In the earlier Advisor in this series ("A Sustainability Strategy That BITES — Creating an Actionable Agenda: Part I," 2 June 2010), I outlined the need for a business, IT, and environmental sustainability (BITES) strategy and discussed what green IT means and how IT (besides itself being green) as an effective tool or means could help in many different ways to enhance enterprise environmental sustainability. In this Advisor, I discuss an enterprise green IT strategy and how to create and implement it.

Sustainability does matter to businesses, and sustainability-related issues will have an impact on businesses -- now and more so in the future. So, it’s important for an enterprise to create and execute its enterprise green strategy and, as part of it, its enterprise green IT strategy.

Enterprise Green IT

Each enterprise must develop a holistic, comprehensive green IT strategy, which should be a component of and aligned with an overall enterprise green strategy, IT strategy, and business strategy. It should then develop a green IT policy that outlines aims and objectives, goals, an action plan, and a schedule. An organization must make a commitment to support environmental sustainability.

Enterprises also need to appoint an environmental sustainability officer to drive the development and implementation of its green strategy and policy and to monitor progress and achievements. But as of now, only a small percentage of enterprises -- IT and non-IT -- have taken the lead and have appointed environmental sustainability officers at senior levels, have a separate budget for green efforts, or use any sort of carbon emissions management software products. IT departments and various functional units in most enterprises don't even have an idea about what their energy consumption is, let alone the other environmental impacts of their work and business processes.

Further, though some enterprises have come up with green strategies, many of these have been developed and implemented piecemeal. The efforts therefore are fragmented, and lack coherence and an integrated approach. As a result, they don't yield fuller benefits, and some of their efforts could even be counterproductive.

Currently, several factors drive enterprise environmental sustainability in significant ways; they are: responsible business ecosystem; compliance to regulatory and legal requirements; economic gains achieved through energy efficiency, waste reduction, and reduced energy consumption; sociocultural and political factors; and enlightened self-interest. For discussion on some of the drivers, refer to a recent Executive Report by Cutter Senior Consultant Bhuvan Unhelkar.¹

Enterprises need to create their green strategies in a holistic and integrated way. No one green strategy fits all enterprises, though there are many common elements. Each enterprise must develop and implement its own near-term and long-term green strategy, considering its business environment, objectives, and requirements, and modifying and optimizing business processes and practices as required.

Steps to Creating a Green IT Strategy

To develop and implement an integrated enterprise green strategy, I recommend you follow the seven-step approach:

1. Engage with your key stakeholders -- employees, senior executives, and business partners -- and create awareness of environmental issues and their impact on your enterprise.

2. Conduct energy audits and review equipment purchases and disposal policies and practices. Assess their environmental and cost impact and identify areas to be "greened."

3. Set internal targets to reduce your carbon footprint, along with time lines.

4. Develop and implement a green IT strategy that a) aims to achieve high utilization of your IT systems while reducing energy use, and b) helps to minimize environmental impacts of various business activities and practices.

5. Encourage, motivate, and energize your workforce to follow the green path you set; also encourage your workers to come up with and implement their own ideas. In addition, encourage your clients, suppliers, and outsourcers to adopt green practices.

6. Monitor your progress regularly; outline tangible and intangible benefits realized as a result of adopting your green strategy; watch industry trends and new developments. Revise your green IT strategy as required as public expectations and regulatory compliance requirements about corporate sustainability efforts continue to arise.

7. Publicize your environmental policy, actions, and achievements and thereby get credits and accolades you deserve from customers, peers, industry groups, environmental advocates, government agencies, and society at large. Hail your green achievements.

In developing your strategy, you must take into full consideration these five key aspects: your business's IT and non-IT infrastructure or systems, current business processes and practices, people, available green technologies and hardware and software tools that help to address environmental sustainability, and applicable compliance and regulatory requirements. Then you must align and integrate your strategy with the overall enterprise business and IT strategy, creating the nexus among business, IT, and environmental sustainability (BITES). For further guidance, refer to Unhelkar's report.¹

Ethical and Corporate Social Responsibility

Enterprises have an ethical and social responsibility to address the environmental sustainability of their business. Greening their business is their corporate social responsibility. Unfortunately, some, in trying to cash in on the environment sustainability movement, make fictitious claims about their green activities and green credentials. They in fact greenwash (claim to be environmentally friendly when in fact their product and processes are environmentally unsound and unsustainable) -- which they shouldn't do.

Put Strategy into Action

Strategy without execution is no good. Similarly, execution without a strategy is also not good, as it may not be effective in yielding fuller benefits and could be even counterproductive. You need to "do the right thing right."

To achieve fuller benefits, an enterprise green IT strategy has to be well defined, comprehensive, consistent, and holistic, and green measures have to be governed at the strategic level, managed at the tactical level, and practiced at the operational level. In many cases, it is appropriate and even desirable to take a phased, incremental approach to implementation, as it can make execution/implementation easier and obviate the need for large investment for enterprise greening efforts. Also, enterprises have to create and foster an enterprise-wide green culture and make green awareness and considerations a cultural trait.

I welcome your comments about this Advisor and encourage you to send your insights on business-IT strategy in general to me at comments@cutter.com.

Notes

¹Unhelkar, Bhuvan. "Environmentally Responsible Business Strategies for a Green Enterprise Transformation," Cutter Business-IT Strategies Executive Report, Vol. 13, No. 2, February 2010.