. For
example, assuming the energy cost of $0.16 per
kilowatt hour, the annual electrical cost is over
$250 per 200 watt PC system running continu-
ously. By having computers turned to “sleep mode”
when they are not in use, the EPA estimates that
energy consumption would be reduced by as much
as 70%. Furthermore, by operating computers
40 hours a week savings of $190 per computer
per year would result. Reducing printing is also
another way to reduce energy use.
Personnel Management
While organizations may focus their enterprise ef-
forts on asset and power management, they should
not overlook the impact of individual personnel
management. Through inculcating a personal
green IT culture and promoting telecommuting
(where possible), organizations can also work
towards sustainability through greening.
TOWARD DEFINING A MODEL
FOR GREENING THROUGH
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
MANAGEMENT (GITM)
Telecommuting
In an effort to help organizations better man-
age their IT greening efforts, the authors are in
the process of developing a model. This model,
the Greening through Information Technology
Management (GITM) Model is based on the
Capability Maturity Model (CMM), created in
early 1990s in response to what was then called
the software crisis (M. C. Paulk, Weber, Curtis, &
Chrissis, 1995), (Fitzgerald, 1996), (Mathiassen
& Sorensen, 1996). The model could be used to
help organizations identify their level of IT green-
ness based on implementation of green-oriented
processes.
The original definition of CMM consisted of
5 levels: 1) Initial, 2) Repeatable, 3) Defined, 4)
Managed, and 5) Optimizing. These levels were
conceived specifically for the software develop-
ment environment and therefore contain elements
that are best suited for that area. Level 1 (Initial) is
applicable to system development projects which
follow no prescribed process. Level 2 (Repeatable)
is used to describe project management processes
Telecommuting is defined as working from home
or from a remote site. One of the causes for carbon
emission is the increased traffic congestion. John
Edwards estimated that “for every 1 percent reduc-
tion in the number of cars on the road there's a 3
percent reduction in traffic congestion” (Samson,
2007). Technologies such as wikis, discussion
boards, and web conferencing tools have made
it possible for individuals to interact online in
real-time. Use of these technologies reduces the
need for unnecessary employee travel, decreasing
the amount of fuel emission. It is estimated that if
everyone who was able to telecommute did so for
just 1.6 days per week, there would be a savings
of 1.35 billion gallons of fuel (National, 2006).
Personal Green Culture
As stated in the discussion of power management,
energy consumption of individual computing de-
vices is not insignificant. By encouraging individu-
