Question

TOPIC :  Write a report (800 words) that gives an example of sustainability in the IT industry or how IT can be used to make other industries or life in general more sustainable. The report should be no longer than two sides of A4. UWE Harvard referencing must be used.

This report should detail a sustainability issue related to the IT industry. It can be how IT can be used in other industries to improve sustainability. It can follow on from work done during the induction week at UWE. Correct research and citations are to be used. Marks will be given for the student demonstrating an understanding of the subject and using correct citation and referencing. Marks will be given for:

 Understanding the subject

 References (must be peer reviewed journals)

 Citations

 Grammar and spelling

 Structure (sensible headings and sub-headings)

 Correct terminology

 3rd Person

 Flows nicely

can anyone help me with this ?

Answer 1

Introduction

​“Foresight is the key to survival. Managers able to perceive trends and weak​ ​signals where others see only noise or chaos can capitalize on the changing nature of the market to reposition their firms before new entrants become a serious​ threat…. Today’s corporations can seize the opportunity for sustainable development.”​ ​

- Stuart Hart and Mark Milstein. MIT Sloan Management Review (1999)  

Climate change has evolved to become one of the primary focus areas of international concern, touching on politics, a vastly evolving economy, business, as well as international security. At a time of extremely high costs of energy resources and fragile conditions of the financial markets, executives around the world are increasingly exploring alternatives and moving towards sustainability strategies to cut emissions, save money and just be proactive in taking a step in the right direction.

Sustainable development can be broadly defined as meeting the needs of the present by not compromising the needs of future generations. Sustainability in an enterprise can be achieved either through meaningful small adjustments or a major reorientation. The IT industry in itself is not quoted to be a big contributor to the problem but can play a major role in finding solutions - including fleet management, paperless billing, construction and facility management, and others.

​Role of IT in Sustainable Development​

​Information technology is evaluated to play a significant role in facilitating the shift towards sustainable practices in business. IT is calculated to contribute only 2% of the global carbon emissions as compared to 20% from agriculture, according to The Climate Group, a UK based non-profit organization. “The question is, how do we take the 2% associated with computing, and apply that to the other 98%?” says Lorie Wigle, director of the EcoTechnology office at US-based Intel, the world’s largest manufacturer of computer microprocessors.

F​ocused on R&D innovation and entrepreneurship, the ​IT industry provides an opportunity to lead the path of finding solutions to address the 21st century environmental and social issues. Information Technology can provide ways to enable cyclic industrial systems that use waste from some processes as inputs for others. With such systems in place, by reconsidering designs and business propositions, there can be a significant reduction in waste creation. And this is just one of the ways that the IT industry can have a major impact. In fact, researchers state that major innovations by Information Technology can play a major role in inducing sustainable practices in the transportation and logistics industry, construction industry and e-commerce industry.

Strategies for Moving Forward

Just how the internet dramatically altered business strategy and operations, using IT tools for "e-sustainability" will need innovation in rethinking traditional business models. Let's think of "e-sustainability"​​ ​as using information technology tools to integrate sustainability factors in various business operations.​ For example, researchers at MIT are working on creating new identification tags to track products throughout their entire lifecycle and will be able to assess interaction with various elements of the environment and relay the value data to multiple systems.

​This report highlights the following four strategies to create economic, social, and environmental ​impact through the use of information technology:

1. ​Structure an effective​ e-Company: ​focus on dematerializing and decluttering physical elements by implementing more of technology-based assets,
2. ​​Maximize Efficiency​: ​through sensors and computerized control of energy and material use​,​
3. ​Incorporate​ Tools for Sustainability​:​ ​infusing software, networks, and sustainability-oriented ​innovation ​can lead the way in creating powerful tools for more sustainable businesses​,​
4. ​Interact with nature and re-design products into services: IT systems can help in capturing the way the ecological systems function and relay the data essential for businesses to happy in their functions, for example, through biomimicry techniques.

The aforementioned strategies present an enormous opportunity ​for business owners to reap market advantage by integrating sustainability into their IT business model.

​​IT Sustainability Indicators

​IT sustainability ​indicators enable the quantifiable measurement of the social, economic and environmental impact of the IT industry on sustainable development.

• ​​Social aspects – ​In its essence, social issues​ are associated with political rights, human rights, and other social rights. This sector is highly innovative and has a constant dependency on technological development. The social dimension of IT sustainability is focused on the organizational impact on the local communities in which they operate and the risks from implementing the IT sustainability initiatives.
• ​​Economic aspects – ​The economic dimension of IT sustainability ​focuses on the organization’s impacts on the economic conditions of its stakeholders and on economic systems at local, national, and global levels. Financial performance is ​crucial to ​be able to gauge an organization and its own sustainability.  
• ​​Environmental aspects – ​The cumulative consumption of electrical energy by servers, computers, monitors, and colling systems for data centers is increasing steadily resulting in increased greenhouse gas emissions.​

In ​the proposed framework​,​ these social, economic and environmental issues ​can be translated into quantifiable measures of IT sustainable development indicators.​ Innovations need to be introduced in these sections to be able to curb the emissions and find a better use of the resources.​

Conclusion

​To sum it up, following are some points that business owners need to consider while looking to take advantage of Information Technology to further their sustainability efforts:

• ​introduce IT in the primary stages of discussion around sustainability initiatives,​
• ​focus on creating a centralized enterprise-wide governance strategy that introduces IT​ in all key area of the business,
• ​constantly measure and publish the results of initiatives taken under IT to increase company-wise awareness and involvement,
• ​take informed decisions and lead from the front to be able to motivate and inspire others to work towards sustainable development.

As Mr Friedman ​outlines, the goal of corporate sustainability should be to reach a point when the term "green" disappears entirely as it becomes the new norm!

Bibliography

​Information Technology and Sustainability: Enabling the future - June 2002 (The Natural Step, San Francisco, California​)​

​​The Potential of IT for ​​Corporate Sustainability​ - July 2014 (​Centre for Sustainability Management)

​​IT Sustainability Indicators for the IT Industry​ - July 10, 2015 (D.C.J. (Denice) Albertoe MSc EMITA)​

IT and sustainability:​ ​Bringing best practices to the business​ - The Economist Intelligence Unit 2009​