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ICT and Green Sustainability Research and Teaching
Proceedings of the 20th World The International Federation of Congress Automatic Control Proceedings of the 20th9-14, World The International Federation of Congress Automatic Control Toulouse, France, July 2017 Proceedings of the 20th World Congress Available online at www.sciencedirect.com The International of Automatic Control Toulouse, France,Federation July 9-14, 2017 The International Federation of Automatic Control Toulouse, France, July 9-14, 2017 Toulouse, France, July 9-14, 2017
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PapersOnLine 50-1 (2017) 12938–12943 ICT and IFAC Green Sustainability Research and Teaching ICT and Green Sustainability Research and Teaching ICT ICT and and Green Green Sustainability Sustainability Research Research and and Teaching Teaching
Colin Pattinson Colinand Pattinson School of Computing, Creative Technologies Engineering, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK. Colin Pattinson School of Computing, Creative Technologies and Engineering, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK. Colin Pattinson Tel (+44) 113 8123741, email: [email protected] School and Leeds School of of Computing, Computing, Creative Technologies and Engineering, Engineering, Leeds Beckett Beckett University, University, Leeds, Leeds, UK. UK. Tel Creative (+44) 113Technologies 8123741, email: [email protected] Tel Tel (+44) (+44) 113 113 8123741, 8123741, email: email: [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: The centrality of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in modern life means Abstract: The acentrality of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in modern life means that ICT plays part in many aspects of and human activity. The search for ways to mitigate thelife effects of Abstract: The of Communications Technology (ICT) in means Abstract: The acentrality centrality of Information Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in modern modern life means that ICTchange plays part in many aspects ofmany human activity. Thewhich search forcan ways to including mitigate the effects of climate is no exception, and the potential roles ICT play, the ability to that ICT plays aaispart in many aspects of human activity. The search for ways to mitigate the effects of that ICT plays part in many aspects of human activity. The search for ways to mitigate the effects of climate change no exception, and the many potential roles which ICT can play, including the ability to enable data gathering for monitoring purposes; to deliver alternative ways of working; to change supply climate change is no exception, and the many potential roles which ICT can play, including the ability to climate change is no exception, and the many potential roles which ICT can play, including the ability to enable data gathering for monitoring purposes; to deliver alternative ways of working; to change supply chains and to control for transport and energy supply are well understood. Indeed, examples like these are enable data gathering monitoring purposes; to alternative ways of working; to change supply enable data gathering for monitoring purposes; to deliver deliver alternative ways ofan working; to change supply chains and to control transport andfuture. energy supply are well understood. Indeed, examples like these are widely used in predictions of our However, ICT has a dual role: as enabler of change it can chains and to control transport and energy supply are well understood. Indeed, examples like these are chains and to control transport and energy supply are well understood. Indeed, examples like these are widely used in predictions of our future. However, ICT has a dual role: as an enabler of change it can support changes to societal of behaviour which can reduce the environmental impact of life, housing, work widely used in our future. However, ICT has aa dual role: an enabler of change it can widely used in predictions predictions of our future. However, ICT the hasenvironmental dual role: as asimpact an to enabler of housing, change itwork can support changes to societal behaviour which can reduce of life, and leisure activities, but as a significant user of resources, it is a contributor the adverse effects. In support changes to societal behaviour which can reduce the environmental impact of life, housing, work support changes tothe societal which can thelimiting environmental impact of life, housing, work and leisure activities, but asbehaviour a of significant user ofreduce resources, it is a the contributor to the adverse effects. In order to fully reap benefits ICT’s contribution while resource requirements, we require and leisure activities, but as a significant user of resources, it is a contributor to the adverse effects. In and activities, as a of significant user but of resources, it is a the contributor to thesustainability adverse we effects. In orderleisure to fully reap the but benefits ICT’s contribution while challenges limiting resource requirements, require education and research. Meeting the separate related of delivering by the order reap the of contribution while limiting resource requirements, we order to to fully fully the benefits benefits of ICT’s ICT’s contribution while limiting the theisof resource requirements, we require require education and research. Meeting the separate butown related challenges delivering sustainability by the intelligent usereap of ICT, whilst maximizing ICT’s sustainability not a simple task. Education is education and research. Meeting the separate but related challenges of delivering sustainability by the education and research. Meeting the separate but related challenges of delivering sustainability by the intelligent use of ICT, whilst maximizing ICT’s own sustainability is not a simple task. Education is necessary to make all those involved – general public and ICT professionals – aware of the situation and intelligent use of ICT, whilst maximizing ICT’s own sustainability is not task. Education is intelligent use ICT, whilst maximizing ownand sustainability isresearch not aa–simple simple task. Education is necessary to make all those involved – general public ICT professionals aware of the to give them theofunderstanding necessary toICT’s make changes, to conduct to explore thesituation potentialand of necessary to make all those involved – general public and ICT professionals – aware of the situation and necessary to make all those involved – general public and ICT professionals – aware of the situation and to give them the understanding necessary to make changes, to conduct research to explore the potential of new methods and processes, and to verify that they can make a positive difference. This paper considers to them the necessary make changes, to research to the of to give give them the understanding necessary to make changes, toisconduct conduct research to explore explore the potential potential new methods andunderstanding processes,and and to verifyto that they can make anot positive difference. This paper considers the state of ICT education identifies that sustainability in the forefront of consideration, it of is new methods and processes, and to verify that they can make a positive difference. This paper considers new methods and processes, andidentifies to verify that they can make positive difference. This paper considers the state ofthat ICT education and that sustainability is aoften not innot thedefined forefront of consideration, it is suggested much of the research that is being carried out is as sustainability or green the state ICT education and that sustainability is not the forefront of it the state of ofthat ICT education and identifies identifies that sustainability is often not in innot thedefined forefront of consideration, consideration, it is is suggested much of theways research that isthese being carried out be is as sustainability or green IT research, and discusses in which issues might addressed. suggested that much of the research that is being carried out is often not defined as sustainability or green suggested that much of the research that is being carried out is often not defined as sustainability or green IT research, and discusses ways in which these issues might be addressed. IT and discusses in issues might addressed. © research, 2017, IFAC (International Federation of these Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: ICT sustainability; education; research; sustainability metrics IT research, and discusses ways ways in which which these issues might be be addressed. Keywords: ICT sustainability; education; research; sustainability metrics Keywords: ICT ICT sustainability; sustainability; education; education; research; research; sustainability sustainability metrics metrics Keywords:
1. INTRODUCTION 1. INTRODUCTION 1. INTRODUCTION The mass of scientific now points to the fact that 1. evidence INTRODUCTION The mass of scientific evidence now points to the factenergy that current human lifestyles and the resource extraction, The mass of scientific evidence now points to the fact that The mass of scientific evidence now points to the fact that current human lifestyles and the resource extraction, energy consumption and pollution generation associated withenergy them current human lifestyles and the resource extraction, current human lifestyles and the resource extraction, energy consumption and pollution generation associated with them cannot be sustained. At the global level, governments are consumption and pollution generation associated with them consumption and pollution generation associated with them cannot be sustained. At the global level, governments are beginning to recognise the need to level, act more responsibly, and cannot be sustained. At the global governments are cannot be sustained. Atand theother global level, governments areand beginning toprotocols recognise the need to act more responsibly, have signed agreements, often aimed beginning to recognise the need act more responsibly, and beginning toat recognise the other need to to more responsibly, and have signed protocols and agreements, often aimed particularly carbon reduction. In act these agreements, carbon have signed protocols and other agreements, often aimed have signed protocols and other agreements, often aimed particularly at carbon reduction. In these agreements, carbon is used as a proxy for energy, in particular for electrical particularly at reduction. In carbon particularly at carbon carbon reduction. In these these agreements, agreements, carbon is used Consideration as a proxy for energy, in particular forother electrical power. of our consumption of resources, is used as a proxy for energy, in particular for electrical is used as a proxy for energy, in particular for electrical power. Consideration of our consumption of other resources, such as Consideration the raw materials which we extractofand process using power. of our consumption other resources, power. ofoften our consumption ofand other resources, such as Consideration the rawpower, materials which we extract process using that electrical is relegated to a secondary status, such as the raw materials which we extract and process using such as the raw materials which we extract and process using that electrical power, is often relegated to a secondary status, albeit an important one. that electrical power, is often relegated to a secondary status, that electrical power, is often relegated to a secondary status, albeit an important one. Signing agreements at international level is one thing, the albeit an important one. albeit anagreements important one. Signing at international levelrequires is one thing, the necessary steps to ensure their adoption a different Signing agreements at level is thing, the Signing agreements at international international levelrequires is one onebusinesses thing, theand necessary steps to involvement ensure their adoption a different kind of effort and of individuals, necessary steps to ensure their adoption requires a different necessary steps to ensure their adoption requires a different kind of effort and involvement of aindividuals, businesses and other organisations. In particular, number of activities are kind of effort of and kind of effort and and involvement involvement of aindividuals, individuals, businesses and other organisations. In particular, number of businesses activities are required: other organisations. In particular, a number of activities are other organisations. In particular, a number of activities are required: Information gathering to understand the problem required: required: Informationraising gathering to understand the problem Awareness to inform individuals Information gathering to understand the Awareness Informationraising gathering to understand the problem problem to the inform individuals Education to develop necessary changes in Awareness raising to inform individuals Awareness raising to inform individuals Education to develop the necessary changes in behaviour Education Education to to develop develop the the necessary necessary changes changes in in behaviour Tools and techniques to enable those changes behaviour behaviour Tools and techniques to enable those changes Tools and to Tools and techniques techniques to enable enable those those changes changes It is clear that Information and Communications Technology It is clear that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be harnessed to support the delivery of these It is clear that Information and Communications Technology It is clear that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be harnessed to support the delivery of these activities. Sensor technology has a long history, the (ICT) can be to delivery these (ICT) can Sensor be harnessed harnessed to support support the delivery ofthe these activities. technology has a the long history,of activities. Sensor technology has a long history, the activities. Sensor technology has a long history, the
development and deployment of digital sensors means data development andindeployment digital sensors meansand data can be gathered many formsof from many locations, ICT development and deployment of digital sensors means data development and deployment of digital sensors means data can be gathered in many forms from many locations, and ICT can be used to process and communicate that data to produce can be be used gathered in many forms from many locations, and ICT gathered in many forms from many locations, and ICT can to process and communicate that data to produce useful information. Theand emergence of thethat Internet of produce Things can be used to process communicate data to can be used to process and communicate that data to produce useful information. The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) can be viewedThe as sensor provision at a much of larger useful information. emergence of the Things useful information. The emergence ofpossible, theatInternet Internet of Things (IoT) can be viewed as sensor provision a much larger scale and scope than was previously combined with (IoT) can be viewed as sensor provision at a much larger (IoT) can be viewed as sensor provision at a much larger scale and scope than was previously possible, combined with ascale major increase in the processing power available to analyse and scope than was previously possible, combined with scale andincrease scope than was previously possible, combined with athe major inalso the processing power available to analyse data. ICT can support tools and techniques such as aathe major increase in the processing power available to analyse major increase in the processing power available to analyse data. management ICT can also systems, support tools and techniques such as building smart cities and the data. ICT also support tools and techniques such as the data. management ICT can cantools alsotosystems, support and techniques such as is building smart cities and communication supporttools changes in behaviour. ICT building management systems, smart cities and building management systems, smart cities and communication tools to support changes in behaviour. ICT is also a great enabler oftoeducational opportunities, whether communication tools support changes in behaviour. ICT is communication tools to support changes in behaviour. ICT also a great enabler of educational opportunities, whether through mass education, online information or itswhether support ofis also a great enabler of educational opportunities, also atraditional great enabler of educational opportunities, through mass education, online information or itswhether support of more education and training. through mass education, online information or its support of through mass education, online information or its support of more traditional education and training. However, ICT iseducation also a source of the environmental problems more traditional and training. more traditional education and training. However, ICT is also a source of the environmental problems listed above: the growing number of physical devicesproblems require However, ICT is also aa source of the environmental However, ICTthe is growing also source of production; the environmental listed above: number of physical devices raw materials and energy in their ICT is problems a require major listed above: the growing number of physical devices listed above: the number of physical devices require raw materials andgrowing energy in their production; ICT is a require major consumer of electricity in its operation and the relatively raw materials and energy their production; is raw materials andmany energy in their production; ICT is aa major major consumer of electricity in in itsdevices operation andthat theICT relatively short lifespan of ICT means disposal at the consumer of electricity in its operation and the relatively consumer of electricity in its operation and the relatively short lifespan of many ICT devices means that disposal at the end of life is a potential (and often a very real) cause of short lifespan of many ICT devices means that disposal at short lifespan of many ICT devices means that disposal at the the end of life is a potential (and often a very real) cause of environmental damage. If – asoften seems inevitable – we of place end of life is a potential (and a very real) cause end of life is a potential (and often a very real) cause of environmental damage. If – as seems inevitable – we place increasing reliance on ICT to help us to mitigate–the environmental damage. If – seems inevitable we environmental damage. Ifour –toas as seems inevitable –the wetoplace place increasing reliance on of ICT help us to mitigate environmental effects activities, we also need be increasing reliance on ICT to help us to mitigate the increasing reliance on ICT to help us to mitigate the environmental effects of our activities, we also need to be aware of the fact that increases in the volume and reach of environmental effects of our activities, we need to environmental effects of our activities, we also also need to be be aware of the fact that increases in thesome volume and reach of ICT have the potential to exacerbate of the very aware of the fact that increases in the volume and reach aware of the that increases inthrough thesome volume andMaximising reach of of ICT have thefact potential totoexacerbate ofuse. the very problems we are hoping solve its ICT have the potential to some of the very ICT have we the are potential totoexacerbate exacerbate some ofuse. the Maximising very problems hoping solve through its the opportunities with the support of ICT, whilst problems we hoping solve through its use. problems we are areminimising hoping tosupport solve through its use.ofMaximising Maximising the opportunities with theto of ICT, whilst simultaneously the negative effects that use is the opportunities with the support of ICT, whilst the opportunities with the support of ICT, whilst simultaneously minimising the negative effects of that use is asimultaneously challenge for researchers and educators in the field. minimising the that simultaneously minimising and the negative negative effects of that use use is is a challenge for researchers educatorseffects in the of field. aa challenge for researchers and educators in the field. challenge for researchers and educators in the field.
