PICMET 2009 Proceedings, August 2-6, Portland, Oregon USA © 2009 PICMET

Sustainable IT Services: Assessing the Impact of Green Computing Practices

Robert R. Harmon1, Nora Auseklis2
1
Portland State University, Strategic Marketing Area, Portland, OR, USA
2
Intel Corporation, Engineering Computing, Hillsboro, OR, USA

Abstract--Green computing refers to the practice of using of green computing and sustainable IT investment and
computing resources more efficiently while maintaining or practices. The new administration in the United States has
increasing overall performance. Sustainable IT services require stated intentions to endorse a “green energy economy” which
the integration of green computing practices such as power will likely cap carbon emissions; increase energy costs, and
management, virtualization, improving cooling technology,
recycling, electronic waste disposal, and optimization of the IT
holds companies more accountable for their impact on the
infrastructure to meet sustainability requirements. Recent environment [9].
studies have shown that costs of power utilized by IT Due to the immediate impact on business value, it is likely
departments can approach 50% of the overall energy costs for that green computing will remain focused for some time on
an organization. While there is an expectation that green IT reducing costs while improving the performance of energy-
should lower costs and the firm’s impact on the environment, hungry data centers and desktop computers. However, it is
there has been far less attention directed at understanding the not likely that this first wave of activity will fully extend to
strategic benefits of sustainable IT services in terms of the the general minimization of the ecological footprint of IT
creation of customer value, business value and societal value. products and services for companies and their customers.
This paper provides a review of the literature on sustainable IT,
key areas of focus, and identifies a core set of principles to guide
Ecological issues involving IT product and service design,
sustainable IT service design. supply chain optimization, and changes in processes to deal
with e-waste, pollution, usage of critical resources such as
I. INTRODUCTION water, toxic materials, and the air shed will need to be more
fully addressed. Although these first-wave activities are
Although the term “green computing” and its alternative driven more by cost-reduction-based business value there is
“green IT” have recently become widely popular and taken growing potential for green IT products and services being
on increased importance, their conceptual origin is almost the deciding factor in terms of the intangible benefits of
two decades old. In 1991 the Environmental Protection “greenness” to the customer. Vendors are now able to
Agency (EPA) introduced the Green Lights program to position products and services in terms of energy
promote energy-efficient lighting. This was followed by the consumption and lower costs, but the real benefit over time
ENERGY STAR program in 1992, which established energy- may be in positioning on environmental and social
efficiency specifications for computers and monitors [13, 50]. responsibility of the company itself [27, 32, 40].
However, it is in the last decade where green computing has “Sustainable IT” and especially “sustainable IT services”
gained traction. The rapid growth of Internet-based business are terms that are becoming synonymous with an emergent
computing, often metaphorically referred to as “cloud” second wave of green computing innovation. Sustainable IT
computing, and the costs of energy to run the IT strategies are driving sustainability beyond just energy use
infrastructure are the key drivers of green computing. Over and product considerations. This broader approach to
the last several years the link between energy use and carbon corporate sustainability will necessitate the redesign of the IT
generation and the desire to lessen both has given rise to the organization and indeed the company itself if the strategic
green computing label. benefits of green computing are to be realized. This second
Dramatically increased energy use driven by the rapid wave will encompass the adoption of ecological strategies
expansion of data centers has increased IT costs, and the that will redefine markets, spur technological innovation, and
resulting environmental impact of IT, to new levels. lead to shifts in process, behavior and organizational culture
Enterprise data centers can easily account for than 50 percent that will integrate business models with environmental and
of a company’s energy bill and approximately half of the social responsibility [9, 32]. These changes are being driven
corporate carbon footprint [15, 25]. In the U.S., the power by the evolving changes in customer requirements from a
consumption costs for data center computing and cooling sole emphasis on the tangible cost-benefit of reduced energy
doubled from 2000 to 2006 to $4.5 billion. It expected to usage to increasingly intangible green benefits and cultural
double again by 20011 [18]. issues motivated by concerns for global warming and climate
Although energy use and its associated cost has been the change [40].
key driver for green computing, a growing appreciation of the For this paper, we define green computing as the practice
risks of climate change and increasing concerns about energy of maximizing the efficient use of computing resources to
security have elevated green computing to a national and minimize environmental impact. This includes the goals of
global issue. In addition to corporate self interest, controlling and reducing a product’s environmental footprint
government regulations will increasingly drive the adoption by minimizing the use of hazardous materials, energy, water,

1707

Authorized licensed use limited to: University of Pittsburgh. Downloaded on January 26, 2010 at 20:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 PICMET 2009 Proceedings, August 2-6, Portland, Oregon USA © 2009 PICMET

