At a time when the debate about building a sustainable future is gathering strength around the world, governments and corporates are coming increasingly under the scanner on the measures that they adopt for reducing environmental damage. Green IT has become the latest buzzword on managing one's ecological footprint. Corporates today are constantly looking for ways to mitigate the impact of their actions on the environment and governments are looking to change the traditional way of functioning, one that is far from energy efficient.
In fact, according to experts, 2011 was the year for major innovations in the field of Green IT characterized by energy efficiency and sustainability.
In India as well, the government has made an attempt to push for increased usage of greener solutions and laid down several guidelines for technology vendors need to follow before they get important contracts or which are part of various e-Governance initiatives.
The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D), a Department of Commerce body which selects vendors for further use by ministries, has laid down strict guidelines in terms of greener technology. A senior official explained that companies had to include key features such as energy efficiency and follow norms on the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in their products.
“For any tender process, these are the basic guidelines (RoHS compliance, star labeling etc.) for a company to register on the DGS&D website for rate contracts. Only based on these and some other requisite criteria can a company become a listed vendor for any government contracts,” the official said.
The Government’s stick
The Department of Information Technology (DIT) in its charter for e-Governance related strategic plan has highlighted the need for the adoption of green technologies in all e-Governance projects. However, given the challenges of cost per project and poor power supply, the implementation of these projects has taken longer than usual.
“It is important to identify and adopt green technologies that are suitable for the Indian context. A typical challenge in scaling up of e-Governance projects in India and other developing countries is the poor power situation in most parts of the country. Therefore, there is a need to promote green technologies, which can be useful in areas with low availability of power sources,” a senior DIT official said.
DIT also intends to develop a framework and an enabling environment for the utilization of various kinds of emerging technologies such as Cloud Computing, Green Technologies, virtualization etc. in government projects. “DIT believes that such an initiative will provide the necessary impetus for the continuous development of such technologies in the future as well as help the government in save costs and optimize infrastructure,” the official added.
Explaining the fact, Bhaskar Joshi, Marketing Manager, Canon India, said, “The government initially took a lot of time. However, green technology is the buzzword now. It’s not just restricted to energy efficiency but RoHS compliance, certification etc. are also taken into consideration before vendors are awarded contracts.”
Also giving a push to the government's green IT initiatives is the emphasis on the development of a host of e-Governance systems some of which have been implemented with great success in departments such as the railways, income tax, MCA-21 etc. “However, a need to provide a legislative push to speed up the process of adoption of electronic means for the delivery of public services has been felt. DIT, therefore, is of the view that the universal application of e-Governance principles can be brought about by mandating the delivery of all public services through electronic means. This entire initiative also helps in cutting down paper usage subsequently making the whole process faster and more efficient,” the senior official said.
Mission Green
“With India’s carbon credits in mind, the government has adopted energy-efficient technologies and best practices for e-Governance projects such as UIDAI-Aadhaar, National Knowledge Network, Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), State Data Center, and the passport e-Seva projects that have exciting prospects for the economy. The government’s newfound focus is clear from the visible trend of preference for technology savvy bidders for IT intensive projects, over lowest cost bidders,” said Pratik Chube, Country GM - Products, Emerson Network Power India.
Emerson Network Power has been part of many e-Governance projects providing energy-efficient passive infrastructure solutions such as those based on Digital Scroll (DS) technology, DCIM tools for monitoring and managing energy consumption, and also designing and building State Data Centers in key locations based on the company energy logic model in order to ensure maximum energy efficiency.
The government is focused on doing simple things like putting in place energy-efficient shared printers on office floors; automating power management features that are activated on all desktops, laptops and desk phones; putting in place an effective process to dispose off e-waste; and eliminating paper usage by integrating mobile devices to enterprise applications.
In fact, every step that the government machinery takes towards digitizing records and moving away from traditional methods of functioning such as file keeping will save huge amounts of paper.
Though a lot remains to be done, the process has already gained momentum that is visible in various projects. E.g. the initiative by IRCTC to start accepting electronic formats of railway tickets as valid ones. IRCTC is actively urging passengers not to print their e-tickets. With this measure IRCTC estimates that close to 3 lakh [300,000] sheets of A4 size paper will be saved per day.
The government has consistently focused upon offering various services through digitized platforms. From filing e-returns to applying for a passport online, everything has been digitized so as to facilitate minimal paper usage.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency [BEE] which reports into the Ministry of Power has initiated the process of setting up energy standards and labeling requirements for IT equipment. The first program covering notebooks and laptops was rolled out earlier in March 2011. However, participation in this program is voluntary.
