From Think Tank to “Do Tank”
I’m here again blogging from the OECD Green IT Conference. In the first session the first day, Larry Hirst, Chariman Europe, Midle East & Africa from IBM said he was partaking in several ”Think Tanks” regarding Green IT and said it was now time to focus on ”Do Tanks”. We need action much more than discussions.
Today this was followed up by a defined focus on urgency amongst the speakers and throughout the discussions. We do not have much time to change the climate impact trend. Also, it is clear that ICT is a key factor for the world to be able to reduce CO2 emissions. Nick Rowley, former senior adviser for Prime Minister Tony Blair said:”the urgency is heavily related to behavior change – going from bold intentions to changed behavior has one important key: the use of ICT. It is needed to reach measurable and verified goals in climate reduction.
There is a great focus on using ICT to reduce climate change. The Smart2020 report (www.smart2020.org) shows that by 2020 the proper use of ICT can reduce CO2 emissions by 15%. At the same time it has been stressed that the ICT industry itself must ”clean its own house” by making every effort to reduce its own impact on the climate. You cannot do the one and ignore the other.
One of the conclusions was the role of public procurement in setting high environmental standards when procuring ICT equipment. Goverment must lead by example, not by words.
Many good ideas have been presented, but one important factor I found missing was the lack of focus on indirect environmental factors of ICT equipment. As I discussed with several of the participants, most were not aware of this factor at all, such as ergonomics, general quality, and designed for future use (not just now).
This conference will hopefully bring on an imprtant message to the Climate Conference in Copenhagen in december 2009.
Erich Must Wessel
Blogger for TCO Development
Helsingör, Denmark