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?

Circular IT hardware management

As we saw in the previous section, there are some significant environmental impacts during a product’s life cycle. The switch from a linear economy to a circular economy is pivotal in transitioning to a sustainable future. As we saw in Chapter 1, Our Most Significant Challenge Ahead, we are already consuming 1.75% of Earth’s resources and not regenerating enough to live within the constraints of planet Earth. In our current way of living, finite raw materials are extracted, or non-virgin plastics are used, the products are manufactured, products are shipped to a distribution point, the customer buys and uses the products, and at the end of the product lifetime, it is discarded with limited reused or recycled – the process is linear.

In the linear economy, we continue to deplete Earth’s natural resources, and once they have reached their end of life, they end up in a toxic landfill instead of being recycled. In the circular...