and other scarce resources, as well as minimizing waste from centers is increasing 20% per year on average [15]. With
manufacturing and throughout the supply chain. Green annual energy costs for computing and cooling nearly
computing goals extend to the product’s use over its lifecycle, matching the costs for new equipment, data center expenses
and the recycling, reuse, and biodegradability of obsolete can squeeze out investment in new products, make data
products. We define sustainable IT services1 in broader intensive products uneconomic, and squeeze overall margins.
terms to include the impact of IT service strategies on the The quest for data center efficiency has become a strategic
firm’s and customers’ societal bottom line to include issue [15].
economic, environmental, and social responsibility criteria The high and increasing use of electricity makes data
for defining organizational success. Therefore, as defined, centers an important source of greenhouse gases. For
green computing practices inform a company’s sustainable IT information-intensive organizations, data centers can account
service strategies and process decisions. for over 50% of the total corporate carbon footprint. For
The purpose of this paper is to review the current service firms, data centers are the primary source of green
literature on green computing and its influences on house emissions. Data centers, with their high energy costs
sustainable IT services with the idea of identifying critical and increasingly negative impact on the environment, are the
issues and leverage points to improve customer value, driving force behind the green computing movement.
business value, and societal value. The paper is organized as
follows: Section II focuses on green computing to explain A. Factors Driving the Adoption of Green Computing
what is driving the phenomenon and to identify current green The following trends are impacting data centers, and to a
computing approaches and metrics. Section III introduces the lesser degree, desktop computers, and driving the adoption of
concept of sustainable IT services as the second wave of green-computing practices:
green computing where broader societal goals are addressed.
It explores the elements of sustainable IT strategy and 1. The rapid growth of the Internet
relevant regulations in a corporate social responsibility The increasing reliance on electronic data is driving the
framework. Lastly, section IV identifies issues and questions rapid growth in the size and number of data centers. This
to motivate future research. growth results from the rapid adoption of Internet
communications and media, the computerization of business
II. GREEN COMPUTING: THE FIRST WAVE processes and applications, legal requirements for retention of
records, and disaster recovery. Internet usage is growing at
Since its inception, the IT industry has focused on the more than 10 percent annually leading to an estimated 20%
development and deployment of IT equipment and services CAGR in data center demand [51]. Video and music
that was capable of meeting the ever-growing demands of downloads, on-line gaming, social networks, e-commerce,
business customers. Therefore, the emphasis has been on and VoIP are key drivers. In addition, business use of the
processing power and systems spending. Less attention was Internet has ramped up. Industries such as financial services
afforded to infrastructure issues which include energy (investment, banking, and insurance), real estate, healthcare,
consumption, cooling, and space for data centers, since they retailing, manufacturing, and transportation are using
were assumed to be always available and affordable. Over information technology for key business functions [2]. The
the last decade these issues have become limiting factors in advent of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with its requirement to
determining the feasibility of deploying new IT systems, retain electronic records has increased storage demand in
while processing power is widely available and affordable some industries at 50 percent CAGR [48]. Disaster recovery
[47]. strategies that mandate duplicate records increases demand
Investment in data centers, including the energy cost for further. Finally, many federal, state, and local government
running and cooling them, is a major consideration for IT agencies have adopted e-government strategies that utilize the
managers. A large enterprise data center cost from $500M to Web for public information, reporting, transactions,
$1B, a three-fold increase since 2003 [15]. Data centers homeland security, and scientific computing [13].
typically account for 25% of total corporate IT budgets and
their costs are expected to continue to increase as the number 2. Increasing equipment power density
of servers rise and the cost of electricity increases faster than Although advances in server CPUs have in some cases
revenues. One study indicated that the cost of running data enabled higher performance with less power consumption per
CPU, overall server power consumption has continued to
increase as more servers are installed with higher
1
We define IT services from a total customer value perspective as the performance power-hungry processors with more memory
aggregate value available to the customer from the systematic integration of
the individual IT service components. Therefore, IT services derive from the
capacity [42, 47]. As more servers are installed they require
software, hardware, telecommunications networks and other infrastructure, more floor space. To pack more servers in the same footprint
data, maintenance, technical support, and consulting necessary to design, the form factor of servers has become much smaller, in some
deploy, operate, and maintain computer applications for the purpose of cases shrinking by more than 70% through the use of blade
delivering superior customer value [21].
servers. This increase in packaging density has been matched

1708

Authorized licensed use limited to: University of Pittsburgh. Downloaded on January 26, 2010 at 20:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 PICMET 2009 Proceedings, August 2-6, Portland, Oregon USA © 2009 PICMET

by a major increase in the power density of data centers. collective annual carbon emissions of 80 metric megatons of
Density has increased more than ten times from 300 watts per CO2 are approaching the carbon footprint of the Netherlands
square foot in 1996 to over 4,000 watts per square foot in and Argentina [15]. Carbon emissions from operations are
2007, a trend that is expected to continue its upward spiral expected to grow at more than 11% per year to 340 metric
[13, 42, 45, 47]. megatons by 2020. In addition, the carbon footprint of
manufacturing the IT product is largely unaccounted for by
3. Increasing cooling requirements IT organizations [15].
The increase in server power density has led to a
concomitant increase in data center heat density. Servers B. Implementing Green Computing Strategies
require approximately 1 to 1.5 watts of cooling for each watt Transitioning to green computing has involved a number
of power used [16, 24, 39]. The ratio of cooling power to of strategies to optimize the efficiency of data center
server power requirements will continue to increase as data operations in order to lower costs and to lessen the impact of
center server densities increase. computing on the environment. The transitioning to a green
data center involves a mix of integrating new approaches for
4. Increasing energy costs power and cooling with energy-efficient hardware,
Data center expenditures for power and cooling can virtualization, software, and power and workload
exceed that for equipment over the useful life of a server. For management [10].
a typical $4,000 server rated at 500 watts, one study
estimated it would consume approximately $4,000 of 1. Data center infrastructure
electricity for power and cooling over three years, at $0.08 Infrastructure equipment includes chillers, power supplies,
per kilowatt-hour, and double that in Japan [2]. The ratio of storage devices, switches, pumps, fans, and network
power and cooling expense to equipment expenses has equipment. Many data centers are over ten years old. Their
increased from approximately 0.1 to 1 in 2000 to 1 to 1 in infrastructure equipment is reaching the end of its useful life.
2007 [47]. With the likely increase in the number of data It is power hungry and inefficient. Such data centers
centers and servers and the advent of a carbon cap-and-trade typically use 2 or 3 times the amount of power overall as used
scheme, the cost of energy for data center power and cooling for the IT equipment, mostly for cooling [10]. The obvious
will continue to increase [26]. strategy here has been to invest in new data centers that are
designed to be energy efficient or to retrofit existing centers.
5. Restrictions on energy supply and access
Companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo with 2. Power and workload management
the need for large data centers may not be able to find power Power and workload management software could save
at any price in major American cities [14]. Therefore, they $25-75 per desktop per month and more for servers [50].
have built new data centers in the Pacific Northwest near the Power management software adjusts the processor power
Columbia River where they have direct access to low-cost states (P-states) to match workload requirements. It makes
hydroelectric power and do not need to depend on the full use of the processor power when needed and conserves
overtaxed electrical grid. In states such as, California, power when workloads are lighter. Some companies are
Illinois, and New York, the aging electrical infrastructure and shifting from desktops to laptops for their power-
high costs of power can stall or stop the construction of new management capabilities.
data centers and limit the operations of existing centers [24].
In some crowded urban areas utility power feeds are at 3. Thermal load management
capacity and electricity is not available for new data centers Technology compaction in data centers has increased
at any price [10]. power density and the need for efficient heat dissipation.
Power use by ventilation and cooling systems is on par with
6. Low server utilization rates that of servers. Typical strategies for thermal management
Data center efficiency is a major problem in terms of are variable cooling delivery, airflow management, and
energy use. The server utilization rates average 5-10 per cent raised-floor data center designs to ensure good air flow, more
for large data centers [15]. Low server utilization means that efficient air conditioning equipment, ambient air, liquid heat
companies are overpaying for energy, maintenance, removal systems, heat recovery systems, and smart
operations support, while only using a small percentage of thermostats [10, 39].
computing capacity [9].
4. Product design
7. Growing awareness of IT’s impact on the environment For example, microprocessor performance increased at
Carbon emissions are proportional to energy usage. In approximately 50% CAGR from 1982 to 2002. However,
2007 there were approximately 44 million servers worldwide performance increases per watt over the same period were
consuming 0.5% of all electricity. Data centers in the server- modest. Energy use by servers continued to rise relatively
dense U.S. use more than 1% of all electricity [10]. Their proportionally with the increase in installed base [13]. The

