28,418 research outputs found
Challenges and complexities in application of LCA approaches in the case of ICT for a sustainable future
In this work, three of many ICT-specific challenges of LCA are discussed.
First, the inconsistency versus uncertainty is reviewed with regard to the
meta-technological nature of ICT. As an example, the semiconductor technologies
are used to highlight the complexities especially with respect to energy and
water consumption. The need for specific representations and metric to
separately assess products and technologies is discussed. It is highlighted
that applying product-oriented approaches would result in abandoning or
disfavoring of new technologies that could otherwise help toward a better
world. Second, several believed-untouchable hot spots are highlighted to
emphasize on their importance and footprint. The list includes, but not limited
to, i) User Computer-Interfaces (UCIs), especially screens and displays, ii)
Network-Computer Interlaces (NCIs), such as electronic and optical ports, and
iii) electricity power interfaces. In addition, considering cross-regional
social and economic impacts, and also taking into account the marketing nature
of the need for many ICT's product and services in both forms of hardware and
software, the complexity of End of Life (EoL) stage of ICT products,
technologies, and services is explored. Finally, the impact of smart management
and intelligence, and in general software, in ICT solutions and products is
highlighted. In particular, it is observed that, even using the same
technology, the significance of software could be highly variable depending on
the level of intelligence and awareness deployed. With examples from an
interconnected network of data centers managed using Dynamic Voltage and
Frequency Scaling (DVFS) technology and smart cooling systems, it is shown that
the unadjusted assessments could be highly uncertain, and even inconsistent, in
calculating the management component's significance on the ICT impacts.Comment: 10 pages. Preprint/Accepted of a paper submitted to the ICT4S
Conferenc
A Survey of Green Networking Research
Reduction of unnecessary energy consumption is becoming a major concern in
wired networking, because of the potential economical benefits and of its
expected environmental impact. These issues, usually referred to as "green
networking", relate to embedding energy-awareness in the design, in the devices
and in the protocols of networks. In this work, we first formulate a more
precise definition of the "green" attribute. We furthermore identify a few
paradigms that are the key enablers of energy-aware networking research. We
then overview the current state of the art and provide a taxonomy of the
relevant work, with a special focus on wired networking. At a high level, we
identify four branches of green networking research that stem from different
observations on the root causes of energy waste, namely (i) Adaptive Link Rate,
(ii) Interface proxying, (iii) Energy-aware infrastructures and (iv)
Energy-aware applications. In this work, we do not only explore specific
proposals pertaining to each of the above branches, but also offer a
perspective for research.Comment: Index Terms: Green Networking; Wired Networks; Adaptive Link Rate;
Interface Proxying; Energy-aware Infrastructures; Energy-aware Applications.
18 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
Enhancing the environmental sustainability of IT
Emerging technologies for learning report - Article exploring green I
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The use of social media for improving energy consumption awareness and efficiency: An overview of existing tools
Raising consumers’ awareness of energy consumption is one of the first steps in encouraging the adoption of energy saving behaviours that result in energy efficiency. Green information systems are becoming recognised as a solution to many environmental problems although information technology (e.g. disposal of IT devices) has also been associated with causing detrimental effects on the environment. Researchers and practitioners have begun to focus on Green ICT but there is little scholarly research on the use of ICT tools such as social media from an energy efficiency context to raise consumer awareness and improve their engagement in tackling environmental issues. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore the use of social media and existing tools for the interaction of people on energy saving discussions and for generating awareness and engagement (which thereby leads to energy efficiency behaviour). In this paper the authors provide a state of the art review around the concept of energy awareness, models of consumer engagement, and more importantly the use of social media in the energy efficiency context. This research is based on a desk-based normative review and seeks to provide a better understanding to both scholars and practitioners involved in the use of ICT for driving energy consumer awareness and engagement for energy efficiency.This work evolved in the context of the project DAREED (Decision support Advisor for innovative business models and useR engagement for smart Energy Efficient Districts), www.dareed.eu, a project co-funded by the EC within FP7, Grant agreement no: 609082
The cost of virtue : reward as well as feedback are required to reduce user ICT power consumption
This work was partly supported by the IU-AC project, funded by grant EP/J016756/1 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).We show that students in a school lab environment will change their behaviour to be more energy efficient, when appropriate incentives are in place, and when measurement-based, real-time feedback about their energy usage is provided. Rewards incentivise `non-green' users to be `green' as well as encouraging those users who already claim to be `green'. Measurement-based feedback improves user energy awareness and helps users to explore and adjust their use of computers to become `greener', but is not sufficient by itself. In our measurements, weekly mean group energy use as a whole reduced by up to 16%; and weekly individual user energy consumption reduced by up to 56% during active use. The findings are drawn from our longitudinal study that involved 83 Computer Science students; lasted 48 weeks across 2 academic years; monitored a total of 26778 hours of active computer use; collected approximately 2TB of raw data.Publisher PD
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Understanding digital eco-innovation in municipalities: An institutional perspective
Municipalities consume over 67% of global energy and are responsible for over 70% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that rapid adjustments need to happen at a global level, or the effects of climate change will be irreversible. The contribution of municipalities is therefore vital if GHG emissions are to be reduced. Our research is timely in its exploration of the ways in which municipalities institutionalise environmental sustainability practices in and through Green digital artefacts. Using mechanism-based institutional theory as a lens, the paper presents the findings of three contrasting case studies of large municipalities in the United Kingdom in their respective programmes to leverage the direct, enabling and systemic effects of Green ICT in order to reduce GHG emission and achieve their eco-sustainability goals. The case sites are also regarded as exemplars for further research and practice on digital eco-innovation. The mechanism-based explanations illustrate how a social web of conditions and factors influence eco-sustainability outcomes. We conclude that the digital technology-enabled grassroots-based initiatives offer the best hope to begin the transition to sustainable climate change within municipalities. The contributions of our study are therefore both theoretical and practical
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