ACUTA Journal of Telecommunications in Higher Education

In This Issue Transforming Your Operations Center into a Green Center Building the Green Campus Pay Attention: Your ICT Electric Just Went Up Green lT: lt\u27s Academic University of Central Missouri Undertakes Radical Energy-Efficiency lmprovements Interview From the President and Executive Director Harvey Buck Buchanan, Florida State University Jeri A. Semer, CA

Achieving carbon neutral research practices at the University of Oulu

Abstract. The European Union accounts for about 10% of global GHG emissions, and it is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050. Finnish universities want to lead this race, as they are aiming to become carbon neutral by 2030. To support these goals, it is imperative to understand the environmental impact of research laboratories, as they operate resource-intensive processes contributing to a significant portion of the university’s carbon footprint (CF). The major sources of emissions within laboratories are found to be attributable to consumption of energy, water and chemicals, and the generation of waste. Climate-friendly laboratories optimize their facilities for resource-efficiency, while incorporating procedures to influence the behavior and working habits of its users. For improving energy efficiency, laboratories quantify energy consumption and assess the pattern of equipment use by collecting data on the electronic loads. The analysis of energy consumption guides the strategies for energy saving. For dealing with waste, laboratories assess their waste streams and implement the waste management hierarchy. To reduce water use, the efficiency of rinsing/cleaning, cooling and flow control operations is improved. Responsible management of chemical use involves undertaking experiments on a smaller scale and using safer alternatives where possible. The insights obtained from the state-of-the-art in laboratory sustainability paved way for the case study documenting the research practices at the University of Oulu’s ‘Paja’ or workshop laboratory. Subsequently, recommendations for reducing the carbon footprint of the university’s research are presented in this thesis

Assessing Green Information Technology/ System capabilities and practices within a University context

The IT industry has responded to the call for change, with the looming climate change agenda, through greening of technology (Green IT) and finding ways to green by technology (Green IS). The extant literature on Green IT/IS has also developed to recognise the role IT/IS can play in supporting organisation’s environmental sustainability objectives. There is a demand for research and case studies to inform the development of best practices and identification of innovative measures to combat climate change through IT/IS. Universities represent organisations that are large technology users. This this case study analyses the Green IT/IS practices of a University through two academic frameworks: G-readiness and Eco-goals. To support the demand for information in this area, this case study seeks to understand the Green IT/IS practices and capabilities of a University through the G-readiness goals and align these to eco-goals. Through this exploration a maturity benchmark is established and recommendations provided to enhance Green IT/IS activities

Knowledge of Green Computing among University Students and Lecturers in a Malaysian Public University

This study examined the levels of green computingknowledge between students and lecturers, and between ICT andnon-ICT respondents in a public university in Malaysia. Twotypes of green computing knowledge were assessed, perceivedknowledge and objective knowledge. Perceived knowledge wasassessed through respondents’ self-rating of how much they knewabout green computing on eight Likert items, and objectiveknowledge through seventeen True-False items. The sampleconsisted of 240 respondents, comprising 180 students and 60lecturers, drawn using a purposive, random sampling. Datawere collected using a self-developed green computingquestionnaire, which was administered by hand and via e-mail.Descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-tests were usedto analyze the data. Results show that almost half of the samplereported having completely no knowledge of green computing(49.5%), while 14.6% reported having a low level of knowledge.Those reporting having high (2.6%) and quite high (9.7%) levelswere few in number. Results of the t-tests point to a nosignificancedifference between students and lecturers, but astatistically significant difference between ICT and non-ICTrespondents. The findings suggest the importance of conscioustraining in energy-efficient computing to raise students’ andlecturers’ levels of knowledge in this very important area

Taxonomy of sustainable IT values

Sustainable IT is the effort towards design, manufacture, use and disposal of computer hardware efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact to the environment. This implies biodegradability of defunct products and factory waste and energy efficiency. The performance of Green IT is a function of the `green\u27 steps taken towards sustainable IT. The development of green IT is a dynamic process and in the future may also have to address human health concerns. Several educational institutions of higher learning and technology companies have pioneered sustainable IT initiatives to achieve environmental and organizational sustainability. This study is a modest attempt towards classification of green IT initiatives and indicators, provision of taxonomy of sustainable IT values incorporated by businesses and educational institutions and analysis of their impacts on environmental, social and economic performance of organizations. The study examined the green IT initiatives undertaken by a sample of 20 Universities and 15 Corporates and identified the following sustainable IT values as responsible for sustainable IT: 1) Green Computing and Infrastructure Management, 2) Reducing carbon foot print, 3) Greening IT supply chain and sustainable software development, 4) Environment friendly electronic waste disposal, and 5) Institutions facilitating green IT and organizational sustainability. The study inter alia, recommends investment of 10% of corporate profits towards Sustainable IT Solutions; incentives for outstanding employees and their contributions towards green IT in firm\u27s promotion policy; creating awareness among employees regarding innovative sustainable practices as well as E-Governance to incorporate sustainable IT solutions

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) for energy efficiency in buildings: Review and analysis of results from EU pilot projects

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) can play a potential role in improving the energy performance of buildings by the implementation of effective solutions that take advantage of the energy interactions between all the elements included in a building. A revision of the 105 pilots implemented or under implementation in 18 projects in the area of ICTs for energy efficiency in buildings located in 23 European countries, through 88 cities with different types of climates, buildings and technologies have been carried out through documentary and field analysis of the energy, economic and social project results. These results have been extrapolated to assess the potential energy savings which could be expected at the EU level by implementing the solutions proposed by the projects. By the implementation of the different ICT solutions, buildings have achieved more than 20% energy savings. Pilots have demonstrated that the effectiveness of the ICT solution does not depend directly on the different climates where the solutions are implemented, but on several factors, such as the level of motivation, perceived thermal comfort, quality of social interaction and communication and ICT support

Framework for Efficient Electrical Energy Management Practice in Public Universities in Southwestern Nigeria

Energy management practices are subject to various worries that impact on achieving electricity saving objectives. This is most apparent in the case of Public Universities in Nigeria due to the number of electricity end users with conflicting interests. Efficient electrical energy management in Public Universities in Nigeria becomes crucial. The present work developed a multidimensional framework of efficient electricity management by considering all relevant measures of performance. To achieve the formation of this evaluation framework, it has considered the case of three relatively old public universities and collected the viewpoints of 4728 respondents comprising students, staff, and business owners involved in the aggregate electricity use in Public Universities in Nigeria. We adopted a quantitative survey and questionnaire as instrument for gathering relevant data. The results of the analysis of data obtained during the survey were used to develop the framework by considering key attributes. The study concluded that the formation of the newly-proposed quantitative efficient electricity management framework for improving the energy performance of public university buildings can provide the university management with an effective tool to benchmark with different university buildings internationally and assist the priority setting of efficient electricity savings. Keywords: Framework, Efficiency, electrical energy management, Practice, Public universities, Southwestern Nigeri