1709

Authorized licensed use limited to: University of Pittsburgh. Downloaded on January 26, 2010 at 20:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 PICMET 2009 Proceedings, August 2-6, Portland, Oregon USA © 2009 PICMET

shift to multiple cores and the development of dynamic needed which means smaller server footprints, lower cooling
frequency and voltage scaling technologies hold great costs, less headcount, and improved manageability.
promise for reducing energy use by servers. Multiple-core
microprocessors run at slower clock speeds and lower 6. Cloud computing and cloud services
voltages than single-core processors and can better leverage As Internet-based computing centralizes in the data
memory and other architectural components to run faster center, software technology has advanced to enable
while consuming less energy. applications to be used where and when needed. The term
Dynamic frequency and voltage scaling features enable “cloud computing” refers to a computing model that aims to
microprocessor performance to ramp up or down to match make high-performance computing available to the masses
workloads. Moving beyond microprocessors, the energy over the Internet [35]. Cloud computing enables developers
proportional computing concept takes advantage of the to create, deploy, and run easily scalable services that are
observation that servers consume relatively more energy at high performance, reliable, and free the user from location
low levels of efficiency than at peak levels [3]. Therefore, and infrastructure concerns [31]. The “cloud” has long been
the goal is to design servers that consume energy in a metaphor for the Internet. When combined with
proportion to the work performed. Since microprocessors “computing” the definition turns to services [23].
have more quickly acquired energy-saving capabilities, it is As cloud computing continues to evolve it has
expected that CPUs will consume relatively less energy than increasingly taken on service characteristics. These services
other components. Therefore, it will be necessary for major include utility computing, software as a service (SaaS),
improvements in memory, disk drives, and other components platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service
to reduce their power usage at higher levels of utilization. (IaaS).
Energy proportionality, which promises to double server x Utility computing. The first cloud services were
efficiency with the potential for large energy savings for data developed by companies such as Amazon.com, Sun, and
centers, should become a primary goal for equipment IBM that offered virtual servers and storage that can be
designers [3]. accessed on demand. This is often described as an
updated version of utility computing—essentially virtual
5. Virtualization computing capacity where users pay for what they use
Virtualization has become a primary strategy for when they need it. Early adopters used this service for
addressing growing business computing needs. It is supplemental and non mission-critical needs. This model
fundamentally about IT optimization in terms energy could be extended to include virtual data centers as a
efficiency and cost reduction. It improves the utilization of virtual resource pool [23].
existing IT resources while reducing energy use, capital x SaaS: This implementation of cloud computing delivers
spending and human resource costs [30, 37]. Data center applications through a browser interface to thousands of
virtualization affects four areas: server hardware and customers using a multitenant architecture [17, 23, 34].
operating systems, storage, networks, and application Salesforce.com is perhaps the best known of the SaaS
infrastructure. For instance, virtualization enables increased companies with applications in sales force automation,
server utilization by pooling applications on fewer servers. CRM, human resources, and supply chain management.
Through virtualization, data centers can support new More recently, Google has adopted a SaaS model for its
applications while using less power, physical space, and GoogleApps and Zoho Office [23]. The benefits for
labor. This method is especially useful for extending the life customers include: no upfront investment in
of older data centers with no space for expansion. Virtual infrastructure, servers, or software licenses; reduced
servers use less power and have higher levels of efficiency operating expenses, end-to end business processes
than standalone servers [3]. integrated with services anywhere/anytime; dynamically
Virtualization technology was originally developed by scalable infrastructure, SLAs for composite services,
IBM (as CP/CMS in the 1960’s) to increase the utilization mobile device and sensor control, access to leading-edge
efficiency of mainframes. More recently the concept has technology, and less environmental impact [34].
been applied to x86 servers in data centers. With the use of a x PaaS. An outgrowth of the SaaS model, PaaS delivers
hardware platform virtualization program called a hypervisor, development environments as a service [23]. The model
or virtual machine monitor (VMM), multiple operating provides the required resources to support the entire life
systems can run concurrently on a host computer. The cycle for developing and delivering web applications and
hypervisor controls access to the server’s processor and services over the Internet. Developers can essentially
memory and enables a server to be segmented into several create their own applications as a service that will run on
“virtual machines”, each with its own operating system and the provider’s platform and are delivered to their
application. For large data centers, server usage ranges from customers from the provider’s servers. Leading PaaS
5-10 percent of capacity on average. With virtualization, companies are Force.com, Google AppEngine, and
server workloads can be increased to 50-85 percent where Microsoft Azure. The primary advantages are the speed
they can operate more energy efficiently [3]. Less servers are

1710

Authorized licensed use limited to: University of Pittsburgh. Downloaded on January 26, 2010 at 20:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 PICMET 2009 Proceedings, August 2-6, Portland, Oregon USA © 2009 PICMET

and low cost that can be achieved for development and pay as you go, access to the latest technology, faster
deployment [46]. service delivery and time to market.
x IaaS. This cloud offering provides basic infrastructure,
such as servers, storage, clients, and networking as an on C. Green Computing Metrics
demand service. Leading IaaS companies include Power-related metrics currently dominate green
Amazon Web Services, GoGrid, and Flexiscale [43]. The computing. Several energy-efficiency related metrics have
advantages include a high degree of flexibility, low cost, been proposed to help IT organizations understand and
improve the efficiency of data centers. Table 1 presents
summarizes the most widely used benchmarks

TABLE 1. EFFICIENCY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT BENCHMARKS. ADAPTED FROM [36]