Copyright © 2017 IFAC 13480 2405-8963 © © 2017 2017, IFAC IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Copyright 13480Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Peer review© under responsibility of International Federation of Automatic Copyright 2017 IFAC 13480Control. Copyright © 2017 IFAC 13480 10.1016/j.ifacol.2017.08.1794
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In addition to the overall imperative of greater productivity through improved ICT efficiency, other pressures are also being felt: it is generally expected that energy costs will rise, partly due to the reduced availability of fossil fuel and the greater cost of alternatives. It is likely that government legislation (so called “carbon taxes”) will contribute to the increased costs of energy. Both of these factors will create possibly the most significant single driver to reducing energy consumption: that of cost savings. As a further incentive towards greater resource efficiency, legislation (DECC 2010, EU 2003) places legal requirements on organisations to reduce their energy use: this carbon reduction commitment, requiring large organisations to participate in a carbon reporting and trading scheme is backed by significant cost penalties for non-adherence. It can be expected that requirements such as this will “trickle down” to smaller organisations: directly via an increase in the coverage of the carbon commitment; or indirectly due to sub contractors inheriting carbon commitments as they enter into agreements with larger organisations. Other drivers for adoption of environmentally aware behaviour are the development of corporate (social) responsibility initiatives, by which organisations present themselves as socially responsible, and therefore improve their standing in the eyes of consumers. Similar consumer pressures give rise to the plethora of “green” advertising, where a variety of businesses vie to advertise the sustainable credentials of their activity. Whether that activity is oil production, car manufacture or food distribution, the aim is to persuade customers that the business shares their environmental concerns and that the particular product or service follows the highest possible environmental standards. All these drivers (cost, legal, public pressure and responsibility) are creating a demand for individuals who are able to develop and lead on sustainability issues within business and other organisations of all sizes and in all sectors of the economy. ICT, because of its size and increasing significance in the “digital future” calls for particular specialisms, taking matters of efficiency beyond the realm of building and equipment provision, embracing changes in working practices and the promotion of different uses for existing and new technologies. It should be role of education and training to produce the individuals equipped with these skills and knowledge. This paper explores the current state of “ICT sustainability” as a subject in the curriculum, and argues that the subject deserves a greater coverage, and for that coverage to be more “up front” than it currently is. 2. SUSTAINABILITY OF ICT VS. SUSTAINABILITY BY ICT With many predictions of the proportion of electricity consumed by “ICT” (noting the major variation in the definition of what is deemed to be “ICT”, and significant differences between countries) varying between 10 - 20% (Aebischer, 2014, Terry and Palmer, 2016), and the now well-known statement that ICT’s environmental impact is equivalent to that of the world’s airline industry (UK Parliament, 2008), the concept of “putting one’s own house
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in order” applies when considering the interaction between ICT and sustainability. The direct connection between energy use and cost was undoubtedly a key driver in many of the initiatives which have emerged over the past 10 – 15 years. That those developments have often been targeted at data centres (e.g. server virtualisation, heat management) is not surprising in view of the size and significance of the data centre in contemporary business. Power management of desktop PCs, again incentivised by energy costs, is now commonplace, it seems likely that much of the interest in power management on portable devices is at least partly driven by the need to maximise the length of time before the need to recharge the battery. Finally, an awareness of the importance of paper saving has seen various steps towards reduction of paper, some successful (draft, monochrome and double sided printing as standard settings), others less so (fully paperless document exchange). The above are examples of developments which can be categorised as addressing the sustainability of ICT systems. Sustainability by ICT – taking advantage of the potential of ICT to provide information and control to change the way in which business and society operate – has produced a number of examples where technology has been used to replace or modify ways of doing things. Examples include video conferencing and cases where dematerialisation of the process chain has taken place – such as the replacement of the (physical) video / DVD store by streaming services. Advances in areas such as 3-D printing will further this by allowing products and components to be “delivered” electronically with the physical creation taking place at the place of use / consumption. At this point, we reiterate that much of the focus to date has been on controlling energy, or its proxy of carbon, through financial measures. This is not surprising as monetary rewards and penalties are a well-used route to changing behaviour, however ICT sustainability should address more than energy. The emergence of ICT as a consumer market has created a growth in both number and variety of products, but has also shortened the effective lifespan of those products. The current average lifespan of many consumer IT products (3 years for a laptop, less than 2 years mobile phone (Kantar, 2015)) is very short, and typically much shorter than the potential working life. Sometimes this is because the product quality is low – the product fails and repair is either not possible or more expensive than replacement. On other occasions devices become obsolete because of other changes, the most obvious IT related example being the hardware which is not able to support the added features of a new software release, leaving users with the choice of either continuing to run older software and losing supplier support, or of replacing the hardware. ICT’s emergence as consumer electronics has brought in the effects of fashion trends with new products being aggressively promoted as the “must have accessory of the season”. We should also remember the basic need of any manufacturer to generate an income though selling products. The manufacturer which does not maintain or grow its sales will not survive. While developing new markets is one way in which to sustain sales, this cannot be
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infinite and at some point it will be necessary to persuade existing customers to buy additional or replacement products. Finally, we should include the final stage of the lifecycle of a product, its disposal. Regardless of how a product has reached the end of its useful life (worn out, obsolete or discarded) the question of what happens next is an essential part of the sustainability picture. Applying the standard options of reuse, repurpose or recycle is important because of the sheer volume of redundant equipment, but the current design of equipment can make any of these solutions problematic. The software upgrades which renders a computing device obsolete for one user also apply to others – unless the new user is less demanding. Repurposing in full or part, and recycling of parts are both made difficult by the integration of components, which often create a “single use” device. A fully rounded education in this area must address these sustainability factors, communicating a vision of environmental stewardship in which ICT’s role is clearly understood. We should seek to develop consumers who can question the reason for the short lifespan and in-built obsolescence of much consumer ICT, designers whose awareness of the issues allows sustainability to be a major factor in systems design, and users who use the products to their maximum effectiveness. The first group can bring about changes in practices through their behaviour, the second can create the resilient technology to make the changes a reality and the third can manage and operate our ICT with the least negative environmental impact. 3. THE IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH AND TEACHING Many of the recent improvements in ICT sustainability have driven, and been driven by, research developments in areas from processor engineering for power management through to societal influences. However, it seems that the initial surge of development has somewhat stalled. The reasons for this can be identified as: The “low hanging fruit” has been gathered: the changes made so far represent those things which were able to be achieved without too much effort. Any further developments are likely to require more input with less benefit and hence are less likely to be attempted. It is seen as someone else’s turn to take the lead: these changes have delivered results which are felt to be sufficient to release the immediate pressure on ICT to take the sustainability burden Other business imperatives have become more pressing: the obvious example is the imperative for business survival following the global economic recession. The need to secure financial resources has led to reduced opportunity and willingness to devote time, effort and capital to sustainability. “Green fatigue”: the message about sustainability has become diluted through over-repetition. The committed remain committed, but the majority -
who have to be persuaded to play their part - are reluctant to become, or remain, engaged. A belief that the problem is too large for any one individual to make a difference: if nation states and large multinationals continue to increase their resource consumption, the behaviour of the person in the street will make no measureable difference.
Most, if not all, of the above can be addressed in whole or in part, by progress in research and education: research to develop and further progress the understanding of the field and the opportunities, and education to present these developments to a wider audience. However, at a recent seminar co-led by this author, it was clear that there is much to be done in this area. It is perhaps surprising that ICT sustainability does not feature more strongly in school or University ICT curricula, and that where it does appear, it is often a sub-part of a broader topic. For example, the recently developed curriculum for school-age (5 – 16, now18 in England) Computer Science in England (DfE 2015) requires students to “use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly”, in a section whose overall thrust is about personal internet safety, while the ACM equivalent (ACM, 2013) suggests two “core hours” of coverage (one at level 1, one at level 2) of environmental impacts. The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA), the IT training and education framework promoted by the British Computer Society (BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT) (BCS, 2016) is more well developed, with three separate sections covering sustainability assessment, engineering and management. It is recognised that there will be many examples of sustainability issues being addressed within other topics, but it might be thought that it would be rather more central and more explicit. At the postgraduate level, a number of specialist courses have been developed and promoted in various countries including the Netherlands, Australia and the UK as well as EU-funded international programmes. Overall, however, in Computer Science curricula, sustainability does not enjoy a particularly strong profile. 4. TOPICS FOR RESEARCH AND TEACHING One reason for this might be a problem of definition, including the similarity or difference between “green” and “sustainable” hence it is useful to consider the scope of what could be addressed. Sustainability is usually understood to refer to sustainable development, as defined by the Brundtland definition:
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“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
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5. ENHANCING THE ROLE OF ICT AND SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH AND TEACHING
the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs." (Brundtland, 1987)
This definition applies to much more than ICT. Therefore it is useful to examine some more ICT-specific discussions. In a book published in 2003, Kuehr and Williams (Kuehr, 2003) refer to concepts such as “eco-efficiency” and to “understanding and managing” the impacts of computers. The focus is firmly on the technology, the resources consumed by production, use and disposal of IT and how the effect of this resource demand can be mitigated. The BCS Green IT specialist group declare their aim to be “to promote green computing and address green issues and the adoption of green practices Associated with Information and Communication technologies and services across their lifecycle”. (BCS Green IT SG, 2010) Murugesan (2008) uses the term “Green IT” as “an umbrella term referring to environmentally sound information technologies and systems, applications and practices” and identifies three “dimensions”: creating energy efficient IT systems; applying IT to create energy efficient business and practices; and using IT to create awareness among the larger population. Hilty and Aebischer (2015) define “ICT for Sustainability” as a field which provides a “critical perspective that challenges every technological solution by assessing its impact at the societal level”. It is this criticality and challenging which is used to give uniqueness to that definition. Finally, Lago et al (2015) propose the addition of sustainability considerations to current definitions of software quality factors, with “sustainability dimensions” of social, environmental, technical and economic sustainability. In discussing their definition of ICT for sustainability, Hilty and Aebischer, referring to the absence of any scale or time limits on sustainable development suggest that Brundtland’s definition prevents a specific “product, process … or technology” being “sustainable” on its own, what is important is the consideration of whole systems, embracing the direct, indirect and socio-economic impacts of ICT. Therefore, research into the relationship between ICT and the environment can include a range of sub-topics, potentially addressing everything from the details of component design and fabrication, through systems deployment, data centres, the whole set of processes and systems prefixed by the word “smart” or the letter “e” to the economic and societal impacts of the use of ICT. Lago et al show how consideration of sustainability does not have to be limited to the hardware tools and systems, but that software is as important, if not more so. Indeed, a small extension to the life cycle would allow us to add consideration of mineral extraction and transport of products. Many of these ideas have a long history, others are newer. Perhaps it is this very breadth which has meant that sustainability research has been difficult to label. Perhaps it is their combination which allows Hilty and Aebischer to refer to ICT for sustainability as “an emerging field”.