The objectives of the BEE program are to create nationwide awareness of energy consumption and reduction in the same, change in purchasing decisions and to prevent high energy usage products from being purchased in the local market. In the absence of a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) standard for notebooks, this standard follows the version 5.0 specification of US Energy Star program for computers. It requires local registration and labeling. The program may gradually expand to cover other IT product categories such as office automation products and data centers.
So far, HP has participated in this voluntary program by getting some of its notebook models registered with BEE.
Green IT for corporates
Cost considerations, technology changes, upcoming legislation and the need to improve efficiency and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) have all combined to make dealing with greenness an imperative for CIOs.
According to experts companies need to make green initiatives part of their IT strategy and it should not be approached as an isolated issue.
“There is definitely a conscious move towards embracing green IT as it is helping customers deal with dwindling raw material resources and energy consumption. With more legislation being enacted around carbon footprint, hazardous chemicals, energy consumption and green supply chain practices, it is becoming imperative for companies to realize that Green IT is a critical component of their IT planning and budgeting cycle. Vendors too are realizing the need to create products from the ground up that are green compliant,” said Upasana Choudhary, Environmental Manager, HP India.
Choudhary added that environmental issues had been an integral part of HP's research and development programs since the early 1990s. “It is the primary reason why we launched the Design for Environment (DfE) program as it is central to our design strategy and helps us meet increasing customer demand for improved environmental performance,” she said.
HP as part of its initiative, HP Planet Partners Hardware Recycling Program recycles PCs, notebooks and printer supplies. The company works with a global network of vendors to process, resell and recycle returned IT products.
Similarly, Canon, a leading print and imaging company too collects waste toner bottles (from selected offices) for recycling.
“A lot is happening with regards to Green IT. The entire corporate industry is moving towards digitization, reducing paper usage,” said Joshi of Canon.
Vivekanand Venugopal, Vice President and General Manager, Hitachi Data Systems, said, “We find two sets of customers. For the first set, price is the only parameter to make a purchase decision and they feel this is the cost of storage. However, price does not equal cost. While the other set of customers look at how power, cooling, and energy reduction aligns with the overall sustainability objectives of the organization,” he said.
Reuse and recycle
IT operations can become more sustainable if companies start recycling products on a systematic and continued basis. Some of the majors are already doing so.
CA India has partnered with a government certified e-waste recycler that recycles a lot of e-waste produced by large companies. Globally, the vendor is aggressively improving its e-waste recycling practices.
“We plan to work with the government and the corporate sector in spreading awareness about carbon emissions and about the technologies that can not only help them measure carbon footprint but also suggest ways for reducing emissions,” said Chintan Thakkar, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), CA Technologies, India.
HP and Canon also do their bit by recycling waste toner bottles. They not only collect cartridges from offices but also recycle them and offer genuine refills to their customers.
CSC, as part of its corporate strategy, promotes the recycling and reuse of products among its staff. The company also actively participates in the conservation of resources like water, power etc. “We work closely with our employees to develop and implement environmental improvement initiatives and, as part of this, we promote recycling and the use of recycled materials, while striving to reduce the consumption of all materials, wherever possible. Our endeavor is to reduce energy and water consumption by continuously improving efficiencies in facilities such as data centers. In fact, as a policy, we also seek out environmentally friendly suppliers so as to enhance our commitment in being green,” said Kothandraman Karunagaran, Vice President - Infrastructure Services, CSC.
Challenges
Since most initiatives for Green IT came about as late as 2007-08, they need time to stabilize. “The Government has made significant efforts to ensure that e-waste is recycled properly but, since awareness is low, the effectiveness is also low,” said Rishi Samadhia, Vice-President, Operations, ZyXEL Technology India.
Moreover, many green projects require significant funding for implementation and installation. Solar panels, specialized installation procedures and wind turbines can be expensive and cost prohibitive without loans or financing. While the payback for going green may be a lowering of long-term expenses, one may have to divert money from investments or savings for many green projects.
“The cost of repair, routine maintenance and general support for green products may be higher than that required for traditional products. The technology and processes used in many green appliances, products and equipment are significantly different from those of established products and, therefore, these differences require specialized training and experience to diagnose, repair and maintain green equipment,” said Karunagaran of CSC.
Another major challenge is the nascent nature of this technology. “Most green technology is relatively new and many green products are constantly evolving. The testing cycle for these products may be extensive, but the underlying technology lacks the benefit of time to prove its long-term reliability and efficiency. When you go green, you risk buying products that need to be replaced more often, have technical problems and offer unreliable service. The newer the technology, the greater the risk that you face in adopting it as a green initiative,” added Karunagaran.
However, in any green project, the cost impact incurred at inception should not be the prime focus as costs even out over time. Eventually, the results of implementing green initiatives become prevalent and reap favorable outcomes with the usage of environmentally responsible technology.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Pupul Dutta
Quelle/Source: Express Computer, 31.01.2012
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