Benchmark Metric Level Domain
Total Power Consumption $ cost of power consumed Data center Enterprise
Kilowatts used
Green Grid PUE Ratio of facility power to It equipment Data center Enterprise
power
Green Grid DCiE Percent of power that reaches IT equipment Data center Enterprise
Green Grid DCPE Work done/total facility power Data center Enterprise
Analysis tool Performance per watt Any Any
EnergyBench Throughput per Joule Processor Embedded
SWaP Performance/(space x watts) System(s) Enterprise
Energy Star: Workstations Certify if “typical” power is less than 35% of System Enterprise
“maximum” power
Energy Star: Other systems Certify if below a predefined threshold for System Mobile, desktop, small server
the system class
SPECPower and Performance Power consumption per server on Java System Enterprise
graduated workload
JouleSort Records sorted per Joule System Mobile, desktop, enterprise
Carbon footprint Amount of carbon dioxide emissions per Any Any
Environmental Impact product, service, process, facility, or
organization

1. Energy Efficiency per unit of performance, then less energy is needed for
x Total power consumption. In a recent study, this metric cooling and DCiE will move higher [33].
was the most popular with 68% of IT managers specifying x Data center performance efficiency (DCPE). DCPE =
its use. The cost of power and the volume of kilowatts Useful Work/Total Facility Power. This ratio is informed
used are typically included in the baseline assessment [9]. by PUE and DCiE. However, it is much more complex to
This metric can be useful in tracking power usage by define and measure “useful work” performance as a
facility, function, application, and employee. standard metric [44].
Accountability for electricity usage by IT organizations x Other energy efficiency benchmarks. An alternate
has been highlighted since it is a cost that can easily be approach to energy efficiency monitory at the data center
tracked and it is a large part of the IT budget. Making level is to build energy efficiency into the initial design of
power cost a discrete line item in the IT budget invites components and systems and to adaptively manage system
action to become more efficient and generate cost savings. power consumption in response to changes in workload
x Power usage effectiveness (PUE). PUE is equal to Total and environment [36]. These benchmarks include
Facility Power/IT Equipment Power. IT equipment power Analysis tool, EnergyBench, SWaP, Energy Star,
is defined as the load associated with computers, storage, SPECPower, and JouleSort.
network equipment and peripherals [33, 44]. Total
facility power is the total power measured at the utility 2. Environmental Impact
meter. A PUE of 2.0 indicates that data center demand is x Carbon footprint. Regulations to reduce green house gas
twice as high as the power necessary to power the IT emissions worldwide will likely be forthcoming soon as a
equipment. A PUE value of 1.0 would indicate 100% carbon tax or cap and trade scheme is being considered by
efficiency with all power consumed by IT equipment. the U.S. government and the Intergovernmental Panel on
x Data center infrastructure efficiency (DCiE). DCiE = Climate Change (IPCC). Already some businesses are
1/PUE. This ratio is equivalent to the PUE. In the above requesting that their partners provide information on
example IT equipment uses 50% of the power in the data carbon dioxide production [6]. One emerging strategy is
center. The other 50% is of power demand is typically to purchase electricity from renewable energy sources
required for cooling. As IT equipment uses less energy such as wind, solar, or hydro. Google has adopted this

1711

Authorized licensed use limited to: University of Pittsburgh. Downloaded on January 26, 2010 at 20:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 PICMET 2009 Proceedings, August 2-6, Portland, Oregon USA © 2009 PICMET

strategy, although the low-cost hydro energy it has tapped While energy efficiency is the principal driver of green
into has significant environmental drawbacks that offset computing, environmental reporting standards will be the
its attractiveness long term [20]. The key metric here is primary driver of sustainable IT services.2 Voluntary and
the volume of carbon dioxide that is produced by various global guidelines for sustainability reporting have existed for
business processes and products—the carbon footprint. some time and are continuing to evolve. Over the next
several years IT organizations will be asked by the business
III. SUSTAINABLE IT SERVICES: THE SECOND WAVE to support a comprehensive approach to sustainability. This
will not only involve energy use, carbon emissions, and other
Sustainable IT services are essential to business success. environmental report; it will involve a comprehensive view of
There is increasing pressure to adopt sustainable business the entire value chain and corporate ecosystem. With IT at
practices. Sustainable IT services are not only about the first- the core of business competitiveness, IT organizations will
wave green computing focus on data-center efficiency or how need to play a major role in the development of corporate
to minimize carbon footprints. It is squarely focused on the sustainability strategy.
long-term importance of IT to the organization, its customers With the ongoing shift to IT services, it makes business
and to society at large—all second-wave sustainability issues. sense for IT organizations to look more holistically toward
Therefore, sustainable IT is about everything an organization the development of sustainable IT services as the
needs to do to ensure that IT services delivers superior value foundational element of the IT organization. We define
to attain a strong market position and to ensure its ability to sustainable IT services from a total societal value perspective
survive. It is about aligning IT with business strategy to as the aggregate value available to society from the
achieve market-leading business value, customer value and systematic integration and alignment of the individual IT
societal value. This will ensure the viability of the IT service components for the purpose of creating superior
organization itself. There are several elements that comprise societal value. Therefore, all aspects of IT services must
sustainable IT services [7]. meet societal goals for sustainability while meeting customer
x Service sustainability. At a minimum, this includes and business value goals in terms of economic,
effective and reliable processes for delivering IT services. environmental, and social responsibility requirements [38].
It is about managing performance and doing what is
necessary to keep the service running smoothly such as A. From Business Value to Customer Value to Societal Value
constant security, systems recovery planning, and keeping Business value is the overall benefit for business units and
versions current [7]. the enterprise as a whole that results from IT solutions or
x Temporal sustainability. To sustain IT services over time services. Business value is evidenced by increases in revenue
an organization has to start with a clear understanding of or market position that derive from meeting customer
the value that is to be created. It must have a strong requirements, providing customer savings or ROI, and
business case, be responsive to business conditions, and making investments in innovation that advance the industry
create value for the customer and society, as well as the as a whole [1, 43]. Although this definition does recognize
business [7]. the customer and the industry at large, the overall focus of
x Cost sustainability. This includes acquisition and business value is to provide returns to the company. As such,
operating costs such as the choice of low cost hardware business value often focuses on short-term, cost-based
and software that also offer benefits such as low power solutions that can overlook the long-term best interests of the
consumption and ensure high levels of resource customer, society, and resultantly, the business as well. The
utilization. Life cycle management and replacement costs first wave focus on green computing, with its primary
are also important consideration [7, 11, 28]. emphasis on cutting energy costs, can certainly increase
x Organizational sustainability. Organizational change is business value, while increasing customer and societal value
inevitable. Whether it derives from personnel changes or (carbon reductions). However, the short-term focus on costs
major changes in technology, markets, or mergers and cannot ensure that benefits to the customer and society will
acquisitions, IT services must continue to operate and continue to be realized over the long term. A sole focus on
innovate. Well managed systems with good creating business value is not sufficient for a sustainable IT
documentation and training are more able to manage services orientation.
change [7]. Customer value is the overall benefit derived from a
x Environmental sustainability. In an ecological context, IT product or service, as the customer perceives it, at the price
services must be able deliver customer and business value the customer is willing to pay [21, 22, 41]. A focus on
while ensuring that the Earth’s resources are being used at customer value requirements forces companies to look to the
a rate that ensures replenishment. In essence, the goal for
environmental sustainability is for IT services to be able 2
to meet the needs of the present without compromising the Since “green computing” preceded the emerging focus on sustainable IT
services, we have maintained the distinction between the terms in this paper.
ability of future generations to meet their needs [40]. However, we believe green computing to be one aspect of a more holistic
approach to sustainable IT services.