Rather surprisingly therefore, the “big picture” appears to show that the greatest single issue likely to affect humanity does not appear to be receiving the coverage which might be expected. If it is the case that this topic should be much more widely embraced, then the challenges of definition and of creating a scientific basis should be addressed. The question of definition should not prevent the work from being done, rather it may prevent it being identified as such. How significant this is as an issue is an open question: if the work is being carried out, and valuable results are being created, then the specifics of how its subject matter is described may be considered to be of lesser impact. If, for example, an improvement in software algorithm design which allows a reduction in processor power is created, does the fact that it is reported as a software development really matter – surely the reduced processor power is the ultimate outcome? However this does not allow us to create an image of sustainability as being a subject matter it its own right, and therefore the momentum generated is reduced. Definitions - whether Murugesan’s “umbrella” or Hilty and Aebischer’s “emerging field” - do matter. This is particularly the case in the curriculum examples discussed above: there are undoubtedly ethical aspects to the question of sustainability, but ethics is just one of many elements of sustainability. Subsuming sustainability under ethics risks these other elements being missed out. Considering ICT sustainability as a scientific pursuit in its own right could enhance its status in the field. If we are to adopt a traditional scientific approach to ICT and sustainability, it is important that we can quantify the effects of the actions we take. 6. MEASUREMENTS AND METRICS In many scientific research fields, much is made of the need to quantify the outcomes of the work. Indeed, much of our concept of science is expressed by the following quote by Lord Kelvin: I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely, in your thoughts, advanced to the stage of science, whatever the matter may be. (Kelvin, 1883) Although for modern audiences this is more usually rendered as “you cannot manage what you cannot measure”, the original quote suggests that being able to express the field in terms of measureable criteria is a foundation on which to develop education and research work. In the context of ICT sustainability, this perspective argues for a measurement-based approach to the “science” of sustainability. Placing ICT sustainability firmly in the science
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domain allows students to draw on other aspects of their study and also allows the study itself to be goal-orientated: challenging students to understand how small and large changes can create large and small scale effects in systems and processes. Measuring these effects gives a sense of reality to the work being done, whilst discussing the forms this measurement may take can allow study of the subject itself to take on a higher level of thought. Discussion of the alternative measurement methods, how they might be implemented and the advantages and disadvantages of each allows students to think of the “why” in addition to the “what” and the “how” of their work. A number of metrics offer themselves, at the system level, we can quantify our work in terms of energy saved or increased capacity for the same power (sustainability of ICT); at the operational level, we can use more abstract concepts such as improved quality of life (sustainability by ICT). It is possible that there are too many metrics, and the lack of a single, common set of criteria means that comparative evaluation between separate pieces of work – one of the keystones of research – becomes difficult. A related issue here is the suitability – or otherwise – of “benchmark” loading models, it is too easy to manipulate outcomes to give the “best” result for the benchmark, irrespective of the broader performance, or to question the suitability of a given benchmark for “real” situations, which inevitably offer much greater variation than can possibly be covered by a typical benchmark. 7. EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS One possible avenue for increasing the take up of environmental IT is the opportunities for enhanced employment prospects as a result of receiving training in the subject. “Jobs for the Future”, a 2009 UK government report identified trends in the IT and telecoms sector including social computing, green IT and growing convergence of communications, computing and content platforms are likely to be further drivers of employment growth. (BIS, 2009) A 2007 report identified “ten areas for efficient IT”, recommended as best practice for enhanced environmental sustainability (Logicalis, 2007). Of these, five (server virtualisation; storage consolidation; application consolidation; desktop power management / thin client technology and appliance consolidation) could be classed as “technical”; two (information life cycle management and digital forms) might be considered “technical / organisational”, and three (shared service buildings; teleworking and office consolidation) are broadly organisational / managerial in scope. What is clear is that the responsibility for implementation of most new or changed systems will lie within the “IT services” department – all require some hardware or software intervention to bring about the necessary changes. To be more specific, in many instances, these are the skills that would be expected of a computer / network manager role, and it is those individuals who will commonly be called upon to implement such modifications. They may then find themselves, voluntarily or otherwise,
becoming the leader of energy efficient ICT initiatives across the organisation. If the aim is to reduce the energy consumption of the ICT installation, it is likely that existing proven commercial solutions will be sought. There are a number of commercial products offering savings in energy consumption, including automated shut down / wake up on LAN systems; thin client technology and the variants of virtualisation. Having taken on the role of energy saving champion (as described in the previous paragraph) our network / systems manager will be confronted by a range of products offering different claims and – very often – presenting their supporting data using different measurement methods. It is often very difficult to determine the most appropriate and effective energy saving option. The skills required are a mixture of the technical design and installation abilities possessed by a competent technical professional, coupled with the ability to understand the data and select from the available options. If it is desired to implement some of the options which utilise ICT solutions to bring about changes to working practices which reduce the organisation’s overall energy consumption, the required skill base is similar: an ability to implement the technical solutions and to select from a variety of options. In this case, we have the added requirement to deliver that activity known as “management of change”. Whilst many of the largest organisations have created a highlevel position (in some cases, at board level) for a green IT specialist, in smaller enterprises, the likelihood is that this role will fall to the network / systems manager as discussed above. This creates different training requirements and opportunities for training providers: in some cases, professional updating and development of already employed technical staff to add the green IT specialist role to their existing portfolio; in other instances, it is likely that organisations will “buy in” green IT specialism via consultancy, so we should expect to see the emergence of the green IT consultant: a role which itself requires appropriate training and development. In summary, potential job opportunities exist at a number of levels: The full time green IT role, typically in large organisations, possibly a board level role, leading a team of staff, some of whom are likely to fit the following profile… In smaller organisations, the individual who combines a green IT role with other activities, either a technical person who has gained the necessary green awareness, or (perhaps less likely) a more general “sustainability” expert who has moved into ICT. The green IT consultant, offering their services to a portfolio of companies, none of which can support such a role on a more permanent basis
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8. CONCLUSION We are some way from the situation where sustainability can be considered as a core element of the teaching, education and research in ICT, however, the pressing need for action to address climate change, and the breadth of education and research opportunities offered by this field point to the need for ICT sustainability, green IT (or any other heading) to be much more strongly promoted and developed in the future. The career prospects for people with such skills are also set to increase. REFERENCES ACM Education curriculum (2013) https://www.acm.org/education/CS2013-final-report.pdf Aebischer, B., Hilty, L.M.: The Energy Demand of ICT: A Historical Perspective and Current Methodological Challenges. In: Hilty, L.M., Aebischer, B. (eds.) ICT Innovations for Sustainability. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 310. Springer International Publishing (2014, in press) BCS Green IT Specialist Group home page (2010) http://www.bcs.org/category/10547 BCS Skills Framework for the information age (2016) https://www.sfia-online.org/en/sfia-6 BIS Departments for Business Innovation and Skills and Work and Pensions. Jobs of the Future. (2009) http://www.hmg.gov.uk/media/41730/jobs_of_the_future.pdf Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future (1987) http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf UK Department for Education (DfE) National Curriculum for computing (2015) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationalcurriculum-in-england-computing-programmes-ofstudy/national-curriculum-in-england-computingprogrammes-of-study DECC Department of Energy and Climate Change The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/lc_uk/c rc/crc.aspx EU The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (2003) European Union Directive 2003/87/EC Of The European Parliament And Of The Council Of 13 October 2003 Establishing A Scheme For Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowance Trading Within The Community And Amending Council Directive 96/61/EC. Hilty, L.M, Aebischer, B, ICT for Sustainability: An Emerging Research Field. Book Chapter in ICT Innovations for Sustainability, Springer 2015 Kantar “Apple’s Replacement Opportunity is Far From Over” https://www.kantarworldpanel.com/global/News/ApplesReplacement-Opportunity-is-Far-From-Over [accessed 5 March 2017] Kelvin “Lecture on "Electrical Units of Measurement" (3 May 1883), Popular Lectures Vol. I, p. 73
