One of the “real” green impact zones is in the world of information technology. The increase of electronic transactions (How many of you use e-banking?), the growth of Internet communications, on-line shopping, electronic medical records and global positioning systems have caused an explosion in the IT industry. Government documentation going digital, digital record retention, disaster recoveries, emergency services, national security and scientific computing also has a huge impact in the IT industry. 
Well, that’s an interesting word, and I like interesting words. It means, according to Encarta, literally “generating current of voltage when illuminated.” It is further defined as “able to generate a current or voltage when exposed to visible light, or other electromagnetic radiation.” So while I have seen the word before, I never actually paid much attention to it. I’m sure it was the box for my solar garden lights. It is really a great word foto-vol-tay-ik. I wouldn’t have paid much attention to it if it wasn’t for a recent article I was reading about Google. 
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Green Information Technology
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So what are the implications; increased energy usage - costs, emissions, strains on an old power grid and capital costs, and more. It affects just about every system. IT is the key to modern business and the way we are using energy is unsustainable! Green IT is about using IT more efficiently. Here are some facts from the EPA (a favorite source for us because it is free):
So what should be the goal of Green IT?
In the future, I will be posting about of the issues involved with the information industry including life cycle assessment of equipment, or lack of. I will also look at some of the best ways to execute on Green IT including basic steps as well as some more complex efforts including its effect on people, planet and profits. |
Fighting Carbon with Carbon
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Photo: Creative Commons copyright by James Hedberg Find some really cool physics animations and photos by James here.
What would it be like if we could make roofing surfaces - even wildly irregular roofing surfaces - into highly-efficient solar collectors? First of all, for those of you who are a little science-minded (and we're guessing there are a few of you here) you'll want to learn a little more about a new "wonder maerial" called graphene. Graphene is a one-atom-thick layer of carbon. Want to spend a moment to learn about it? You know you do. Have a look at this really nice video from Creative Science, an organization from the UK:
So now that you're familiar with the material, you see there are all sorts of possiblities (read that projects) for what we can do with it. Especially if the material happens to create electricity when it's sturck by light. Oh wait! It does that. See this link. Or see this link. OK, you can see that this has some carbon-fighting applications. So it's potentially "green". What does that have to do with project management? Well, it's actually very simple. The number of research projects and then actual application-based projects are huge. This 'wonder material' has reminded those of us old enough to remember, of the advance of silicon as a wonder material, and the cavalcade of electronics that followed that, employing literally millions of project managers and engineers. So we think this is worth your attention as a project manager. Stay tuned to this blog - we'll have more. |
Prelude to a Resolution - Conclusion
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You may remember that before we sent 2011 off into the sunset and wished it good bye (or good riddance), we played devil's advocate. Below are some of the objections we hear to planning in sustainability to your projects. All are real, and all actually have some virtue (it's the ying and yang of PM, we suppose). We promised that early in 2012 we would play angel's advocate and explain why these objections to resolutions oughtn't, shouldn't, and mightn't make a (negative) difference to you, your projects, planet, people, and profits. So, as promised, below we repeat the 5 reasons to NOT consider sustainability in projects and now provide our reasoning (shown in vibrant purple) as to why – in fact – it IS VERY important to make sustainability a key consideration.