1712

Authorized licensed use limited to: University of Pittsburgh. Downloaded on January 26, 2010 at 20:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 PICMET 2009 Proceedings, August 2-6, Portland, Oregon USA © 2009 PICMET

markets and the customer as the core drivers of business Cost optimization was the primary emphasis of the first
activity. With this external focus, customer value is a broader wave of green computing. Problems and solutions associated
concept than the mostly inward looking business value. IT with green computing are well known. The second wave,
service providers must first understand how their customers which we call sustainable IT, or more appropriately,
perceive value in terms of the perceived benefits perceived sustainable IT services, has a much broader focus on the role
and the perceived price of the service that delivers those of IT in the society. The primary driver of sustainable IT is
benefits [21]. It is necessary to understand what these corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially as it applies
tradeoffs are and how they might influence service to firm’s impact on the economy, environment, and society at
configurations that can maximize customer value and large [52]. These are three areas of responsibility are
business outcomes. The power of choice will ensure that associated with “triple bottom line” or TBL reporting. The
those configurations that deliver superior value will also key tenet of corporate citizenship recognizes that an
achieve superior business value. However, a short-term focus organization should ensure that its organizational objectives
on customer value, which is the default approach given short are in consonance with economic, environmental, and social
product lifecycles and competitive pressures, is not sufficient goals of key stakeholders [38, 52].
for a sustainable IT services orientation. Some customers are
willing to look at their long-term needs in a societal context, 1. Developing a Sustainable IT Strategy
but for most consumers cost and performance are the Few companies have developed a sustainable IT strategy
dominant drivers [9]. that rises to an enterprise-level or focuses on social
The concept of societal value holds that companies should responsibility goals [29]. Although organizations are
meet their market goals in such a way that enhances the changing their policies and practices to minimize their
customer’s and the society’s long-term well being. In that environmental impact, such efforts are generally not well
way, customer value and business value will be maximized as organized or integrated. Many environmental projects have
well. Societal value calls upon organizations to build ethical, been undertaken due to customer safety concerns, legal
social responsibility, and environmental considerations into action, legislation, regulation, community pressure, and to
their business practices. Therefore, companies must balance protect the brand. A sustainable strategy should be one that is
profits, customer requirements, and social responsibility in complementary to both the business and the environment.
their business models. These goals are often in conflict and The following topics should be considered for developing a
successful sustainable IT strategies should provide a roadmap strategy for sustainable IT services.
for their alignment [38, 40]. x Sustainable organizational culture. The creation of an
organizational culture that is based on environmental
B. Toward a Framework for Sustainable IT Services sustainability is an important step to driving sustainable
Although the need for the development of strategies to solutions through the organization. By fostering a
address the environmental sustainability of IT services has common culture based on sustainability employees will
been apparent for many years, there is no extant body of become more aware of issues, opportunities, and the
literature on strategies or best practices. The issues actions required to achieve a desired result [29].
surrounding the first wave of green computing are clearer and x Sustainability goals. Setting clear enterprise-level
focused on reducing energy costs through new data center sustainability goals and objectives will enable the IT
designs, architectures, facility and server density, and organization to align decisions with corporate business
virtualization. Beyond that, companies are approaching strategy. This alignment is critical to ensure that all
sustainability through a fragmented incremental “greener IT” strategy and tactics are developed to a common purpose.
approach [8]. In essence, sustainability goals are about environmental
When developing IT services, few IT organizations stewardship. Companies should be able to strengthen
consider the full environmental impact of their product and their competitiveness while simultaneously protecting the
service designs. One reason for this is the short-term environment [29].
orientation that puts emphasis on costs and business value. If x Products and services. The products and services of a
reducing costs also has a beneficial environmental impact, sustainable IT organization should, at a minimum, not
such as the relationship between reducing power costs and adversely affect the environment. Hopefully, new designs
carbon emissions; that will be given priority. However, will actually provide environmental benefits. Product and
organizationally, it is unlikely the IT organization itself can service design should take the following factors into
drive the sustainability priorities of other departments without account:
the full support of top management. An integrated corporate- x Clean technology. “Cleantech” is new technology that
wide sustainability strategy is necessary for IT services to be addresses environmental problems. It differs from
truly sustainable. Then, it is possible for IT, facilities, supply “greentech” in that it is not "end-of-pipe" clean up
chain management, manufacturing, finance, and marketing to technology. Instead, cleantech addresses the roots of
all be acting in an integrated fashion. ecological problems with new science. Cleantech
segments include green energy (generation, storage,