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Kuehr, R. and Williams, E. (eds) Computers and the Environment: Understanding and Managing their Impacts Kluwer 2003. Lago, P., Kocak, S.A, Crnkovic, I and Penzenstadler, B. Framing Sustainability as a Software Quality Metric. Communications of the ACM Vol 58(10) pp70-78 2015 Logicalis “ten areas for efficient IT” (2007) http://www.uk.logicalis.com/efficient_it/10areas.asp [Accessed 10 January 2010] Murugesan, S.: Harnessing green IT Principles and Practice Wiley / IEEE 20082 Terry, N, Palmer, J, “Trends in home computing and energy demand” Building Research & Information Vol 44 (2) pp 175 – 189 (2016) UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology “ICT and CO2 Emissions” Postnote Number 319 December 2008
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PapersOnLine 50-1 (2017) 12938–12943 ICT and IFAC Green Sustainability Research and Teaching ICT and Green Sustainability Research and Teaching ICT ICT and and Green Green Sustainability Sustainability Research Research and and Teaching Teaching
Colin Pattinson Colinand Pattinson School of Computing, Creative Technologies Engineering, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK. Colin Pattinson School of Computing, Creative Technologies and Engineering, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK. Colin Pattinson Tel (+44) 113 8123741, email: [email protected] School and Leeds School of of Computing, Computing, Creative Technologies and Engineering, Engineering, Leeds Beckett Beckett University, University, Leeds, Leeds, UK. UK. Tel Creative (+44) 113Technologies 8123741, email: [email protected] Tel Tel (+44) (+44) 113 113 8123741, 8123741, email: email: [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: The centrality of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in modern life means Abstract: The acentrality of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in modern life means that ICT plays part in many aspects of and human activity. The search for ways to mitigate thelife effects of Abstract: The of Communications Technology (ICT) in means Abstract: The acentrality centrality of Information Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in modern modern life means that ICTchange plays part in many aspects ofmany human activity. Thewhich search forcan ways to including mitigate the effects of climate is no exception, and the potential roles ICT play, the ability to that ICT plays aaispart in many aspects of human activity. The search for ways to mitigate the effects of that ICT plays part in many aspects of human activity. The search for ways to mitigate the effects of climate change no exception, and the many potential roles which ICT can play, including the ability to enable data gathering for monitoring purposes; to deliver alternative ways of working; to change supply climate change is no exception, and the many potential roles which ICT can play, including the ability to climate change is no exception, and the many potential roles which ICT can play, including the ability to enable data gathering for monitoring purposes; to deliver alternative ways of working; to change supply chains and to control for transport and energy supply are well understood. Indeed, examples like these are enable data gathering monitoring purposes; to alternative ways of working; to change supply enable data gathering for monitoring purposes; to deliver deliver alternative ways ofan working; to change supply chains and to control transport andfuture. energy supply are well understood. Indeed, examples like these are widely used in predictions of our However, ICT has a dual role: as enabler of change it can chains and to control transport and energy supply are well understood. Indeed, examples like these are chains and to control transport and energy supply are well understood. Indeed, examples like these are widely used in predictions of our future. However, ICT has a dual role: as an enabler of change it can support changes to societal of behaviour which can reduce the environmental impact of life, housing, work widely used in our future. However, ICT has aa dual role: an enabler of change it can widely used in predictions predictions of our future. However, ICT the hasenvironmental dual role: as asimpact an to enabler of housing, change itwork can support changes to societal behaviour which can reduce of life, and leisure activities, but as a significant user of resources, it is a contributor the adverse effects. In support changes to societal behaviour which can reduce the environmental impact of life, housing, work support changes tothe societal which can thelimiting environmental impact of life, housing, work and leisure activities, but asbehaviour a of significant user ofreduce resources, it is a the contributor to the adverse effects. In order to fully reap benefits ICT’s contribution while resource requirements, we require and leisure activities, but as a significant user of resources, it is a contributor to the adverse effects. In and activities, as a of significant user but of resources, it is a the contributor to thesustainability adverse we effects. In orderleisure to fully reap the but benefits ICT’s contribution while challenges limiting resource requirements, require education and research. Meeting the separate related of delivering by the order reap the of contribution while limiting resource requirements, we order to to fully fully the benefits benefits of ICT’s ICT’s contribution while limiting the theisof resource requirements, we require require education and research. Meeting the separate butown related challenges delivering sustainability by the intelligent usereap of ICT, whilst maximizing ICT’s sustainability not a simple task. Education is education and research. Meeting the separate but related challenges of delivering sustainability by the education and research. Meeting the separate but related challenges of delivering sustainability by the intelligent use of ICT, whilst maximizing ICT’s own sustainability is not a simple task. Education is necessary to make all those involved – general public and ICT professionals – aware of the situation and intelligent use of ICT, whilst maximizing ICT’s own sustainability is not task. Education is intelligent use ICT, whilst maximizing ownand sustainability isresearch not aa–simple simple task. Education is necessary to make all those involved – general public ICT professionals aware of the to give them theofunderstanding necessary toICT’s make changes, to conduct to explore thesituation potentialand of necessary to make all those involved – general public and ICT professionals – aware of the situation and necessary to make all those involved – general public and ICT professionals – aware of the situation and to give them the understanding necessary to make changes, to conduct research to explore the potential of new methods and processes, and to verify that they can make a positive difference. This paper considers to them the necessary make changes, to research to the of to give give them the understanding necessary to make changes, toisconduct conduct research to explore explore the potential potential new methods andunderstanding processes,and and to verifyto that they can make anot positive difference. This paper considers the state of ICT education identifies that sustainability in the forefront of consideration, it of is new methods and processes, and to verify that they can make a positive difference. This paper considers new methods and processes, andidentifies to verify that they can make positive difference. This paper considers the state ofthat ICT education and that sustainability is aoften not innot thedefined forefront of consideration, it is suggested much of the research that is being carried out is as sustainability or green the state ICT education and that sustainability is not the forefront of it the state of ofthat ICT education and identifies identifies that sustainability is often not in innot thedefined forefront of consideration, consideration, it is is suggested much of theways research that isthese being carried out be is as sustainability or green IT research, and discusses in which issues might addressed. suggested that much of the research that is being carried out is often not defined as sustainability or green suggested that much of the research that is being carried out is often not defined as sustainability or green IT research, and discusses ways in which these issues might be addressed. IT and discusses in issues might addressed. © research, 2017, IFAC (International Federation of these Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: ICT sustainability; education; research; sustainability metrics IT research, and discusses ways ways in which which these issues might be be addressed. Keywords: ICT sustainability; education; research; sustainability metrics Keywords: ICT ICT sustainability; sustainability; education; education; research; research; sustainability sustainability metrics metrics Keywords:
1. INTRODUCTION 1. INTRODUCTION 1. INTRODUCTION The mass of scientific now points to the fact that 1. evidence INTRODUCTION The mass of scientific evidence now points to the factenergy that current human lifestyles and the resource extraction, The mass of scientific evidence now points to the fact that The mass of scientific evidence now points to the fact that current human lifestyles and the resource extraction, energy consumption and pollution generation associated withenergy them current human lifestyles and the resource extraction, current human lifestyles and the resource extraction, energy consumption and pollution generation associated with them cannot be sustained. At the global level, governments are consumption and pollution generation associated with them consumption and pollution generation associated with them cannot be sustained. At the global level, governments are beginning to recognise the need to level, act more responsibly, and cannot be sustained. At the global governments are cannot be sustained. Atand theother global level, governments areand beginning toprotocols recognise the need to act more responsibly, have signed agreements, often aimed beginning to recognise the need act more responsibly, and beginning toat recognise the other need to to more responsibly, and have signed protocols and agreements, often aimed particularly carbon reduction. In act these agreements, carbon have signed protocols and other agreements, often aimed have signed protocols and other agreements, often aimed particularly at carbon reduction. In these agreements, carbon is used as a proxy for energy, in particular for electrical particularly at reduction. In carbon particularly at carbon carbon reduction. In these these agreements, agreements, carbon is used Consideration as a proxy for energy, in particular forother electrical power. of our consumption of resources, is used as a proxy for energy, in particular for electrical is used as a proxy for energy, in particular for electrical power. Consideration of our consumption of other resources, such as Consideration the raw materials which we extractofand process using power. of our consumption other resources, power. ofoften our consumption ofand other resources, such as Consideration the rawpower, materials which we extract process using that electrical is relegated to a secondary status, such as the raw materials which we extract and process using such as the raw materials which we extract and process using that electrical power, is often relegated to a secondary status, albeit an important one. that electrical power, is often relegated to a secondary status, that electrical power, is often relegated to a secondary status, albeit an important one. Signing agreements at international level is one thing, the albeit an important one. albeit anagreements important one. Signing at international levelrequires is one thing, the necessary steps to ensure their adoption a different Signing agreements at level is thing, the Signing agreements at international international levelrequires is one onebusinesses thing, theand necessary steps to involvement ensure their adoption a different kind of effort and of individuals, necessary steps to ensure their adoption requires a different necessary steps to ensure their adoption requires a different kind of effort and involvement of aindividuals, businesses and other organisations. In particular, number of activities are kind of effort of and kind of effort and and involvement involvement of aindividuals, individuals, businesses and other organisations. In particular, number of businesses activities are required: other organisations. In particular, a number of activities are other organisations. In particular, a number of activities are required: Information gathering to understand the problem required: required: Informationraising gathering to understand the problem Awareness to inform individuals Information gathering to understand the Awareness Informationraising gathering to understand the problem problem to the inform individuals Education to develop necessary changes in Awareness raising to inform individuals Awareness raising to inform individuals Education to develop the necessary changes in behaviour Education Education to to develop develop the the necessary necessary changes changes in in behaviour Tools and techniques to enable those changes behaviour behaviour Tools and techniques to enable those changes Tools and to Tools and techniques techniques to enable enable those those changes changes It is clear that Information and Communications Technology It is clear that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be harnessed to support the delivery of these It is clear that Information and Communications Technology It is clear that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be harnessed to support the delivery of these activities. Sensor technology has a long history, the (ICT) can be to delivery these (ICT) can Sensor be harnessed harnessed to support support the delivery ofthe these activities. technology has a the long history,of activities. Sensor technology has a long history, the activities. Sensor technology has a long history, the
development and deployment of digital sensors means data development andindeployment digital sensors meansand data can be gathered many formsof from many locations, ICT development and deployment of digital sensors means data development and deployment of digital sensors means data can be gathered in many forms from many locations, and ICT can be used to process and communicate that data to produce can be be used gathered in many forms from many locations, and ICT gathered in many forms from many locations, and ICT can to process and communicate that data to produce useful information. Theand emergence of thethat Internet of produce Things can be used to process communicate data to can be used to process and communicate that data to produce useful information. The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) can be viewedThe as sensor provision at a much of larger useful information. emergence of the Things useful information. The emergence ofpossible, theatInternet Internet of Things (IoT) can be viewed as sensor provision a much larger scale and scope than was previously combined with (IoT) can be viewed as sensor provision at a much larger (IoT) can be viewed as sensor provision at a much larger scale and scope than was previously possible, combined with ascale major increase in the processing power available to analyse and scope than was previously possible, combined with scale andincrease scope than was previously possible, combined with athe major inalso the processing power available to analyse data. ICT can support tools and techniques such as aathe major increase in the processing power available to analyse major increase in the processing power available to analyse data. management ICT can also systems, support tools and techniques such as building smart cities and the data. ICT also support tools and techniques such as the data. management ICT can cantools alsotosystems, support and techniques such as is building smart cities and communication supporttools changes in behaviour. ICT building management systems, smart cities and building management systems, smart cities and communication tools to support changes in behaviour. ICT is also a great enabler oftoeducational opportunities, whether communication tools support changes in behaviour. ICT is communication tools to support changes in behaviour. ICT also a great enabler of educational opportunities, whether through mass education, online information or itswhether support ofis also a great enabler of educational opportunities, also atraditional great enabler of educational opportunities, through mass education, online information or itswhether support of more education and training. through mass education, online information or its support of through mass education, online information or its support of more traditional education and training. However, ICT iseducation also a source of the environmental problems more traditional and training. more traditional education and training. However, ICT is also a source of the environmental problems listed above: the growing number of physical devicesproblems require However, ICT is also aa source of the environmental However, ICTthe is growing also source of production; the environmental listed above: number of physical devices raw materials and energy in their ICT is problems a require major listed above: the growing number of physical devices listed above: the number of physical devices require raw materials andgrowing energy in their production; ICT is a require major consumer of electricity in its operation and the relatively raw materials and energy their production; is raw materials andmany energy in their production; ICT is aa major major consumer of electricity in in itsdevices operation andthat theICT relatively short lifespan of ICT means disposal at the consumer of electricity in its operation and the relatively consumer of electricity in its operation and the relatively short lifespan of many ICT devices means that disposal at the end of life is a potential (and often a very real) cause of short lifespan of many ICT devices means that disposal at short lifespan of many ICT devices means that disposal at the the end of life is a potential (and often a very real) cause of environmental damage. If – asoften seems inevitable – we of place end of life is a potential (and a very real) cause end of life is a potential (and often a very real) cause of environmental damage. If – as seems inevitable – we place increasing reliance on ICT to help us to mitigate–the environmental damage. If – seems inevitable we environmental damage. Ifour –toas as seems inevitable –the wetoplace place increasing reliance on of ICT help us to mitigate environmental effects activities, we also need be increasing reliance on ICT to help us to mitigate the increasing reliance on ICT to help us to mitigate the environmental effects of our activities, we also need to be aware of the fact that increases in the volume and reach of environmental effects of our activities, we need to environmental effects of our activities, we also also need to be be aware of the fact that increases in thesome volume and reach of ICT have the potential to exacerbate of the very aware of the fact that increases in the volume and reach aware of the that increases inthrough thesome volume andMaximising reach of of ICT have thefact potential totoexacerbate ofuse. the very problems we are hoping solve its ICT have the potential to some of the very ICT have we the are potential totoexacerbate exacerbate some ofuse. the Maximising very problems hoping solve through its the opportunities with the support of ICT, whilst problems we hoping solve through its use. problems we are areminimising hoping tosupport solve through its use.ofMaximising Maximising the opportunities with theto of ICT, whilst simultaneously the negative effects that use is the opportunities with the support of ICT, whilst the opportunities with the support of ICT, whilst simultaneously minimising the negative effects of that use is asimultaneously challenge for researchers and educators in the field. minimising the that simultaneously minimising and the negative negative effects of that use use is is a challenge for researchers educatorseffects in the of field. aa challenge for researchers and educators in the field. challenge for researchers and educators in the field.
