Book Image

Sustainable IT Playbook for Technology Leaders

By : Niklas Sundberg
Book Image

Sustainable IT Playbook for Technology Leaders

By: Niklas Sundberg

Overview of this book

We are at a critical point in human history. Humanity is under threat, but all is not lost. We can take action! But how? Sustainable IT Playbook for Technology Leaders will show you how. It will walk you through the construction and implementation of a sustainable IT strategy and enable you to do your bit for the future of mankind. The book is split into three parts. Part I details the “why” and the clear and present danger that humanity faces today: the climate crisis. How did we get here, what are the immediate threats, what are the planetary boundaries that we need to peel back to safe levels, and what impact does IT have on society at large? Part II will focus on the "what.” It examines the nitty-gritty details of what we can do to unlock significant returns on sustainable investments toward a more sustainable future. Part III, the final part of the book, focuses on the “how.” How do you turn your ideas into action? What do you need to do to establish your baseline and your direction of travel towards your objective? This part provides tangible case studies and explains how you can start your journey today to begin delivering global and impactful objectives. By the end of this book, you’ll be able to plan, implement, and communicate a sustainable IT strategy and set yourself apart as a progressive technology leader.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
1
Part 1: Why Is Sustainable IT Important?
4
Part 2: What Are Sustainable IT Practices?
12
Part 3: How Do You Accelerate Sustainable IT?

What is sustainable IT?

The climate crisis, in combination with current social crises across multiple regions, such as emigration and racially and ethnically driven conflicts, is humanity’s most significant challenge to overcome. As discussed in Chapter 1, Our Most Significant Challenge Ahead, we need to halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to stay in the 1.5°C-degree safe zone, and we need to peel back the consumption of Earth’s natural resources drastically. We are currently running at a pace of consuming 1.75 of Earth’s resources, which means it takes the Earth almost 1.8 months to regenerate what has been taken out. We have a finite number of resources on Earth and we must look after them.

As ESG has become a mainstream business issue, the pressure on technology leaders to assume environmental responsibility is mounting. Not only does a CEO expect a CIO to be the primary catalyst in executing business strategy in the coming 3 to 5 years (PWC 2020...