1713

Authorized licensed use limited to: University of Pittsburgh. Downloaded on January 26, 2010 at 20:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 PICMET 2009 Proceedings, August 2-6, Portland, Oregon USA © 2009 PICMET

infrastructure, and efficiency), transportation, water x Efficiency. Companies look for major cost savings
and wastewater, air and environment, materials, smart through efficient scenarios.
manufacturing, agriculture, recycling, and waste x Growth platform. CSR strategies provide access to
(www.cleantech.com). new markets, partnerships, and product/service
x Design for environment (DfE). Products and services innovations that generate revenue and profit.
should be selected that meet well defined x Reporting. Engagement with stakeholders is essential for
environmental design standards. DfE priorities are an effective sustainability strategy. Information
energy efficiency, water and air management, transparency provides customers, employees, business
materials innovation, and the reduction of toxic partners, investors, community members, non-
elements [4, 9]. governmental organizations (NGOs), and the government
x Design for recycling (DfR). Products that use modular with a report card on how the company is doing with its
and intelligent designs to facilitate upgradeability, sustainability commitments. It is through continuing
reuse, dismantling, and recycling [4, 8, 19]. engagement with stakeholders that this information helps
x Asset decommissioning. When products no longer are form long-term relationships. These trust-based
needed by a firm they should be easily relationships informed by good public relations and
decommissioned and recycled. They might also be re- customer satisfaction can build superior brand power.
manufactured and remarketed or redeployed [4, 8]. Increasingly, public companies have embraced triple
x E-waste minimization and disposal. The goal should bottom line (TBL or 3BL) reporting that expands the
be to have zero impact on the environment in the financial reporting requirements to include ecological and
disposal of assets. Strategies include product take- social performance in addition to accounting results [12,
back programs, waste management and recapture of 38]. Although CSR reporting measures do not directly
critical materials, and secure disposal [19]. reflect on IT sustainability, the obverse is not true.
x Sustainable processes. A sustainable IT strategy must Sustainable IT strategies, which are increasingly the
extend throughout the company to include the supply backbone to all business processes, can have a dramatic
chain, distribution channels, manufacturing, operations, impact on overall corporate sustainability results.
and marketing. All of these functions rely on IT and their
processes can affect IT’s environmental impact. A 2. Environmental Regulations
holistic collaborative approach is needed to ensure that IT Table 2 summarizes the major environmental regulations
and all the other functional areas of the firm are all that are relevant to electrical and electronic equipment. The
working collaboratively toward the overall enterprise European standards are focused on electronic waste and the
sustainability goals [4]. control of hazardous materials used in manufacture. The U.S.
x Corporate social responsibility (CSR) road map. The standards are focused on energy efficiency.
IBM Institute for Business Value has developed what they x WEEE. The European Waste Electrical and Electronic
call the CSR Value Curve [32]. The curve is essentially a Equipment Directive became law in 2003. It imposes the
road map to CSR-driven business growth. IT depicts the responsibility for electrical and electronic waste on the
milestones on the maturation curve as businesses move up equipment manufacturers. Producers must take back the
the CSR continuum from low-value compliance activities equipment free of charge. The intent of the directive is to
to the high-value CSR growth platform. The major steps reduce waste from electrical and electronic equipment and
along the curve are: to provide incentives for designing equipment that
x Legal and compliance. The organization adheres to improves environmental performance throughout the
CSR-associated requirements for production, lifecycle. Producers were required to join a compliance
operations, and distribution. scheme (www.weeeregistration.com) and register in every
x Strategic philanthropy. Charitable activities are EU country. Violations are actionable and prosecutable
aligned with social issues to support business [19].
objectives. The purpose it to make stakeholders aware x RoHS. The European Directive on the Restriction of the
of the company’s efforts and reinforce its social use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and
commitment. electronic equipment (RoHS) restricts the use of six
x Values-based self regulation. The company’s value hazardous materials used in electronics manufacture
system becomes more aligned on environmental and (www.rohs.eu/english/). It is closely linked with the
social responsibility. A code of conduct typically WEEE directive. The restricted substances are lead,
guides business activity. mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium,
polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl
ethers [19].

1714

Authorized licensed use limited to: University of Pittsburgh. Downloaded on January 26, 2010 at 20:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 PICMET 2009 Proceedings, August 2-6, Portland, Oregon USA © 2009 PICMET

TABLE 2. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS FOR ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

Regulation or Standard Sponsor Regulates Compliance
WEEE: Waste Electrical and Electronic EU Electrical and electronic Producers must take back equipment free
Equipment Directive waste of charge.
Design for environment is goal.
Producers must join compliance scheme to
sell products.
RoHS: Restriction of Hazardous EU Electrical and electronic Labels lead, mercury, cadmium, and 3 other
Substances equipment hazardous substances as hazardous materials. Use is
materials restricted and subject to special limitations
and rules. Linked to WEEE directive.
EPEAT: Electronic Product Environmental U.S. Energy efficiency for Compliance is generally voluntary, but is
Assessment Tool The Green desktops, notebooks, and mandatory to qualify to sell to government
Electronics monitors or 23 required and agencies.
Council 34 optional criteria
Energy Star 4.0 U.S. EPA Energy efficiency for Sets standards for external and internal
U.S. Dept of Desktops, notebooks, and power supplies and sleep, idle, and standby
Energy workstations modes on computers.

