Exploring Individual Benefits of Green Living and the IT Sector's Role

This essay delves into the multifaceted benefits of adopting a green lifestyle, emphasizing its positive impact on individual well-being and environmental sustainability. It highlights the advantages of eco-friendly habits, such as energy conservation, reduced waste, and healthier living practices. The essay explores the crucial role of the IT sector in propagating a green lifestyle through green computing, energy-efficient coding, and virtualization. It also examines how multinational corporations are implementing green practices, including energy conservation, green packaging, and recycling programs. The paper further discusses the positive effects of reduced energy consumption and the benefits of dematerialization and teleworking enabled by IT. The essay concludes by advocating for a sustainable lifestyle and offers suggestions for individuals and recommendations for the IT sector to further advance green initiatives, promoting a healthier and more sustainable future.

Running Head: INFORMATION ETHICS MANAGEMENT
Information Ethics Management
Name of Student
Name of University
Author note

1INFORMATION ETHICS MANAGEMENT
Introduction
One of the great many benefits of going green outside saving money and making things
look better, making a change for the planet is that it helps the individual. Before knowing the
benefits, one must understand the concept of a green life. Green living denotes a lifestyle that
contributes towards preserving the natural ecological balance in the environment (Kemper et al,
2015). It also aids in the preservation of the planet, is natural resources, its natural systems and
resources. It starts with preliminary acts like recycling non-biodegradable materials and
cultivating more plant and tress. Apart from saving money and help people live healthier lives,
going green is one of the easiest steps towards a sustainable lifestyle and is highly rewarding for
individuals, in the long run. This essay illustrates the various reasons why individuals should
consider going green and provides suitable examples of the benefits it is bound to have. The
purpose of the paper is to determine the ways in which the IT sector can help propagating a green
lifestyle and research on the extent to which it has been successful with the motive of promoting
a sustainable use of resources. Finally, the essay concludes with some suggestions for the
individuals and recommendations for the IT for making further progress in developing a green,
sustainable lifestyle (Carrus et al. 2015).
Why go green?
Going green is about saving the planet, its resources and making sure that the planet
remains healthy. Individual who choose to live in a sustainable manner wants to save the natural
resources, conserve non-renewable resources like coal, petroleum, aluminum because once these
things are used up, it is not possible avail these resources again. Another reason for going green

2INFORMATION ETHICS MANAGEMENT
is that it helps landfill space. Once the landfills are filled up, normal taxpayers have to build
another landfill. Here are three important benefits of a green life:
 It saves money- if individuals consider switching to applications that are energy-efficient
it makes a huge difference in their monthly expenditure. Although it is a bit of an
investment upfront, the long-term monetary benefits are hard to miss. Unplugging
appliances when not in use is another easy way individuals tend to undermine. It saves
both energy and money.
 It keeps individuals healthy- eradicating lethal chemicals present in cleaning supplies,
personal care items cooking products and can improve one’s health drastically and
reduce occurrences of skin, eye and respiratory irritations. If its an option, people should
also consider walking and biking very once in a while instead of taking a public
transportation or driving. It is both a free option and helps keeping people active and
healthy.
 Long-term impact- adopting a green lifestyle is a choice that has both long-term and
immediate benefits. If individual live an environmentally conscious life in the present day
it will help to ensure a healthier life in the future and a lively planet. Plummeting carbon
emissions, recycling, eliminating plastic and saving water are all always potential
promoters of long-term environmental health.
Benefits of a green lifestyle
It is widely known that the planet benefits immensely from the green lifestyle of its
inhabitants, what needs more elaboration is the individual health benefits of going green. Here
are some green ways for a healthy life:

3INFORMATION ETHICS MANAGEMENT
 Purchasing local food- local foods that are grown organically, eliminates the possibility
of illness caused due to toxic compounds and pesticides present in packaged food
materials. Organically produced food is replete with minerals, anti-oxidants and vitamins.
Meat and fish are injected with artificial steroids and hormones, excluding them from the
platter is a wise step towards a greener and healthier life. Cutting out on meat
consumption and lessening the intake of processed food reduces intake of sugar, sodium
and fat, which are the root causes of heart diseases, cancer, obesity, diabetes and other
similar chronic health disorders.
 Avoiding or substituting toxic household utensils- the easiest way is to clean houses with
non-toxic cleaning material. Traditional cleaners contain chemicals that might cause
headaches and breathing issues. Insecticides and fertilizers are equally toxic in nature and
causes health hazards for adults and children alike. Further, the paints used for homes
emit volatile, toxic compounds which is extremely harmful for the health of the family
members. Switching to organic painting may initially be a bit heavy on the pocket but
does not impose any harmful effects on the health and well-being of the family.
 Changes in transportation methods- it is unknown that less driving is good for the
environment, what is less known is the individual health benefits of the same. Biking and
walking are excellent exercises that helps lose weight and improves the health of heart. It
is also a rejuvenating habit that helps improving mental and emotional health. This also is
a tactful way to avoid road rage and enables the individual to be more productive with
physical activities.
 Reduced energy consumption- every individual must be conscious enough to look for
energy alternatives of fossil fuels, which is an extremely valuable but exhaustible natural