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In addition to the overall imperative of greater productivity through improved ICT efficiency, other pressures are also being felt: it is generally expected that energy costs will rise, partly due to the reduced availability of fossil fuel and the greater cost of alternatives. It is likely that government legislation (so called “carbon taxes”) will contribute to the increased costs of energy. Both of these factors will create possibly the most significant single driver to reducing energy consumption: that of cost savings. As a further incentive towards greater resource efficiency, legislation (DECC 2010, EU 2003) places legal requirements on organisations to reduce their energy use: this carbon reduction commitment, requiring large organisations to participate in a carbon reporting and trading scheme is backed by significant cost penalties for non-adherence. It can be expected that requirements such as this will “trickle down” to smaller organisations: directly via an increase in the coverage of the carbon commitment; or indirectly due to sub contractors inheriting carbon commitments as they enter into agreements with larger organisations. Other drivers for adoption of environmentally aware behaviour are the development of corporate (social) responsibility initiatives, by which organisations present themselves as socially responsible, and therefore improve their standing in the eyes of consumers. Similar consumer pressures give rise to the plethora of “green” advertising, where a variety of businesses vie to advertise the sustainable credentials of their activity. Whether that activity is oil production, car manufacture or food distribution, the aim is to persuade customers that the business shares their environmental concerns and that the particular product or service follows the highest possible environmental standards. All these drivers (cost, legal, public pressure and responsibility) are creating a demand for individuals who are able to develop and lead on sustainability issues within business and other organisations of all sizes and in all sectors of the economy. ICT, because of its size and increasing significance in the “digital future” calls for particular specialisms, taking matters of efficiency beyond the realm of building and equipment provision, embracing changes in working practices and the promotion of different uses for existing and new technologies. It should be role of education and training to produce the individuals equipped with these skills and knowledge. This paper explores the current state of “ICT sustainability” as a subject in the curriculum, and argues that the subject deserves a greater coverage, and for that coverage to be more “up front” than it currently is. 2. SUSTAINABILITY OF ICT VS. SUSTAINABILITY BY ICT With many predictions of the proportion of electricity consumed by “ICT” (noting the major variation in the definition of what is deemed to be “ICT”, and significant differences between countries) varying between 10 - 20% (Aebischer, 2014, Terry and Palmer, 2016), and the now well-known statement that ICT’s environmental impact is equivalent to that of the world’s airline industry (UK Parliament, 2008), the concept of “putting one’s own house
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in order” applies when considering the interaction between ICT and sustainability. The direct connection between energy use and cost was undoubtedly a key driver in many of the initiatives which have emerged over the past 10 – 15 years. That those developments have often been targeted at data centres (e.g. server virtualisation, heat management) is not surprising in view of the size and significance of the data centre in contemporary business. Power management of desktop PCs, again incentivised by energy costs, is now commonplace, it seems likely that much of the interest in power management on portable devices is at least partly driven by the need to maximise the length of time before the need to recharge the battery. Finally, an awareness of the importance of paper saving has seen various steps towards reduction of paper, some successful (draft, monochrome and double sided printing as standard settings), others less so (fully paperless document exchange). The above are examples of developments which can be categorised as addressing the sustainability of ICT systems. Sustainability by ICT – taking advantage of the potential of ICT to provide information and control to change the way in which business and society operate – has produced a number of examples where technology has been used to replace or modify ways of doing things. Examples include video conferencing and cases where dematerialisation of the process chain has taken place – such as the replacement of the (physical) video / DVD store by streaming services. Advances in areas such as 3-D printing will further this by allowing products and components to be “delivered” electronically with the physical creation taking place at the place of use / consumption. At this point, we reiterate that much of the focus to date has been on controlling energy, or its proxy of carbon, through financial measures. This is not surprising as monetary rewards and penalties are a well-used route to changing behaviour, however ICT sustainability should address more than energy. The emergence of ICT as a consumer market has created a growth in both number and variety of products, but has also shortened the effective lifespan of those products. The current average lifespan of many consumer IT products (3 years for a laptop, less than 2 years mobile phone (Kantar, 2015)) is very short, and typically much shorter than the potential working life. Sometimes this is because the product quality is low – the product fails and repair is either not possible or more expensive than replacement. On other occasions devices become obsolete because of other changes, the most obvious IT related example being the hardware which is not able to support the added features of a new software release, leaving users with the choice of either continuing to run older software and losing supplier support, or of replacing the hardware. ICT’s emergence as consumer electronics has brought in the effects of fashion trends with new products being aggressively promoted as the “must have accessory of the season”. We should also remember the basic need of any manufacturer to generate an income though selling products. The manufacturer which does not maintain or grow its sales will not survive. While developing new markets is one way in which to sustain sales, this cannot be
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infinite and at some point it will be necessary to persuade existing customers to buy additional or replacement products. Finally, we should include the final stage of the lifecycle of a product, its disposal. Regardless of how a product has reached the end of its useful life (worn out, obsolete or discarded) the question of what happens next is an essential part of the sustainability picture. Applying the standard options of reuse, repurpose or recycle is important because of the sheer volume of redundant equipment, but the current design of equipment can make any of these solutions problematic. The software upgrades which renders a computing device obsolete for one user also apply to others – unless the new user is less demanding. Repurposing in full or part, and recycling of parts are both made difficult by the integration of components, which often create a “single use” device. A fully rounded education in this area must address these sustainability factors, communicating a vision of environmental stewardship in which ICT’s role is clearly understood. We should seek to develop consumers who can question the reason for the short lifespan and in-built obsolescence of much consumer ICT, designers whose awareness of the issues allows sustainability to be a major factor in systems design, and users who use the products to their maximum effectiveness. The first group can bring about changes in practices through their behaviour, the second can create the resilient technology to make the changes a reality and the third can manage and operate our ICT with the least negative environmental impact. 3. THE IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH AND TEACHING Many of the recent improvements in ICT sustainability have driven, and been driven by, research developments in areas from processor engineering for power management through to societal influences. However, it seems that the initial surge of development has somewhat stalled. The reasons for this can be identified as: The “low hanging fruit” has been gathered: the changes made so far represent those things which were able to be achieved without too much effort. Any further developments are likely to require more input with less benefit and hence are less likely to be attempted. It is seen as someone else’s turn to take the lead: these changes have delivered results which are felt to be sufficient to release the immediate pressure on ICT to take the sustainability burden Other business imperatives have become more pressing: the obvious example is the imperative for business survival following the global economic recession. The need to secure financial resources has led to reduced opportunity and willingness to devote time, effort and capital to sustainability. “Green fatigue”: the message about sustainability has become diluted through over-repetition. The committed remain committed, but the majority -
who have to be persuaded to play their part - are reluctant to become, or remain, engaged. A belief that the problem is too large for any one individual to make a difference: if nation states and large multinationals continue to increase their resource consumption, the behaviour of the person in the street will make no measureable difference.
Most, if not all, of the above can be addressed in whole or in part, by progress in research and education: research to develop and further progress the understanding of the field and the opportunities, and education to present these developments to a wider audience. However, at a recent seminar co-led by this author, it was clear that there is much to be done in this area. It is perhaps surprising that ICT sustainability does not feature more strongly in school or University ICT curricula, and that where it does appear, it is often a sub-part of a broader topic. For example, the recently developed curriculum for school-age (5 – 16, now18 in England) Computer Science in England (DfE 2015) requires students to “use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly”, in a section whose overall thrust is about personal internet safety, while the ACM equivalent (ACM, 2013) suggests two “core hours” of coverage (one at level 1, one at level 2) of environmental impacts. The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA), the IT training and education framework promoted by the British Computer Society (BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT) (BCS, 2016) is more well developed, with three separate sections covering sustainability assessment, engineering and management. It is recognised that there will be many examples of sustainability issues being addressed within other topics, but it might be thought that it would be rather more central and more explicit. At the postgraduate level, a number of specialist courses have been developed and promoted in various countries including the Netherlands, Australia and the UK as well as EU-funded international programmes. Overall, however, in Computer Science curricula, sustainability does not enjoy a particularly strong profile. 4. TOPICS FOR RESEARCH AND TEACHING One reason for this might be a problem of definition, including the similarity or difference between “green” and “sustainable” hence it is useful to consider the scope of what could be addressed. Sustainability is usually understood to refer to sustainable development, as defined by the Brundtland definition:
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the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs." (Brundtland, 1987)
This definition applies to much more than ICT. Therefore it is useful to examine some more ICT-specific discussions. In a book published in 2003, Kuehr and Williams (Kuehr, 2003) refer to concepts such as “eco-efficiency” and to “understanding and managing” the impacts of computers. The focus is firmly on the technology, the resources consumed by production, use and disposal of IT and how the effect of this resource demand can be mitigated. The BCS Green IT specialist group declare their aim to be “to promote green computing and address green issues and the adoption of green practices Associated with Information and Communication technologies and services across their lifecycle”. (BCS Green IT SG, 2010) Murugesan (2008) uses the term “Green IT” as “an umbrella term referring to environmentally sound information technologies and systems, applications and practices” and identifies three “dimensions”: creating energy efficient IT systems; applying IT to create energy efficient business and practices; and using IT to create awareness among the larger population. Hilty and Aebischer (2015) define “ICT for Sustainability” as a field which provides a “critical perspective that challenges every technological solution by assessing its impact at the societal level”. It is this criticality and challenging which is used to give uniqueness to that definition. Finally, Lago et al (2015) propose the addition of sustainability considerations to current definitions of software quality factors, with “sustainability dimensions” of social, environmental, technical and economic sustainability. In discussing their definition of ICT for sustainability, Hilty and Aebischer, referring to the absence of any scale or time limits on sustainable development suggest that Brundtland’s definition prevents a specific “product, process … or technology” being “sustainable” on its own, what is important is the consideration of whole systems, embracing the direct, indirect and socio-economic impacts of ICT. Therefore, research into the relationship between ICT and the environment can include a range of sub-topics, potentially addressing everything from the details of component design and fabrication, through systems deployment, data centres, the whole set of processes and systems prefixed by the word “smart” or the letter “e” to the economic and societal impacts of the use of ICT. Lago et al show how consideration of sustainability does not have to be limited to the hardware tools and systems, but that software is as important, if not more so. Indeed, a small extension to the life cycle would allow us to add consideration of mineral extraction and transport of products. Many of these ideas have a long history, others are newer. Perhaps it is this very breadth which has meant that sustainability research has been difficult to label. Perhaps it is their combination which allows Hilty and Aebischer to refer to ICT for sustainability as “an emerging field”.