x RoHS. The European Directive on the Restriction of the Board members include Intel, IBM, Microsoft, AMD, HP,
use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and Dell, EMC, APC, and Sun.
electronic equipment (RoHS) restricts the use of six x The Climate Savers Computing Initiative. Climate Savers
hazardous materials used in electronics manufacture Computing Initiative member companies commit to
(www.rohs.eu/english/). It is closely linked with the purchasing energy-efficient desktops and servers, and to
WEEE directive. The restricted substances are lead, broadly deploying power management strategies
mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, (www.climatesaverscomputing.org). By publicly
polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl declaring their support for this effort, companies
ethers [19]. demonstrate their commitment to the “greening” of IT and
x EPEAT. The Green Electronics Council join other industry-leading companies and organizations
(www.greenelectronicscouncil.org) created the Electronic blazing new trails in corporate social responsibility and
Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) to sustainable IT. Board members are CSC, Dell, Google,
enable buyers to evaluate, compare, and select desktop HP, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, and the World Wildlife
computers, notebooks, and monitors on 23 required and Fund.
34 optional environmental criteria. EPEAT identifies x The Uptime Institute. The Uptime Institute, Inc. provides
products as bronze, silver, and gold. Bronze products educational and consulting services for organizations
meet the required criteria, silver meets the required and at interested in maximizing data center uptime and
least 14 of the additional criteria, and gold meets the sustainable IT. The Institute has pioneered industry
required and at least 21 of the additional criteria. Since standards which rate data center availability
2007 federal agencies are mandated to buy EPEAT (www.uptimeinstitute.org). The Uptime Network has 100
registered products. mostly Fortune 100 sized members. The Institute
x Energy Star 4.0 Standard. Desktops, notebooks, and promotes learning among its members and provides
workstations manufactured after July 20, 2007 that bear conferences, site tours, benchmarking, best practices, and
the Energy Star label meet the more stringent 4.0 abnormal incident collection and analysis. It also certifies
requirements (www.energystar.gov). The standard data center tier levels and site resiliency.
regulates energy performance for external and internal
power supplies, idle, sleep, and standby modes. IV. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR
Computers meeting the standard save power in all modes FUTURE RESEARCH
of operation [27].
Sustainable IT has been a major focus for IT organizations
3. Industry Associations for the past decade as the cost of power for data centers has
x The Green Grid. The Green Grid (www.thegreengrid.org) risen rapidly. The focus of the first wave of sustainable IT
is a voluntary international non-profit organization whose initiatives has been on strategies to increase data center
purpose is to develop standards to measure data center efficiency. Therefore, infrastructure, power and workload
efficiency which includes both the facilities and the management, thermal management, product design,
equipment inside. Member companies share information virtualization, and cloud computing strategies have assumed
about processes and technologies that can help data primacy in terms of both strategic and tactical focus. The
centers improve performance against those metrics. second wave of sustainable IT services is nascent and much
more difficult to define and implement. It involves defining

1715

Authorized licensed use limited to: University of Pittsburgh. Downloaded on January 26, 2010 at 20:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 PICMET 2009 Proceedings, August 2-6, Portland, Oregon USA © 2009 PICMET

the role of the IT organization in an enterprise’s overall CSR http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/prod_development/downloads/E

PA_Datacenter_Report_Congress_Final1.pdf
strategy. It will involve establishing a roadmap and baseline [14] Foley, J., “Google in Oregon: Mother Nature Meets the Data Center,”
metrics, redesigning business processes, encouraging InformationWeek’s Google Weblog, August 24, 2007.
participation, and adapting the organization’s culture to new [15] Forrest, W., J. M. Kaplan, and N. Kindler, “Data Centers: How to Cut
ways of doing things [49]. IT governance and decision Carbon Emissions and Costs, The McKinsey Quarterly, Number 14,
Winter 2008.
making will likely be substantially impacted. [16] Goodin, D., “IT Confronts the Datacenter Power Crisis,” InfoWorld,
This paper offered a review of current thinking and October 6, 2006, www.infoworld.com.
suggested factors that should be considered for a sustainable [17] Guptill, B. and W. S. McNee, “SaaS Sets the Stage for Cloud
IT strategy. Future research should address the relationship Computing,” Financial Executive, pp. 37-44, June 2008.
[18] Hamm, S., “It’s Too Darn Hot,” Businessweek.com, March 20, 2008.
between customer value, business value, and societal value [19] Hanselman, S. E. and M. Pegah, “The Wild Wild Waste: e-Waste,”
and how sustainable IT strategies will impact each. It would SIGUCCS ’07, pp. 157-162. October 7-10, 2007.
seem that these concepts should be mutually supportive. [20] Harmon, R. R. and K. R. Cowan, “A Multiple Perspectives View of the
However, many business professionals view them to be at Market Case for Green Energy,” Technological Forecasting & Social
Change, 76, pp. 204-213, 2009.
odds with each other, or at least to involve tradeoffs that may [21] Harmon, R. R., H. Demirkan, B. Hefley, and N. Auseklis, “Pricing
not always be beneficial for the company. More research is Strategies for Information Technology Services: A Value-Based
needed to fully understand the market impact of a sustainable Approach,” Proceedings of the 42nd Hawaii International Conference
IT services strategy. Beyond cost savings are there benefits on System Sciences (HICSS-42), 10 pages, CD-ROM, IEEE Computer
Society, January 2009.
from sustainability oriented business strategies that customers [22] Harmon, R. R. and G. Laird, “Linking Marketing Strategy to Customer
are willing to pay for? Does sustainability for IT services Value: Implications for Technology Marketers,” In Kocaoglu, et al
create competitive advantage? Finally, a model for the (Eds.) Innovation in Technology Management, Portland, OR:
development and implementation of sustainable IT services PICMET/IEEE, pp. 897-900, 1997.
[23] Knorr, E. and G. Gruman, “What Cloud Computing Really Means,”
needs to be developed. This model will likely involve the InfoWorld, April 7, 2008, www.inforworld.com.
integration of the IT organization’s sustainability initiatives [24] Lawton, G., “Powering Down the Computing Infrastructure,”
with the enterprise-level model and throughout the corporate Computer, Vol. 40 (2), pp. 16-19, February 2007.
ecosystem. [25] Mckeefry, H. L., “A high-energy Problem,” eWeek, March 2008.
[26] Mitchell, R. L., “Power Pinch in the Data Center,” ComputerWorld,
April 30, 2007, www.computerworld.com
REFERENCES [27] Murugesan, S., “Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices.” IT
Professional, pp. 24-33, January-February 2008.
[1] Baldwin, E. and M. Curley, Managing IT Innovation for Business [28] Nagata, S. and Shoji O., “Green Process Aiming at Reduction of
Value, Intel Press, 2007. Environmental Burden,” Fujitsu Science and Technology Journal,
[2] Bailey, M., M. Eastwood, T. Grieser, L. Borovick, V. Turner, and R.C. 41(2), pp. 251-258, July 2005.
Gray, Special Study: Data Center of the Future, New York: IDC [29] Olson, G., “Creating an Enterprise-level Green Strategy, Journal of
#06C4799, 2007. Business Strategy, 29(2), pp. 22-30, 2008.
[3] Barroso, L. A. and U. Hölze, “The Case for Energy-Proportional [30] Ou, G., “Introduction to Server Virtualization,” Techrepublic.com, 5
Computing,” IEEE Computer Society, December, pp. 33-37, 2007. pages, May 22, 2006.
[4] Barreto, L., H. Anderson, A. Anglin, and C. Tomovic, “Product [31] Perry, G., “How Cloud & Utility Computing are Different,” GigaOM,
Lifecycle Management in Support of Green Manufacturing: Assessing February 28, 2008. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from:
the Challenges of Global Climate Change,” Proceedings of the http://gigaom.com/2008/02/28/how-cloud-utility-computing-are-
International Conference on Comprehensive Product Realization 2007 different/
(ICCPR2007), June 18-20, Beijing, 2007. [32] Pohle, G. and J. Hittner, “Attaining Sustainable Growth through
[5] Belady, C. L., “In the Data Center, Power and Cooling Costs More Corporate Social Responsibility,” IBM Institute for Business Value,
Than the IT Equipment it Supports,” Electronics Cooling, February, White paper, 20 pages, 2008, www.ibm.com.
2007. [33] Rawson, A., J. Pfleuger, and T. Cader, Green Grid Data Center Power
[6] Butner, K., D. Geuder, and J. Hittner, “Mastering Carbon Management: Efficiency Metrics: PUE and DCiE, The Green Grid, Whitepaper No.
Balancing Trade-Offs to Optimize Supply Chain Efficiencies,” Supply 6, C. Belady (Ed.), 9 pages, 2008.
Chain Management, IBM Institute for Business Value, pp. 1-13, 2008. [34] Reid, C. K., “SaaS: The Secret Weapon for Profits (and the planet),”
[7] Clifford, A., “Sustainable IT,” it.toolbox.com: Project Management Econtent Magazine, pp. 24-29, January-February, 2009.
Community, 2009, Retrieved February 25, 2009 from: [35] Ricadela, A., “Computing Heads for the Clouds,” Business Week,
http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/minimalit/sustainable-it-30157 November 16, 2007, www.businessweek.com.
[8] Daoud, D., “Beyond Power: IT’s Roadmap to Sustainable [36] Rivoire, S., M. A. Shah, P. Ranganathan, C. Kozyrakis, and J. Meza,
Computing,” IDC Whitepaper, October 2008, www.idc.com. “Models and Metrics to Enable Energy-Efficiency Optimizations,”
[9] Deloitte Touch Tohmatsu, “The ext Wave of Green IT,” CFO IEEE Computer Society, pp. 39-48, December 2007.
Research Services, Boston: CFO Publishing Corp, 32 pages, January [37] Ryder, C., “Improving Energy Efficiency through Application of
2009. Infrastructure Virtualization: Introducing IBM WebSphere Virtual
[10] Dietrich, J. and R. Schmidt, “The Green Data Center,” IBM Global Enterprise,” The Sageza Group Whitepaper, 13 pages, April 2008.
Services, white paper, 21 pages, May 2007. [38] Savitz, A. and K. Weber, The Triple Bottom Line: How Today's Best-
[11] Dubie, D., “How to Cut IT Costs With Less Pain,” etworkworld, pp. Run Companies Are Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental
11, 40, January 26, 2009. Success—and How You Can Too, San Francisco: Josey-Bass
[12] Elkington, J., Cannibals with Forks: Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Publishers, 2006.
Business, Oxford: Capstone Publishing Ltd, 1999. [39] Schmidt, R. R. and H. Shaukatallah, “Computer and
[13] Fanara, A., Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Efficiency: Telecommunication Equipment Room Cooling: A Review of the
Public Law 109-431, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Energy Literature,” 2002 IEEE Inter Society Conference on Thermal
Star Program, 133 pages, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2009 from Phenomena, pp. 751-766, 2002.

