Digitalisation is one of the most dynamic sectors in the world today, with the development of numerous digital solutions such as telecommunications, the Internet, IT, etc. making a major contribution to its global GDP growth of 15.5% in 2016. Today, digitalisation is the leading recruitment sector in France. As a result, it offers a number of economic and social advantages.
It allows information to be disseminated more quickly and more widely, for example by enabling people to stay in social contact with each other or to work remotely if they wish. Especially during the COVID-19 containment in 2020, digital technology has even enabled advances in medicine. But does digital technology pollute?
It is partly responsible for global warming, the depletion of natural resources and the decline in biodiversity.
These impacts occur throughout the life cycle of a product or service.
From design, manufacture, use and end of life. The solution to this problem is Green It, an approach that aims to consider all the stages in a product’s life cycle, thereby reducing the environmental impact at each stage. Eco-responsibility is everyone’s business, from the State to local authorities, international agencies, associations, citizens and businesses. Businesses pollute enormously. Businesses generate 70% of the world’s carbon emissions.
Green IT: best practice
Introducing Green IT into a company cannot be done overnight, but requires a number of actions that need to be sustained over a long period in order to produce significant and effective results.
It should be remembered, however, that sustainable IT is a trend, often the result of an overall corporate social responsibility approach implemented within companies.
Green IT: best practice
Introducing Green IT into a business cannot be done overnight, but requires a number of actions that need to be sustained over a long period in order to produce significant and effective results.
It should be remembered, however, that sustainable IT is a trend, often the result of an overall corporate social responsibility approach implemented within companies.
Get to the root of the problem: buy sensibly!
The biggest item of digital energy expenditure is the manufacture of terminals, which accounts for 70% of the total! Opting for green IT therefore means showing greater vigilance in the manufacturing process of equipment under development, particularly through responsible procurement policies.
But in practical terms, how do you go about it?
There are several good practices that can be used to control the manufacture of IT equipment and equipment purchased for a company:
– Selecting equipment with a label to guarantee compliance with environmental standards during manufacture. Among the well-known environmental labels are TCO and Epeat, which cover a wide range of professional equipment;
– Limit purchases of non-essential items. Prefer other solutions such as equipment hire. For example, the company Commown allows you to hire electronic equipment on a cooperative basis;
– Buy reconditioned:
Occasion is a responsible purchasing solution. Even if the origin of the equipment is not necessarily eco-responsible, not buying new equipment helps to limit the company’s digital carbon footprint.
Repair, don’t throw away should be the motto of companies committed to green IT, because one of the main thrusts of responsible digital technology is to extend the lifespan of equipment.
Extend the life of your IT equipment by applying a few good practices:
– Refocus on effective equipment maintenance to anticipate and combat premature ageing;
– Install anti-virus software and other protective software ;
– Communicate to all employees the instructions for using equipment sparingly (switch off instead of putting it on standby, avoid printing, select energy-saving modes, limit sending emails with attachments, etc.).