Rather surprisingly therefore, the “big picture” appears to show that the greatest single issue likely to affect humanity does not appear to be receiving the coverage which might be expected. If it is the case that this topic should be much more widely embraced, then the challenges of definition and of creating a scientific basis should be addressed. The question of definition should not prevent the work from being done, rather it may prevent it being identified as such. How significant this is as an issue is an open question: if the work is being carried out, and valuable results are being created, then the specifics of how its subject matter is described may be considered to be of lesser impact. If, for example, an improvement in software algorithm design which allows a reduction in processor power is created, does the fact that it is reported as a software development really matter – surely the reduced processor power is the ultimate outcome? However this does not allow us to create an image of sustainability as being a subject matter it its own right, and therefore the momentum generated is reduced. Definitions - whether Murugesan’s “umbrella” or Hilty and Aebischer’s “emerging field” - do matter. This is particularly the case in the curriculum examples discussed above: there are undoubtedly ethical aspects to the question of sustainability, but ethics is just one of many elements of sustainability. Subsuming sustainability under ethics risks these other elements being missed out. Considering ICT sustainability as a scientific pursuit in its own right could enhance its status in the field. If we are to adopt a traditional scientific approach to ICT and sustainability, it is important that we can quantify the effects of the actions we take. 6. MEASUREMENTS AND METRICS In many scientific research fields, much is made of the need to quantify the outcomes of the work. Indeed, much of our concept of science is expressed by the following quote by Lord Kelvin: I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely, in your thoughts, advanced to the stage of science, whatever the matter may be. (Kelvin, 1883) Although for modern audiences this is more usually rendered as “you cannot manage what you cannot measure”, the original quote suggests that being able to express the field in terms of measureable criteria is a foundation on which to develop education and research work. In the context of ICT sustainability, this perspective argues for a measurement-based approach to the “science” of sustainability. Placing ICT sustainability firmly in the science
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domain allows students to draw on other aspects of their study and also allows the study itself to be goal-orientated: challenging students to understand how small and large changes can create large and small scale effects in systems and processes. Measuring these effects gives a sense of reality to the work being done, whilst discussing the forms this measurement may take can allow study of the subject itself to take on a higher level of thought. Discussion of the alternative measurement methods, how they might be implemented and the advantages and disadvantages of each allows students to think of the “why” in addition to the “what” and the “how” of their work. A number of metrics offer themselves, at the system level, we can quantify our work in terms of energy saved or increased capacity for the same power (sustainability of ICT); at the operational level, we can use more abstract concepts such as improved quality of life (sustainability by ICT). It is possible that there are too many metrics, and the lack of a single, common set of criteria means that comparative evaluation between separate pieces of work – one of the keystones of research – becomes difficult. A related issue here is the suitability – or otherwise – of “benchmark” loading models, it is too easy to manipulate outcomes to give the “best” result for the benchmark, irrespective of the broader performance, or to question the suitability of a given benchmark for “real” situations, which inevitably offer much greater variation than can possibly be covered by a typical benchmark. 7. EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS One possible avenue for increasing the take up of environmental IT is the opportunities for enhanced employment prospects as a result of receiving training in the subject. “Jobs for the Future”, a 2009 UK government report identified trends in the IT and telecoms sector including social computing, green IT and growing convergence of communications, computing and content platforms are likely to be further drivers of employment growth. (BIS, 2009) A 2007 report identified “ten areas for efficient IT”, recommended as best practice for enhanced environmental sustainability (Logicalis, 2007). Of these, five (server virtualisation; storage consolidation; application consolidation; desktop power management / thin client technology and appliance consolidation) could be classed as “technical”; two (information life cycle management and digital forms) might be considered “technical / organisational”, and three (shared service buildings; teleworking and office consolidation) are broadly organisational / managerial in scope. What is clear is that the responsibility for implementation of most new or changed systems will lie within the “IT services” department – all require some hardware or software intervention to bring about the necessary changes. To be more specific, in many instances, these are the skills that would be expected of a computer / network manager role, and it is those individuals who will commonly be called upon to implement such modifications. They may then find themselves, voluntarily or otherwise,
becoming the leader of energy efficient ICT initiatives across the organisation. If the aim is to reduce the energy consumption of the ICT installation, it is likely that existing proven commercial solutions will be sought. There are a number of commercial products offering savings in energy consumption, including automated shut down / wake up on LAN systems; thin client technology and the variants of virtualisation. Having taken on the role of energy saving champion (as described in the previous paragraph) our network / systems manager will be confronted by a range of products offering different claims and – very often – presenting their supporting data using different measurement methods. It is often very difficult to determine the most appropriate and effective energy saving option. The skills required are a mixture of the technical design and installation abilities possessed by a competent technical professional, coupled with the ability to understand the data and select from the available options. If it is desired to implement some of the options which utilise ICT solutions to bring about changes to working practices which reduce the organisation’s overall energy consumption, the required skill base is similar: an ability to implement the technical solutions and to select from a variety of options. In this case, we have the added requirement to deliver that activity known as “management of change”. Whilst many of the largest organisations have created a highlevel position (in some cases, at board level) for a green IT specialist, in smaller enterprises, the likelihood is that this role will fall to the network / systems manager as discussed above. This creates different training requirements and opportunities for training providers: in some cases, professional updating and development of already employed technical staff to add the green IT specialist role to their existing portfolio; in other instances, it is likely that organisations will “buy in” green IT specialism via consultancy, so we should expect to see the emergence of the green IT consultant: a role which itself requires appropriate training and development. In summary, potential job opportunities exist at a number of levels: The full time green IT role, typically in large organisations, possibly a board level role, leading a team of staff, some of whom are likely to fit the following profile… In smaller organisations, the individual who combines a green IT role with other activities, either a technical person who has gained the necessary green awareness, or (perhaps less likely) a more general “sustainability” expert who has moved into ICT. The green IT consultant, offering their services to a portfolio of companies, none of which can support such a role on a more permanent basis
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8. CONCLUSION We are some way from the situation where sustainability can be considered as a core element of the teaching, education and research in ICT, however, the pressing need for action to address climate change, and the breadth of education and research opportunities offered by this field point to the need for ICT sustainability, green IT (or any other heading) to be much more strongly promoted and developed in the future. The career prospects for people with such skills are also set to increase. REFERENCES ACM Education curriculum (2013) https://www.acm.org/education/CS2013-final-report.pdf Aebischer, B., Hilty, L.M.: The Energy Demand of ICT: A Historical Perspective and Current Methodological Challenges. In: Hilty, L.M., Aebischer, B. (eds.) ICT Innovations for Sustainability. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 310. Springer International Publishing (2014, in press) BCS Green IT Specialist Group home page (2010) http://www.bcs.org/category/10547 BCS Skills Framework for the information age (2016) https://www.sfia-online.org/en/sfia-6 BIS Departments for Business Innovation and Skills and Work and Pensions. Jobs of the Future. (2009) http://www.hmg.gov.uk/media/41730/jobs_of_the_future.pdf Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future (1987) http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf UK Department for Education (DfE) National Curriculum for computing (2015) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationalcurriculum-in-england-computing-programmes-ofstudy/national-curriculum-in-england-computingprogrammes-of-study DECC Department of Energy and Climate Change The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/lc_uk/c rc/crc.aspx EU The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (2003) European Union Directive 2003/87/EC Of The European Parliament And Of The Council Of 13 October 2003 Establishing A Scheme For Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowance Trading Within The Community And Amending Council Directive 96/61/EC. Hilty, L.M, Aebischer, B, ICT for Sustainability: An Emerging Research Field. Book Chapter in ICT Innovations for Sustainability, Springer 2015 Kantar “Apple’s Replacement Opportunity is Far From Over” https://www.kantarworldpanel.com/global/News/ApplesReplacement-Opportunity-is-Far-From-Over [accessed 5 March 2017] Kelvin “Lecture on "Electrical Units of Measurement" (3 May 1883), Popular Lectures Vol. I, p. 73
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Kuehr, R. and Williams, E. (eds) Computers and the Environment: Understanding and Managing their Impacts Kluwer 2003. Lago, P., Kocak, S.A, Crnkovic, I and Penzenstadler, B. Framing Sustainability as a Software Quality Metric. Communications of the ACM Vol 58(10) pp70-78 2015 Logicalis “ten areas for efficient IT” (2007) http://www.uk.logicalis.com/efficient_it/10areas.asp [Accessed 10 January 2010] Murugesan, S.: Harnessing green IT Principles and Practice Wiley / IEEE 20082 Terry, N, Palmer, J, “Trends in home computing and energy demand” Building Research & Information Vol 44 (2) pp 175 – 189 (2016) UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology “ICT and CO2 Emissions” Postnote Number 319 December 2008
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