Unit-1

Chapter-2(Text Book1)

Green IT Strategies: Drivers,

Dimensions, and Goals

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Introducing Green Strategies:
Green strategies outline a long-term and unified approach of an
organization toward environmental responsibility.

Green strategic approach considers both internal and external

organizational characteristics, including its structure, dynamics,
macroeconomic incentives, compliance constraints, and the need to
align corporate social responsibility with mainstream corporate
business.
Green strategies have wide ramifications, not only on the way the
business interacts with external and internal entities, but also with its
internal organizational structure, attitudes, policies, and practices.
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Green Strategic Mindset
• Effective green strategies result from an approach that cuts across all the
tiers and silos of an organization. Such strategies come from individual
understanding, leadership, vision, knowledge about the structure and
dynamics of the organization, awareness of the operational nuances of the
organization, and the attitude of people (stakeholders) to utilize change.
Such individuals would be reading, training, rewarding, promoting,
educating, sharing, and encouraging everyone around them to develop
further that green strategic mindset.
• A major benefit of developing an organization’s green mindset is that it
helps the organization manage the long-term implementation issues whilst
achieving returns from the “low hanging fruits” of Green IT to show
progress and what can be achieved
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An organization is likely to face in its eff ort to cultivate a green strategic mindset and
subsequently a comprehensive green strategy
• Quantifying the economic returns of a green project remains uncertain especially when it is
considered strategically. However, it is the strategic approach to Green IT that has tremendous
significance in terms of green value and meaningful returns.
• Organizations tend to take a hurried and, as a result, fragmented approach to environmental
initiatives. Instead, a holistic, unified approach is required.
• Fuzzy cost-benefit analysis and equally fuzzy metrics associated with green projects. Ā e
uncertainty in the payback on the environmental initiatives can discourage an organization wide
initiative.
• Potential risks associated with the use of technology-based initiatives such as Cloud computing,
business intelligence, and knowledge management in the area of green initiatives. Ā e inherent
risks and challenges associated with these technologies also translate into risks for green
initiatives.

• Design, development, and production of goods, as well as appropriate services keeping the carbon
costs in mind may initially require greater eff ort than the status-quo or business as usual scenario.
Furthermore, products and services will have to be reconfigured in a manner that produces long-
term advantage from a green perspective. For example, the existing CRM, SCM, and HR
applications can and will undergo modifications and enhancements to cater to the green 4
consciousness of the organization.
Philosophical Considerations in Green IT
Strategy
• Strategy matrix—carbon versus profit.

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Range of impact of Green IT strategies.

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Environmental factors influencing
organization’s business strategies over
next 3–5 years.

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Organization’s strategic plans to achieve green targets over
next 3–5 years. (Based on Trivedi and Unhelkar, 2010.)

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Elements of an ERBS Forming the
Green Strategies Mix

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Green IT Drivers
• Drivers for environmental responsibility of business.

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Drivers for carbon reduction. (Based on Trivedi and Unhelkar,
2010.)

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Responsible Business Ecosystem
• Green business ecosystem of a group of organizations—a large green
organization, in its wake, influences its partners, customers, and even
regulatory bodies.

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Green IT Business Dimensions (Factors)
• Economy, people, processes, and technology dimensions in an ERBS.

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Drivers and Factors lead to an ERBS.

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Various areas of influence of a ERBS.

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Organizations Consideration of Green IT
Strategies

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Industry Verticals and Green IT

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Wide-Ranging Considerations in ERBS
• Buildings and associated infrastructures need to be considered ◾ from their initial design and
construction viewpoint. Ā ere is opportunity for substantial reduction in the emissions of an
infrastructure if attention is paid to its initial design and construction from a carbon reduction viewpoint.
• Data centers, which are specialized buildings to house data and computing servers as well
as network equipment of the organization, require major strategic attention from a carbon
perspective as the impact of such decision in the early stages of a data center are long lasting

• Education and training (attitude and culture) of the staff is of primary concern in developing
an ERBS. Ā is would require not only paying attention to the current attitude and
understanding the path for change, but also considering green HR that provides support
and encouragement for changes to the attitude.
• Technology (hardware/servers/network) upgrades that will invariably occur as the organization
prepares strategies for a green transformation. Ā is consideration includes reuse and
recycling of existing hardware as well as strategies for replacing it with new, more carbon
efficient hardware.

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Steps in developing an ERBS.

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Green Business Objectives
• Ensuring a synergy between the core business objectives and the accompanying green
objectives
• Length of time for potential application—3–5 years being ideal
• Key drivers and dimensions that are impacting the organization
• Identify the growth potential and means for returns on green investment
• Attention to collaborative opportunities especially at a global level identification of markets
and regions for green products and services globally
• Finding the niche where the competitive advantage for the organization lies
• Identifying the areas for formal Green IT audits to ascertain the green maturity of the
• organization
• Development of Green HR as a part of the strategy
• Optimization and integration of supply chain systems
• Incorporation of government rules and regulations

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Green strategies are formulated to handle the
seven organizational (business) factors.

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KPIs in Green Strategies
Key performance indicator (KPI) provides information on an
organization’s performance against defined and measurable criteria.
KPIs can provide help in measuring the progress of an
organization in the area of environmental sustainability and
Green IT.

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Green KPIs in Four Groups

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EXAMPLES OF GREEN KPIs
• Example KPI-1: My organization will reduce 10% over its last year’s
energy bill. This reduction is aimed over next 3 years, at the end of
which, we will review all factors associated with this reduction.
• Caveat: Without reducing business activities.
• Explanation: Enhancement in business sustainability through not only
reduction in energy consumption but also through efficiency in overall
business processes. ERBS provides organizations with a mechanism to
consider energy-efficient measures, monitor, assess, and manage their
carbon emissions.

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EXAMPLES OF GREEN KPIs (cont..)
• Example KPI-2: My organization will eliminate the use of paper in all
communications in the next 3 years.
• Caveat: Except where it is legally binding to produce paper-based
documentation.
• Explanation: Elimination of paper, especially in banks, insurance, and
legal firms, is not going to happen immediately. Due consideration to
the legal requirements of paper-based documentation is required.

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Reference:
• Bhuvan Unhelkar. Green IT Strategies and Applications-Using
Environmental Intelligence, CRC Press, 2011.

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