4INFORMATION ETHICS MANAGEMENT
resource. Checking on overall and daily energy consumption helps to reduce pollution,
which delivers many health benefits. Lesser impurities in air cuts down air-borne
allergies, breathing problems and asthma. Airy houses that allows sunlight helps save
energy and benefits health. Natural light is always better than artificial light and it is as
good for health as it is for energy saving (Omer 2008).
Green methods adopted by multinationals
It is everyone’s responsibility to protect and conserve the environment. However, when
the major companies like Frito lay, Nike, Dell or Staples take steps to reduce its carbon footprint,
the impact is as significant as it is measurable.
 Green Practices- Several multi-national corporations are implementing green practices-
Green practices across multiple industries. Companies both global and local, big and
small are implementing quite a number of innovative solutions as an attempt to reduce
carbon footprints. The popularization of electric vehicles and hybrid cars that reduce
atmospheric emissions are an obvious and fruitful effort by car companies (Murugesan
2008).
 Energy conservation- An important step towards sustainability is the conservation of
energy. In 2007, some local business depot and retail supply chains were successful in
cutting down on their energy consumption by introducing an energy saving program
called ‘Lights Out’. The store lightening is moderated in the hot months of summer, the
buildings are hence kept cool without extensive use of air-conditioning. The amount of
energy they saved could power about 90 households for an entire year (Colon and Bird
2014).

5INFORMATION ETHICS MANAGEMENT
 Green packaging- one of the biggest concerns of consumer goods is packaging.
Completely eliminating packaging from consumer products is neither practical nor cost-
effective. Frito-lay, the Pepsi-Co subsidiary taken a wise step towards ecological
conservation by introducing a 100% compostable bag for its SunChips brand. Following
four long periods of improvement, the bag was finally introduced in year 2010. In the
world of snack food, this packaging was the first of its kind. It is chiefly made from,
renewable and plant-based materials derived from starch. Hence, it breaks down in active
manure in less than 12 weeks. Biodegradable Product Institute, which is the only
internationally recognized labelling program, has certified the bag. Frito-lay has also
been successful in reducing waste, water and energy consumption (Rabnawaz et al.
2017).
 Recycling programs- it is extremely difficult to dispose of computer equipment. One of
the first companies to initiate a recycling program was Dell. In 2006, Dell recycled their
old products by a program designed by the company secretary. The program has also
stretched, and utilized working computers which were donated to non-profit
organizations (Antmann et al 2013).
 Green products- the production of textiles is notoriously hard on the environment. As a
vast corporation, Nike acknowledged their bearings on the planet. Keeping this in mind,
they designed a shoe made out of factory scraps. (Tanskanen 2013). Launched in the
market in 2008, the sole of this shoe made primarily out of trash was ground-up rubber
gathered from a shoe-cycling program they had implemented prior to this one.

6INFORMATION ETHICS MANAGEMENT
From creating products that requires lesser packaging to tiny steps like turning off the lights
to save energy and reduce carbon output, the attempts made by the world’s largest firms can
have an enormous outcome on the planet’s future.
Green computing
About 2% of the world’s total emissions of carbon dioxide are responsible for information and
communications (Malviya and Singh 2013). Maximum computer hardware costs more to
function it its lifetime than it does during the time of purchase. Additionally, the manufacturing
of computer has significant environmental impacts, as it requires about 1.8 tons of fossil fuels,
water and water chemicals for producing a single desktop computer. Some materials that goes
into the manufacturing of PCs are perilous and cannot be recycled easily (Naumann et al. 2011).
Computers using up electricity can be lessened by using hardware that require lower power,
switching off idle systems, server virtualization and energy saving coding. Hardware that runs
on low power can be availed easily at the market. The new atom introduced by Intel allows PC
to consume less than 40 Watts, which is pretty low, if compared to the minimum 200 Watts
consumed by a traditional desktop. Laptops also help in reducing energy consumption. Power
can be saved to server virtualization by using Corporate data. Virtual servers replaced many
underutilized small servers which function as software on various large computers. IBM is
forecasting the technique with virtualization with its ‘Big Green’ project. For achieving an 80%
energy saving the project is merging 2,900 servers with 30 mainframes (Eold 2014). Using
hardware as a service can help small companies achieve virtualization. Online facilities like
Amazon’s elastic commute cloud is where they purchase the processing materials for their
computers. The result is an optimal usage of computing resources. Coding that is energy efficient
can reduce the usage of electricity. Finally, electricity usage can be reduced through energy

