Origins and Rationale

Origins

In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched Energy Star, a voluntary labeling program, designed to promote and recognize energy-efficiency in monitors, climate control equipment, and other technologies. This resulted in, among other things, the widespread adoption of sleep mode among consumer electronics. The term "green computing" was probably coined shortly after the Energy Star program began, and generally referred to power consumption-related issues. There are several USENET posts dating back to 1992 which use the term in this manner.[1] Also in 1992, the Swedish organization TCO Development launched the TCO Certification program to promote low magnetic and electrical emissions from CRT-based computer displays. The program was later expanded to include criteria on energy consumption, ergonomics, and the use of hazardous materials in construction.

Fueled by recent trends towards sustainability, the modern use of the term refers to systematic approaches to using computing technology efficiently. These include items such as addressing electronic waste, regulatory compliance, telecommuting policies, virtualization of server resources, cost accounting of energy use, thin client solutions, and many others.

[edit] Rationale

There are different philosophies related the implementation of green computing solutions. Virtually all proponents believe that businesses need to reevaluate some of their technological solutions and/or policies.

* Tactical incrementalists tend to preserve existing IT infrastructure and policies but will incorporate some environmental and social factors into future decisions. An example of this is to encourage power management policies for computing equipment. Changes of this type are generally easy to implement, are not part of a unified plan, and require little political effort. Similarly to a standard business model, fiscal viability remains the primary concern, with little or no value being attributed to the environmental or social factors.

* Strategic leaders recognize that environmental and social factors are contributing to a trend in disruptive technology. As such, there is considerable value to altering the existing infrastructure and policies. While the primary rationale is still cost efficiency, other factors such as branding, marketing, or hiring may be referenced as well. A baseline study will probably be conducted, and more complex, pronounced initiatives will be implemented. For example, the IT department may be held accountable for the cost of all electricity from computer related equipment, or desktop computing will be replaced with thin client computing.

* Deep green technologists believe that computing has reached a point of diminishing returns and needs to be substantially reevaluated. Unlike the other categories, social and environmental factors are construed as being on equal footing with fiscal responsibility. For example, a deep green technologist might implement a carbon offset policy to neutralize the cost of electricity for computing, or use solar powered web hosting services.