The concept and importance of sustainability are already assimilated by most people and large companies, but even so, its adoption in the corporate environment is limited or nonexistent. Implementing a sustainable project like green IT encounters resistance from some managers and a lack of knowledge about the benefits and costs involved.
On the other hand, some companies create projects and invest in ideas that are not actually sustainable. They may be efficient, free up useful areas, and make processes simpler, but their energy consumption and heat generation are so intense that their environmental results are much worse than the initial solutions.
After all, what is green IT? What are its tenets and how can you know if your company is sustainable or can become one? And above all, what are the advantages of implementing sustainable ideas in your company’s IT management? Read on to check out answers to these and other questions!
Concept of Green IT
Green Information Technology, or Green IT, is the creation or redesign of a company’s technological infrastructure in a sustainable way so that it has and produces a lower impact on the environment.
This means a commitment to reducing energy consumption, decreasing the number of discards, heat and carbon emissions into the atmosphere, in addition to choosing suppliers with greener processes, among others.
Advantages of sustainability in the IT area
The topic of ‘ecology and sustainability’ is not always placed among a company’s priorities, unless this is already a principle of the organization or of a member of the board. However, just as strong as the company’s ethical principles are the advantages that the company can gain by investing in a sustainable infrastructure.
They are:
Reduction of energy consumption
Computers and servers consume a good amount of energy, not only due to their continuous use, but also because of their need for cooling. The energy bill does not come stratified showing the costs of lighting and computer networks, for example.
However, it is possible to estimate these values through the notes on the Watt power rating on the data plate. By doing this analysis, it is possible to conclude and compare which computers and servers are less efficient and can be targets for long-term improvement.
It is important to emphasize that the concept of sustainability provides for the reduction of infrastructure as long as it is underutilized, just as it also provides for investment and the replacement of equipment if they are more efficient and have a longer lifespan.
Qualification to become a partner of other sustainable companies
Companies are sometimes consumers of services, sometimes suppliers, and green IT can be a differentiator or even a requirement for some business partnerships.
Companies with carbon reduction goals, which have sustainable and local community development projects, cherish the green concept throughout their entire production process, including the choice of their suppliers and partners.
Building a positive image for the company
Just like the image for partner companies, the valuation of sustainable processes and technologies is well-seen by customers for its innovative and responsible character.
The association of sustainability and innovation is almost immediate, because for the former to happen, modern ideas must be applied in the project design, and this is invariably understood by customers as an advantage that they will also receive when hiring that particular company.
Strategies for Green IT
For a company to transform or create its Green IT, defining a strategy and calibrating its level of sustainability according to its size and objective is the first step. It is possible, for example, for the company to take advantage of its current structure and make minor adjustments without major costs, but with some noticeable results.
A broader approach may include hiring a technical audit that evaluates each piece of equipment and the set of them so that replacements or improvements that generate energy savings can be defined.
Companies with even greater interests can extend their actions to other sources of consumption and environmental impacts. Rainwater harvesting, tree planting, carbon credit purchasing, among others.
This last approach is more radical and can be understood as a specific strategy of companies operating in sectors where supervision and customer demands regarding environmental impacts are high, though not exclusive. Even a small company can include such measures in its IT projects.
Bonus: Complete guide to implementing a Service Desk in your company
Green Information Technology Solutions
It is possible to list some solutions for Green IT, such as:
Disposal and recycling of electronic materials
The disposal of equipment that is still usable or reusable can be done at specialized institutions and collection points, which will increase the useful life of the equipment.
Energy management policy
The energy management policy ranges from the efficient and well-studied purchase of new equipment to its correct use by users. In this case, internal awareness campaigns and the hiring of companies specialized in equipment and software analysis are appropriate.
Preference for products and companies with ecological seals
For the idea to be disseminated and also for the company’s status to be recognized and valued, its purchasing and contracting process must involve the same criteria of appreciation by which it intends to stand out. That is, the company should prefer products that have sustainable production lines and service providers that operate with this philosophy.
Ecological awareness and strategic thinking
The entire IT team and company users must be in tune with the principles of sustainability. Likewise, the careful analysis of each strategy must be done not only from the aspect of sustainable relevance, but also economic relevance.
These two analyses even go hand in hand. It is no use opting for cloud storage and eliminating current servers if this strategy represents a significant increase in cost and environmental impact, since the contracted server will have to be much larger and less economical in energy consumption.
In summary, a company can have its green IT at various levels and can enjoy many advantages by adopting this philosophy, but for this it needs to carefully analyze each of its actions, calculate and act precisely on each consumption factor to have a broad result of savings as well as a decrease in environmental impact.
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