Danish
What is Green IT?
As information technology plays an increasingly important role in society, it also becomes increasingly important to minimize the negative environmental impacts of the production and use of IT equipment. At the same time, IT has a huge potential to reduce the negative environmental impacts of other activities in society. IT is therefore – for two distinct reasons - an important focus for efforts to counter global warming and other environmental problems
Figures from Statistics Denmark indicate that Danish households with computers have gone from 15 per cent in 1990 to 83 per cent in 2007. Moreover, 94 per cent of the households with computers had Internet access in 2007. Correspondingly, 98 per cent of Danish companies with more than ten employees use IT. These figures indicate that Denmark has embraced IT.
Figure 1: The possession of durable consumer goods in the family 1990-2007.
Source: Statistics Denmark.
However, the increasing spread of IT has environmental consequences. Gartner Consulting, a leading IT research and advisory company, has assessed that the CO2 emissions of IT on the global level equal those of the entire aviation industry, which is assessed to be responsible for two per cent of the total CO2 emissions. In the years to come, the environmental impact from IT will attain increasing significance on the global climate agenda. Denmark must therefore become better at limiting the harmful effects of IT on the environment through more environmentally friendly utilization of IT.
Green IT
Green IT can be defined as research in and use of IT in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner.
The Green IT approach can include several different phases in the lifecycle of a product – the development, production, usage and disposal of IT. Development must grant consideration to the environment; the production must take place using environmentally friendly production methods; the IT solutions must be used in an environmentally friendly manner; and finally, IT waste must be disposed of in an environmentally correct manner. All of these phases are supported by research and innovation in Green IT.
Just as the efficiency of an automobile depends on how it is driven, the efficiency of IT depends on how it is used. This is just as true for the private consumer as it is for the large corporation or public authority with large data centres and server rooms.
Few people would leave their car running in the driveway while eating lunch or leave the television on over night? Nevertheless, this kind of behaviour is quite normal when it comes to IT. In other words, Green IT is often a question of common sense.
Green IT should not be about rewinding the development back to the time before the digital revolution. It is decisive that ordinary citizens and the public and private sectors continue to exploit the opportunities provided by IT. For even though the increased use of IT products has negative environmental consequences the perspectives for the positive effects of IT use are far greater. IT is the key to the development of intelligent solutions that reduce energy consumption in households and in the production of goods and services, thereby actively contributing to the limiting of the total CO2 emissions.
IT holds the potential to reduce energy consumption and optimize resource utilisation. Modern IT equipment makes it possible to have virtual meetings, rendering flights and other transportation unnecessary. Similarly, home offices provide opportunities for teleworking, which also saves transportation. Another example of innovative IT solutions is automated control of energy consumption, which can form part of the energy-saving homes and workplaces of the future. In this regard, it is fundamental to invest in research in Green IT.
The increasing spread of IT is part of the strain on the environment, but at the same time, IT can become a strong contributor to the protection of the environment of the future. All it takes is the will and ability to think innovatively and promote innovative IT solutions.
