Green IT Blog!!!

Since the 1990s there has been a greater move toward eco-consciousness across the world thanks to pacts like the Kyoto Protocol, while in India multiple agencies and ministries driving green initiatives are making things slow and complex

It is often said that there are two Indias that live side-by-side; the antiquated and the avant-garde. On one hand there is an India that is ancient and archaic, with millions of individuals flocking to the Ganges every 12 years to wash their mortal sins. And on the other there is the modern India that is sending Chandrayan to the moon, building nuclear reactors, winning Olympic medals or even corporate scandals. The disparity between the two is ironic if not depressing.

And this stark incongruity between the India of Lord Rama and that of Ramalinga Raju is most evident in the law and order structure of the nation, while the nation grapples with the troubles of the 21st century, most of the laws that are in use were framed in 20th century, leading to a stark gap between what needs to be achieved and what is really done. The green movement in India to a great extent suffers from this laxity.

Climate Change Challenge
There is little doubt now that mankind faces an uphill battle in terms of the climatic disaster that awaits us. With every passing day, we come closer and closer to the cataclysmic point of disaster, wherein things would change irreparably for the worse. While much of this damage has been wrought by the greed and gluttony of the advanced nations, the developing world is also no less behind. India for instance is the fourth largest polluter in the world in terms of CO2 emissions, yet the Indian government, quite like the Emperor Nero from ancient Rome is doing precious little.

Since the 1990s there has been a greater move toward eco-consciousness across the world thanks to pacts like the Kyoto Protocol, which have enforced certain binding conditions on the advanced countries to curtail CO2 emissions in a phased manner. In fact the European Union has been quite sensitive about the whole issue of climate change and has over the last few years passed strict legislations against the use of toxic materials in the manufacturing process. Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive and Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive are two legislations that have set the ball rolling on that front.
Read more…

Presenting the results of the first ever survey of companies across India to map the levels of green awareness and implementation.

‘Greener business, healthier bottom line’ was the theme for the first ever Green IT event organized by Dataquest towards the end of 2007. The event was hosted in 3 cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore keeping in mind the rising interest levels on green and to promote a discussion on it. During the a panel discussion on ‘Energy Management Issue’ in one of the cities, there was much debate and discussion on green not from the esteemed panellists sitting on board but from the delegates that had turned up in large numbers. One of the biggest grouse of the innumerable CIOs present on that occasion was that there was not much literature or discussion on green from a holistic purpose. “We do get to read on green, but it is usually comes with a lot of hard sell,” was a common refrain.

Keeping in mind the wishes of the enterprise community and the need of the hour, Dataquest decided to come out with a regular feature on green within the magazine itself, that was to be published every alternative issue. Though, green features were regularly carried within the magazine like most others, but it was for the first time anyone had specifically set aside whole section for green coverage.

In the year gone by, month after month, Dataquest touched upon numerous issues that required immediate or long-term attention, be it green electronics, green buildings, carbon emissions, green datacenter, green software, renewable energy, etc. For the first time, there was substantial green coverage from a domestic perspective, and not just reprinting of reports and features from foreign mags. Dataquest had indeed taken the lead in terms of engaging the Indian enterprise community on the green agenda.
Thus, it was only fitting that the first ever comprehensive survey on green readiness was conducted under the aegis of Dataquest itself. After almost a year of constant coverage, numerous outreach events, time was ripe to know the level of ‘greenliness’ among Indian enterprises. Over a period of few months, a survey was conducted by a professional agency, spanning across cities. The mandate given out was simple and terse: discovering the ground scenario on green.

The DQ Green Survey, for the first time maps the level of awareness levels of Indian enterprises on Green IT, their perceptions, the challenges faced and the stage of implantation. This survey gives a complete snapshot of how green India Inc. is or is turning into.

India Inc. wakes to Green IT
Everything starts with hype, is what any analyst will tell you. For a technology or trend to take shape, the first stage is to find takers for it. It can only happen when there is mass interest for it. Green IT is a buzzword in the West and has already progressed beyond the ‘hype’ stage, as is evident from the kind of work and research that is happening on that front. Thus, to know whether Green IT will find its ground in India, one of the most basic aspects and also the starting point of the survey was to check the awareness levels of it in Indian enterprises. Over the past few quarters there have been a slew of reports that have been released and advertising blitzkrieg done by vendors on the issue of Green IT, hence it was important to check the awareness levels.

The result was fairly encouraging as close to 69% of the respondents admitted that they were aware of the Green IT.  This is a heartening find, as it proves that there is a high amount of interest on the issue. Not surprisingly the awareness levels were higher in the MNCs with some 77% admitting to know about the issue. But it is interesting to note the high awareness levels among the PSUs, some 76% of them said that they were of Green IT.  Another interesting thing to note is that the awareness levels was the highest among the companies with annual revenues of Rs. 50-100 crore, around 79%. Big companies, with annual revenues of over Rs. 500 crore, came next.

Thus the results are conclusive, the hype and hoopla around Green IT seems to be working, as the awareness levels are fairly high. But that leads us to the next question, so what if the awareness levels are high are there any takers for the same? Indeed mere awareness is no surety of whether the CIO will be implementing Green IT within his company.

Hence, as a corollary, we tested the perception of respondents towards Green IT; did they think it was hype, reality, necessity, or none of that? The results again were fairly substantial, as a significant amount of people (around 65%) felt that Green IT was a reality and a necessity. Again and rather surprisingly, it was the PSUs that showed the most maturity on the issue, with some 52% of them stating that Green IT was a necessity. Of all the respondents, some 8% debunked Green IT as hype, and some 27% still seem to be undecided on it.