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5. My project has its own needs and must not be hampered by corporate or other enterprise 'weights'. I have enough to worry about with my project alone. We’d actually turn this one right onto its head. We’d say that if you DON’T take the time to connect your project to the strategic goals of your enterprise, you risk having an “outlier” project which has “success” unto itself, but because of its disconnectedness, is not really contributing towards enterprise success. Furthermore, your own success as PM and your own career path count on you knowing what’s important to the enterprise. We suggest you change your thinking. These sustainability considerations are not weights – okay, well they do carry some weight - think of them as jetpacks which can help power your project and energize your career. 4. I don't want to worry about how my project's product/service will be used in the long term - what a bother! I am a PM – my projects have defined beginnings and endings, and I work in the here and now. Yes. You work in the here and now. And yes, we have to keep our focus on what PMI calls “progressive elaboration” and “rolling wave planning” – where we use the near term to adjust the medium term. But don’t forget the long term. And don’t forget the holistic view of your project’s product. It will help you identify issues and risk you’d be blind to if not considered upfront. We have real, specific examples of where failing to do this has caused significant failure of the project itself. We’ve shared these on our blog in the past and will continue to do so in the future. 3. Since my project only runs for a short time, I don't need to run 'the project itself' efficiently. I just need to get it done. The operations people can worry about the steady-state. First of all, we have to give the obligatory answer that “every bit helps”, so that if you do make sustainability improvements within the project, it will contribute, even if in a small way, to the overall global effort. But the other piece is this. You are a project manager – that’s a change agent. Projects are about change, by definition. So what you do sets a sort of behavioral model for the company. So even if your efforts to be sustainability-focused are limited, they are likely to be emulated by others you touch in your organization. It is true that the steady-state of the project is owned by the operations people. But you know what? It’s very much your job as a project manager to empower the operations people to do their job efficiently – you set them up for success, including sustainability success. Again, if you stay tuned to EarthPM and/or read our book, you will find solid, real examples of these situations. 2. Any money or effort spent to 'green up' my project is money NOT spent on my REAL project. We’re all splitting one pie, so there is only so much to go around. The view expressed in this assertion indicates a win-lose situation. Only thing is…this is not a win-lose situation. The “pie” – if you wan to keep this analogy – is expandable. Just as we can give you many examples of how sustainability can enhance an enterprise’s bottom line, there are examples of how a project can actually benefit from money spent to make the project more efficient or ecologically responsible. 1. They've begun to find planets with similar characteristics to Earth. So, with regards to the earth and "using it up" - it's replaceable! So, what, me worry? Although this philosophy (assumption, really) that the earth has limitless resources has been the basis for much of our carelessness with regards to ecological sustainability (or the lack thereof). Let’s use this silly assertion above as a way to remind us that as planets go, right now we really only have the one. And, we reiterate: Have a very pleasant, safe, and fun New Year's and best of wishes to you, your people, projects, profits, and planets in 2012! |
Prelude to a Resolution
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As we send 2011 off into the sunset and wish it good bye (or good riddance), we at EarthPM thought this would be a good time to set resolutions for 2012. But first... ..before doing something so angelic... ...we thought we'd play devil's advocate. Below are some of the objections we hear to planning in sustainability to your projects. All are reall, and all actually have some virtue (it's the ying and yang of PM, we suppose). Early in 2012 we will play angel's advocate and explain why these objections to resolutions oughtn't, shouldn't, and mightn't make a (negative) difference to you, your projects, planet, people, and profits. So here they are, people, in ascending order to the NUMBER 1 reason why we need not plan sustainability into our projects. (insert drumroll here) 5. My project has its own needs and must not be hampered by corporate or other enterprise 'weights'. I have enough to worry about with my project alone. 4. I don't want to worry about how my project's product/service will be used in the long term - what a bother! I am a PM – my projects have defined beginnings and endings, and I work in the here and now. 3. Since my project only runs for a short time, I don't need to run 'the project itself' efficiently. I just need to get it done. The operations people can worry about the steady-state. 2. Any money or effort spent to 'green up' my project is money NOT spent on my REAL project. We’re all splitting one pie, so there is only so much to go around. 1. They've begun to find planets with similar characteristics to Earth. So, with regards to the earth and "using it up" - it's replaceable! So, what, me worry? Have a very pleasant, safe, and fun New Year's and best of wishes to you, your people, projects, profits, and planets in 2012!
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Photovoltaic. Photo What!!
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Google is one of those companies that we considered “Top of Their Game” in our book. It seems, from the article, that some were speculating that Google was “losing its appetite for clean power” because it had decided to stop its initiative “Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal.” But I suppose it wasn’t that Google is not interested in clean energy, it is just that that initiative had run its course. Google says that it is investing $94 million into four photovoltaic projects that Recurrent Energy is building in the Sacramento area. So what are these projects? To paraphrase a line from Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has agreed to a 20 year deal to purchase 88 MW of solar power from Recurrent Energy. Recurrent Energy develops solar energy projects and generates clean electricity to utilities and large energy buyers. They are the primary solar development company for Sharp Corporation, and are a Sharp subsidiary. For this particular project, there are four sites south and south east of Sacramento where these solar arrays will be built. The first of the projects are scheduled to come on line in 2012. So Google is not abandoning their search for cleaner energy, just exploring all options. But one thing that stands out in my mind is that fossil fuels will not be going away anytime soon. I applaud the efforts of the clean energy industry and their backers to explore alternate clean energy sources. I’m no fortune teller, but my tea leaves say that for the foreseeable future, energy will be provided by a combination of electricity (nuclear, solar, wind, fossil fuel plants, including wood and waste product fueled plants), natural gas, coal and oil. The key will be to increase our usage of clean energy produced (including nuclear while finding the solutions to the safety issues surrounding nuclear plants), and decrease our dependency on oil and natural gas while making those sources cleaner. We must work to decrease our dependency on the least clean energy sources, because I can’t see us totally eliminating their use. |