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Step by Step Toward Greener Technologies

Catastrophic natural disasters have in recent years become ever-present reminders of the power of nature. Events such as the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province, hurricane Ike in the US, and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, have shocked the world and been seen as a wake-up call for the human race as it continues on its relentless path of economic growth, development and consumption.

Home to some of the world’s fastest developing regions, it’s perhaps no surprise that such changes are so noticeable here in Asia Pacific. Pressing environmental challenges include urban air quality, fresh water stress, agricultural land use (a threat to food security) and increased waste. What has all this got to do with the IT industry? Well, according to analyst firm Gartner, at present the IT industry is seen as part of the environmental problem, instead of being part of the solution. Perhaps with good reason, as it is estimated that IT does as much damage to the environment as the airline industry. IDC estimates that roughly 50 cents (US) is spent on energy for every dollar of computer hardware and this is expected to increase by 54% to 71 cents by 2010.

One related example, illegal traffic in electronic waste, is a new challenge affecting the environment. More than 90% of the 20-50 million tonnes of electronic waste produced globally every year ends up in Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar and Pakistan. But Asian workers are reported to be “using obsolete technologies to process 21st century wastes.” Gartner calls on CIOs to take the lead to review policies and practices, as well as set basic environmental IT targets.

What are some of the other steps that the technology industry should be taking to help face some of these immense challenges? The good news is that there is a growing range of options available for reducing and changing consumption patterns as well as dealing with the resulting electronic waste. Here are some key considerations for the IT industry and users alike:

Saving energy at home
Energy awareness starts at home. Take a look around your home. Chances are you are living in a digital home typical of today, with set-top boxes, PCs, home entertainment systems, and more. By simply unplugging appliances such as coffee pots, toasters, hair dryers and computer cords when leaving the house, and switching off large energy consumers like entertainment centers when leaving for vacation, harmful carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced not to mention money saved on energy bills. Energystar.gov estimates that it costs US homeowners US$100 per year to power appliances in standby mode.

Supporting initiatives such as Climate Savers Computing will help in the global push to improve energy usage – the group’s mission is to reduce global CO2 emissions from the operation of computers by 50% by promoting development, deployment and adoption of smart technologies for computer power efficiency.

Addressing corporate computing environments
Compared to households, data centers and business computing environments are large users of energy, and indeed energy efficiency has emerged as one of the most critical issues facing the data center today. It will take the combined efforts of industry players to advance energy efficiencies here, and non-profit consortium The Green Grid has been established for precisely this purpose.

Smart uses of technology can also go a long way to improving the green credentials of manufacturing, across multiple industries – providing opportunities and impetus for new innovations by the IT community. From deploying alternative energy sources such as solar or wind power, implementing new waste water treatment or recycling solutions, to increasing use of ocean versus air shipping, CO2 emissions and water pollution can be significantly reduced.

One simple way for manufacturers to improve their environmental protection measures is to redesign packaging to reduce their use of plastic and paper, aiming for 100% recycled and recyclable product packaging.

Lobbying for new policies
Governments throughout Asia are taking a stance and encouraging corporations and consumers to adopt green practices and technologies. While ongoing initiatives and awards should be encouraged and supported, there is still some way to go before government policy frameworks in Asia are on a par with other regions.

Meanwhile, Gartner expects more collaboration between enterprises and governments to accelerate eco-friendly efforts. And as CIOs are increasingly pressured to cut IT costs, especially in these times of financial downturn, there will be even more demand for smart innovations and adoptions of IT that are both green and cost-effective.

Robert Chu is  Vice President for Asia Pacific at Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

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