7INFORMATION ETHICS MANAGEMENT
efficient coding. This is power saving as it writes software designed to function as fast and
resourcefully as possible. Many software today becomes inefficient as the several gizmos and
gadgets slow down things and waste power. It has been justifiably estimated that coding that are
energy efficient can reduce the energy consumed by computers up to 5%. Computing is both
part of the solution and the problem when it comes to maintain green habits. According to the
experts at Intel, microprocessor is the most energy efficient emission-inducing device created.
This might be due to the fact that business efficiency and dematerialization can be initiated with
the use of computers. (Agarwal and Nath 2013. It has further pointed out the resources that
computing has saved is more than what is has consumed. Dematerialization is another way
through which computers saves resources. Digital downloads or any other internet-based
information services work as a substitute for physical products through this procedure. The
technology of computers also assists with reduction in commuting and travelling since people are
able to telework. Moreover, the IT sector has a new branch of mechanism known as green
computing. Virtualization, energy efficient coding ,virtual screening and shutting and down idle
pcs ,may be difficult to embrace at one go. However increased environmental regulation, rising
energy prices, and IT managers precipitously being presented with a data center energy bill,
businesses can no longer afford to overlook the environmental bearing of commuting use
(Bezáková 2013).
Conclusion
The discussion makes clear at the very outset the long-term effects of going green and
that should be the driving force for individuals to resort to a sustainable lifestyle. The benefits of
adhering to eco-friendly habits are not only easy on the pockets but is of central importance to a
healthy life. As elucidated under benefits, it is not only crucial to personal well-being but also

8INFORMATION ETHICS MANAGEMENT
benefits the ecosystem in major ways. Some of the multinational companies have proved to be
highly efficient and progressive in their efforts to eradicate environmental degradation. The
biggest contribution of IT towards ecological conservation is green computing and their
continued adherence to implement such technologies that help individual adapt a green lifestyle
is recommendable. IT sectors should focus more on developing technologies that help reduce
carbon footprints and allow people to move towards ecological conservation. Individuals should
be conscious about the environment and act in ways that is beneficial both for them and their
habitat.

9INFORMATION ETHICS MANAGEMENT
References:
Agarwal, S. and Nath, A., 2013. A study on implementing Green IT in Enterprise
2.0. International Journal of Advanced Computer Research, 3(1), p.43.
Antmann, E.D., Shi, X., Celik, N. and Dai, Y., 2013. Continuous-discrete simulation-based
decision making framework for solid waste management and recycling programs. Computers &
Industrial Engineering, 65(3), pp.438-454.
Bezáková, Z., 2013, October. Green computing practices as a part of the way to the sustainable
development. In International Symposium on Environmental Software Systems(pp. 579-587).
Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Boyle, G., 2004. Renewable energy. Renewable Energy, by Edited by Godfrey Boyle, pp. 456.
Oxford University Press, May 2004. ISBN-10: 0199261784. ISBN-13: 9780199261789, p.456.
Carrus, G., Scopelliti, M., Lafortezza, R., Colangelo, G., Ferrini, F., Salbitano, F., Agrimi, M.,
Portoghesi, L., Semenzato, P. and Sanesi, G., 2015. Go greener, feel better? The positive effects
of biodiversity on the well-being of individuals visiting urban and peri-urban green
areas. Landscape and Urban Planning, 134, pp.221-228.
Conlon, M.A. and Bird, A.R., 2014. The impact of diet and lifestyle on gut microbiota and
human health. Nutrients, 7(1), pp.17-44.
Malviya, P. and Singh, S., 2013. A Study about Green Computing. International Journal of
Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering, 3(6).
Murugesan, S., 2008. Harnessing green IT: Principles and practices. IT professional, 10(1).
Naumann, S., Dick, M., Kern, E. and Johann, T., 2011. The greensoft model: A reference model
for green and sustainable software and its engineering. Sustainable Computing: Informatics and
Systems, 1(4), pp.294-304.

10INFORMATION ETHICS MANAGEMENT
Omer, A.M., 2008. Energy, environment and sustainable development. Renewable and
sustainable energy reviews, 12(9), pp.2265-2300.
Rabnawaz, M., Wyman, I., Auras, R. and Cheng, S., 2017. A roadmap towards green packaging:
the current status and future outlook for polyesters in the packaging industry. Green
Chemistry, 19(20), pp.4737-4753.
Renwick, D.W., Redman, T. and Maguire, S., 2013. Green human resource management: A
review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(1), pp.1-14.
Srivastava, A., Tiwari, N.K. and Gupta, B.K., 2014. Green Wall: A Methodology for Sustainable
Development using Green Computing. International Journal of Scientific and Innovative
Research, 2(1).
Tanskanen, P., 2013. Management and recycling of electronic waste. Acta materialia, 61(3),
pp.1001-1011.
van den Berg, M., Wendel-Vos, W., van Poppel, M., Kemper, H., van Mechelen, W. and Maas,
J., 2015. Health benefits of green spaces in the living environment: A systematic review of
epidemiological studies. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 14(4), pp.806-816.
Wolf, M., 2014. High-performance embedded computing: applications in cyber-physical
systems and mobile computing. Newnes.
Xiao, Z., Song, W. and Chen, Q., 2013. Dynamic resource allocation using virtual machines for
cloud computing environment. IEEE Trans. Parallel Distrib. Syst., 24(6), pp.1107-1117.