1716

Authorized licensed use limited to: University of Pittsburgh. Downloaded on January 26, 2010 at 20:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 PICMET 2009 Proceedings, August 2-6, Portland, Oregon USA © 2009 PICMET

[40] Senge, P., B. Smith, N. Kruschwitz, J. Laur, and S. Schley, The February 25, 2009 from: http://news.cnet.com/8301-19413_3-
ecessary Revolution: How Individuals and Organizations are 10140278-240.html
Working to Create a Sustainable World, New York: Double Day, 2008. [47] Wang, D., “Meeting Green Computing Challenges,” Proceeding of the
[41] Sheth, J. N., Newman, B.I, and Gross, B.L., Consumption Values and International Symposium on High Density Packaging and Microsystem
Market Choices: Theory and Applications, Cincinnati, OH: Integration, 2007 (HDP ’07), IEEE, 2007.
Southwestern Publishing Company, 1991. [48] Warmenhoven, D., “Three Years Later: A Look at Sarbanes-Oxley,
[42] Stanford, E., “Environmental Trends and Opportunities for Computer Forbes, July 27, 2005.
System Power Delivery,” Proceedings of the 20th International [49] Wellsandt, S. and S. Snyder, “Building a Long-Term Strategy for IT
Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices & ICs, pp. 1-3, May 18- Sustainability,” Intel Information Technology, White paper, 12 pages,
22, 2008. April 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2009 from
[43] Sward, D., Measuring the Business Value of Information Technology, http://communities.intel.com/community/openportit/it
Intel Press, 2006 [50] Wilbanks, L., “Green: My Favorite Color,” IT Professional, pp. 63-64,
[44] The Green Grid, “Get a Grip on Your Data Center Power Efficiency,” November-December, 2008.
Power Management Design Line, 7 pages, June 7, 2007. [51] Wong, H., “EPA Datacenter Study IT Equipment Feedback Summary,”
www.powermanagementdesignline.com Intel Digital Enterprise Group, Cited in: Report to Congress on Server
[45] Torres, J., D. Carrera, K. Hogan, R. Gavalda, V. Beltran, and N. Poggi, and Data Center Efficiency Public Law 109-431, U.S. EPA Energy
“Reducing Wasted Resources to Help Achieve Green Data Centers,” Star Program, August 2, 2007.
IEEE International Symposium on Parallel and Distributed Processing [52] Zarella, E., “Sustainable IT: The Case for Strategic Leadership,”
2008, April 1-8, 2008. KPMG IT Advisory, White paper, 24 pages, 2008. www.kpmg.com.
[46] Urquhart, J., “Finding Distinction in ‘Infrastructure as a Service,’” The
Wisdom of Clouds – CET ews, January 11, 2009. Retrieved

1717

Authorized licensed use limited to: University of Pittsburgh. Downloaded on January 26, 2010 at 20:16 from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.