| Synopsis: |
Green IT will be a critical component of organisational IT and compliance strategies from 2009 onwards. There is a range of views about what, exactly, 'Green IT' actually is. At the heart of the debate about the environmental role of IT, there is usually an acknowledgement that the world's information and communications technologies consume a growing amount of power and have a measurably significant carbon footprint. Regardless of one's individual position or the reality of the argument, there are a number of aspects of climate change - such as the outcomes of the G8 meetings, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Kyoto meetings and the general growth of environmentalism among the public at large - about which individual businesses can do nothing. Inevitably, this more active environmentalism is increasingly translating into climate-related regulation. Organisations need to have an awareness and understanding of the relevant regulations and legislation so that they can ensure that they take appropriate compliance action.There are many thousands of environmentally related laws and regulations, only a few of which are of direct importance to the IT professional. It is important that the regulations that are discussed here - the ones that are of most significance in the management of Green IT - are tackled in the context of broader environmental compliance activities. Regulations that are relevant to the IT sector include carbon trading and carbon cap-and-trade schemes, which are used in a voluntary or mandatory capacity to reduce CO2 emissions and offset the impact of the environmental damage caused elsewhere. IT is a significant consumer of power and these schemes, while still very much in their infancy, are of growing importance and relevance for the IT organisation. This pocket guide provides a useful introduction to, and overview of, these schemes. Apart from carbon trading schemes, organisations are increasingly exposed to regulations around the disposal of waste, particularly electronic waste and, again, these regulations have a specific impact on the IT organisation.This pocket guide is not a legal compliance manual; organisations should refer to the actual legislation or regulations and take advice from a suitably qualified professional on all issues arising from their obligations to comply with environmental legislation. |