By Nora Terrado
Despite the prevalence of conspiracy theories and climate change skepticism, man-made global warming is a widely accepted fact, and one that most scientists agree upon. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the leading body for the assessment of climate change, established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), suggests that the observed increase in global temperatures is very likely due to observed increase in human greenhouse gas concentration.
Green computing, the practice of efficient and ecofriendly IT, is becoming today’s norm. Addressing the need to minimize the environmental impact of computing resources, which accounts to three percent of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, has become even more crucial as computers play increasingly important roles in our daily lives.
Coincidentally, pundits believe that IT itself is the answer to addressing the eco-compliance needs of the remaining 96% to 97% of GHG contributors.
The work has already been started as IT companies the world over tread on the green path. Many corporations are adapting environmentally sustainable ways to conduct their business, with some even going great lengths to accommodate full ecological compliance. Citing a survey, Jose Iglesias of Symantec Corporation writes, “of more than 1,000 large enterprises in 15 countries, nine out of 10 IT organizations see their role in minimizing their company’s environmental footprint as very or extremely significant.”
The high-tech industry, during the 2009 Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, has pledged substantial reduction of its carbon footprint. According to TheDailyGreen.com’s Brian Clark Howard, technology titans Google, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo, Microsoft, Yahoo and Sun Microsystems have all joined with the EPA, the World Wildlife Fund and others to develop an ambitious industry-wide goal of slashing the amount of energy computers consume. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative has the goal of reducing computer energy use by 50% by 2010.
“If there’s follow-through, the scheme is expected to save $5.5 billion in energy costs and cut emissions by 54 million tons a year, the equivalent of 11 million cars or 20 coal-fired power plants,” writes Howard on 5 Signs the Computer Industry is Going Green.
Philippine companies are not far behind the green trend. Across sectors, Filipino organizations have followed, and in some cases, are leading the new green revolution.
In real estate, Ayala Land is developing the country’s foremost eco-sustainable community. Nuvali, located 40 minutes south of Metro Manila, is touted as the country’s largest and most environmentally friendly business district.
One of Nuvali’s first tenants is relationship management service provider, Convergys. Its Nuvali TechnoHub features green architecture and boasts an abundance of trees and shrubbery for better environmental air quality and habitat enhancement.
The energy sector also fronts key players in the sustainability practice. One of the more popular companies in this industry is Solar Electric Company (Solarco), developers of the E-jeepney, which is known as pioneers of home solar system in the Philippines.
On the other hand, ECHOStore leads the retail sector in promoting the use and consumption of environmentfriendly products. Located at Fort Bonifacio, the store doubles as a hub where people can exchange ideas about sustainable living.
From the corporate to the individual level, green computing is slowly being adapted by Filipino users.
Forecasts on green computing point upward as manufacturers take notice of the increasing environmental awareness of consumers, prompting further research and development of earth-friendly products.
A study by the US-based Consumer Electronics Association indicates that more consumers are inclined towards buying “green” electronics, with 89% expecting their next purchase to be “green.”
Cost poses as a huge hurdle for Filipino consumers. However, the practice of green computing and eco-friendliness in general enjoys continually growing support in the country.
In 2009, 15 million Filipinos in 647 cities and towns participated in the hour-long lights off initiative of Earth Hour, a considerable jump from a year earlier which garnered one million participants. The 10-fold jump in the number of participants was attributed to the Filipinos’ increasing awareness of climate change and its effects, according to Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Thanks to the media, particularly the Internet, the global citizenry is becoming more aware of the adverse effects of climate change. With the effective tools of mass communication, it is only an issue of doing away with apathy and adopting genuine concern for Mother Nature that separates us to a greener future.
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