Sustainability in ICT Planning and Design Project

SUSTAINABILITY IN ICT PLANNING AND DESIGN PROJECT
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SUSTAINABILITY IN ICT PLANNING AND DESIGN PROJECT
The growth and development in the current society is directly associated with the
implantation of Information Communication Technology ICT. As such, it is imperative for
companies to implement ICT sustainability strategies. The benefits of a successful ICT are far
reaching. It has been seen that almost all top performing organization have environmental
sustainability policies1. With that said, as an IT project manager at International Digital
Marketing Company (IDMC), I have a critical role to play as far as the organization
sustainability journey is concerned. As a result, the primary objective of this document is to
examine the International Digital Marketing Company (IDMC) ICT system and make
improvement where necessary in order for the organization’s ICT to be in compliance with the
Australian energy consumption and sustainability workplace act.
1. The suitable ICT projects into which sustainability can be integrated at IDMC
a. Evaluation on the available project to find out the suitable sustainability projects
To ensure that IDMC business is fully digitized and migrated online as the newly
proposed regulations from the Australian Federal Government demands, the IDMC IT
management is set to utilize pertinent sustainability projects including but not limited to the
following: recycling, computer disposal, green PCs, downloading software.
1 Hilty, Lorenz M., and Bernard Aebischer. "Ict for sustainability: An emerging research field." In ICT
Innovations for Sustainability, pp. 3-36. Springer, Cham, 2015.
Hilty, Lorenz, Wolfgang Lohmann, and Elaine Huang. "Sustainability and ICT—an overview of the
field." Politeia 27, no. 104 (2011): 13-28.

Recycling one of the most important project that can help in this sustainability project.
IDMC being a marketing organization, the organization has to use IT assets that aid in online
business. Therefore to ensure that IDMC is digitized and comply with the sustainability acts,
recycling will the ICT assets will be helpful.
For the organization to be digitized, it has to keep the strides of the advancing
technology, therefore over 500 computers which are currently used by the organization is likely
to become obsolete with the advancing technology and disposing them will become a great issue
as the assets are hazardous when exposed to the atmosphere, computer disposal and green PCs
will also be suitable ICT project through which would be appropriate and hence it would be
utilized in the project.
Downloading software minimizes power usage. Sustainable ICT equipment requires less
energy when used, at standby as well as in hibernate or sleep mode. Downloading software will
therefore help IDMC towards the journey to digitization and sustainability.
b. Evaluation on the option of computer virtualization
Computer virtualization involves an ICT paradigm that allows a convenient on demand
access to a network that aid in sharing of configurable ICT assets and high level services
provided with less management effort through internet. It is also known as cloud computing.
Computer virtualization i.e. hosting ICT assets on a simplified, centrally mainstream platform
leads to waste management when the assets eventually become obsolete. Computer virtualization
is therefore a critical aspect in integrating IDMC’s sustainability.
Coupled with this project is the organization’s limited work force including digital
designers versus ICT assets including computers, servers among others. Virtualization does not

require hard drive and lasts much longer than the traditional PCs, having a refresh cycle of three
years or less, cloud computing is therefore an important technique that can be utilized by
organizations to prevent the unnecessary disposal of toxins including lead, mercury among other
hazards that are potentially headed to landfill.
c. The use of online collaborating platforms to replace printing
Examination of literature evident that ICT sustainability project plays a critical role in
reducing printing in organizations. As such, embracing digital documentation including web
based applications like drop box as well as reading documents through email instead of printed
documents will have a positive contribution towards the IDMC journey towards digitized and
online sustainability.
Additionally, printer cartridge release harmful chemicals. The use of drop box is one
technique that will reduce the production of the harmful chemicals. This approach cannot
therefore be left out for IDMC to get fully digitized in accordance with the newly proposed
sustainability regulations from the Australian Federal Government.
2. Establishment of the extent to which sustainability is to be integrated
a. Evaluation on the impacts of using cloud computing
Statistics show that global emission of carbon (IV) oxide from ICT in the year 2007 was
over billion tones which translate to over 2% of global emission according2. This has been
2 Bifulco, Francesco, Marco Tregua, Cristina Caterina Amitrano, and Anna D'Auria. "ICT and sustainability
in smart cities management." International Journal of Public Sector Management 29, no. 2 (2016): 132-
147.
Andreopoulou, Zacharoula. "Green Informatics: ICT for green and Sustainability." Agrárinformatika/Journal of
Agricultural Informatics 3, no. 2 (2012): 1-8.