Can the IT industry be sustainable?

Core to Cloud announces partnership with N2S

When we hear the word “sustainability”, we typically think of cutting down our consumption of single-use plastic or hopping on a bike rather than driving. We don’t think about the indispensable electronic devices that we use every day.

The IT industry is responsible for approximately 2% of worldwide carbon emissions, which is roughly equivalent to the CO2 emissions attributed to the aviation industry. Desktops, laptops, and servers rely on constant energy sources and are responsible for significant GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions. What’s more, the manufacturing and disposing of electronic equipment can cause major environmental damage if not properly managed.

Sustainability is no longer a fringe movement with no tangible impact; it’s a way of life that the world urgently needs to adapt to. Green growth is possible and it starts today.

We’ve partnered with N2S because we believe that the IT industry should be more aware of the environmental impact that it generates. Sustainable IT practices should be seamlessly woven into business processes, to ensure minimum waste and protect our world.

About N2S

N2S is the UK’s market leader in IT security and data protection services, including IT installations, IT recycling, and data destruction services.

Built upon an ethos of maximising the value of end of life IT assets, N2S supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through a series of sustainable principles - namely ‘repurpose, donate, resell and recycle’. Since 2015, N2S has pledged to send 0% of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) to landfill.

Why is sustainability an afterthought for IT teams?

The IT industry has provided countless tools for the advancement of humanity. In just a couple of decades, we’ve gained the ability to generate and process data, communicate globally, and innovate like never before. It’s been nothing short of a revolution and the digital world has grown to become crucial to the functioning of society.

However, all these rapid advances in technology haven’t made our society more sustainable. Ecological and sustainable issues have been largely overlooked by the IT industry.

A sector that relies on a high-level of round-the-clock manufacturing and mass production is naturally at odds with sustainable growth. What’s more, in instances where sustainable IT models are suggested to organisations, there have been barriers to contend with. Budget constraints, a lack of time, and employee pushback to changes made to existing IT systems are all commonly cited as obstacles

How can IT be more green?

Recycling redundant equipment is no longer adequate when it comes to green IT practices. Although IT is part of the problem of increasing energy demands and carbon emissions, sustainable and efficient IT is key to the solution.

By combining social responsibility, smart resource use, and technological innovation, Green IT can address some of the technological solutions that can make sectors more efficient.

  • Follow data centre best practices, including:
    • Maximise your data centre space as much as possible to minimise your cooling and energy costs
    • Utilise outside air cooling
    • Unplug and remove redundant servers, which are using energy but not doing any computing

 

  • Prioritise digital transformation. This is the cultural, organisational, and operational change of an organisation through the smart integration of digital technologies. It’s about optimising technology and leveraging its impact in a strategic and prioritised way. When sustainability efforts are included in this from the outset, they end up being seamlessly integrated into the very fabric of a business.

 

  • Migrate to the cloud. The shift to cloud computing represents a fundamental change in how many organisations use and provide their services. Cloud energy tends to be more efficient and most organisations already run at least one workload in the cloud. The process of moving applications, application data, and workloads to cloud environments can offer many benefits, from more optimised elasticity and redundancy to improved IT productivity and cost efficiencies.

 

One such cloud migration and digital transformation vendor is Arcserve. Arcserve Live Migration significantly simplifies the process of migrating your data, applications, and system workloads. Its highly flexible architecture enables you to migrate virtually any data or workload to the cloud, while keeping your business fully operational.

To learn more about N2S, contact us today. 

The Core of IT V4

Greatest Hits Radio Gloucestershire

Richard Staynings, Chief Security Strategist discusses how the cybersecurity industry in the local area has grown considerably in the last ten years, with foundation and bachelor’s degrees in Cybersecurity now very popular in Gloucestershire.

What Threats Impact Tech Teams?

How toxic is your tech team? Yep, we are looking at you. A toxic tech team is a group of individuals working in the technology industry who engage in behaviour or practices that create a negative work environment. This can include behaviour such as harassment,...

Trusted by over 150 organisations

Share This