That means that even though the awareness levels are fairly high, there is still a lot of ambiguity around the issue of Green IT. This is chasm between awareness and perception is the next big challenge in front of India Inc., vendors, media, analysts, will now need to talk of specific benefits rather than merely talking of mundane.  Read more…

If Dr. Alex Wissner-Gross is to be believed (and there is little reason not to, considering his antecedents), our innocuous habit of ‘Googling’ on anything and everything on the Web has a detrimental impact on the environment. The Harvard University Physicist has worked out the carbon footprint of every search performed on the Web and that includes, Google, Yahoo and the rest.

Thus according to Dr. Wissner-Gross, a typical search generates about 7g of CO2. The newspaper that quoted him also worked out a stat that, boiling a kettle generates about 15g (http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5489134.ece). Hence, two searches on the Google is equivalent to boiling a kettle of water, in terms of the CO2 released.

No sooner was the story out, there was a lot of hue and cry around the environmental impact of performing a Web search, or rather Googling for most of us. The environmental equation comes from the fact that Google (and the likes) maintain humongous datacenter farms to be able to serve the need for people like me. Now, each of these farms consume enormous amount of energy, both in terms of equipment and cooling. So is Google red?

Apparently not. Over the years, Google has been talking a lot about its ‘green avatar’. While, it won’t divulge its carbon footprint, the company claims to have the ‘most efficient datacenter on the planet’. There is also a lot of preening about the recycling and sustainability initiatives at the Google Campus in California. So even though Google won’t share any specifics about its energy consumption or climate footprint, it would very much like us to believe that it indeed ‘does no evil’ when it comes to environment.

So no sooner did Time UK publish the story, it was picked up by almost all the magazines and media that matter, and Dr. Wissner-Gross became a celebrity of sorts being inundated with requests for interviews from across the globe (mine included). The communication team at Google also scurried into action, and almost on cue, a post appeared on the Google blog refuting the claim. The blog post goes on to say that:

“Google’s data center’s are carbon neutral, so it is only the client end you do have to worry about. However, breathing generates about 6g of Carbon every 10 minutes. Or about as much as they estimate computers do. Together with other work performed before your search even starts (such as building the search index) this amounts to 0.0003 kWh of energy per search, or 1 kJ. For comparison, the average adult needs about 8000 kJ a day of energy from food, so a Google search uses just about the same amount of energy that your body burns in ten seconds.” Read more…

Yes, Yes, indeed, bad times are upon and yes, I am being too presumptuous, almost stupid to think that someone is really going to spend their depreciating INR on me. Yet, in hope we live, and so do I.

So in case you are feeling generous in this season, these are a few gifts on my wish-list:

Rollable Solar Charger:
This waterproof solar charger can provide electricity for everything from laptops to car batteries. The cadmium-free solar cells are mounted on a thin film, allowing you to roll it up for easy packing.

Green Desktop:
This green PC runs on an energy-efficient power supply and has an outer shell made of responsibly harvested bamboo. It uses a fraction of the power of a typical tower, but has most of the regular features of a full-size model.

Kill-a-watt Charger:
With displays of voltage, kilowatt-hours, and leakage current, this power strip helps track inefficient appliances. Just knowing how much energy a product uses allows you to cut down on consumption. Read more…

Carbon neutrality is a term that really flummoxes me these days. With much concerns over climate change issues, anything to do with environment becomes a hot topic. While the hype and hoopla that surrounds such green is much welcome, but at times there is the danger of going overboard and losing relevance. Carbon neutrality is one such thing.

Let me just list what really is carbon neutrality. In our mundane modern day existence, we as individuals are responsible for lot of direct and indirect carbon (to be more precise CO2) emissions in the atmosphere. Right from the toothpaste that we use (after all its manufacturing and transportation must have cost much energy), to the food we consume (oranges from Nagpur, apples from Shimla, mangoes from Raigad, Kellogs from the US, chocolates from Switzerland, tea from Assam, rice from Orissa, etc.) and other similar things are what constitute indirect emissions. Now, coming to the direct ones, namely, our commuting, the electricity that we consume directly namely the air conditioners, the PCs, even the food that we consume, for instance meat and non-vegetarian stuff is considered to have a high carbon footprint.

Essentially, the difference between direct and indirect boils down to one simple things, things that can be changed by individual choices (direct) and things that be influenced in a round about way (indirect). The first step towards leading a more eco-friendly life is to first measure these emissions; the sum of all is referred to as a carbon footprint. Expressed in CO2 tonnes, for instance my personal carbon footprint is 4.85 tonnes per year (courtesy: http://calculator.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx).

(Digressing a bit, according the same calculator:

* The average footprint for people in India is 1.20 tonnes
* The average for the industrial nations is about 11 tonnes
* The average worldwide carbon footprint is about 4 tonnes
* The worldwide target to combat climate change is 2 tonne) Read more…

Whenever we talk of environmental consciousness, we often talk about how advanced countries in Europe and the US have brought about legislations that compel or incentivize environmental friendly practices. EU has been the most active when it comes to environmental awareness and has put in place strictures like the RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances), WEEE (Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment). Meanwhile, in the US the popular Energy Star Ratings is quite a hit, in addition to the numerous laws put in place by different states like California, etc.

Many people feel that such rules and strictures are a big reason why companies and enterprises in the US and Europe function in an eco-sensitive manner. And more often than not I come across arguments wherein it is stated that the reason why companies in India function with impunity is due to the lack of any formal structures or guidelines for the same. Come to think of it, lack of eco-friendly rules could be a part of the problem it is certainly not the sole or even the biggest one.

A big reason why governments and administrations across the west have adopted these rules are because of the high awareness levels of the end users. And this has been brought about by scores of NGOs that have taken green activism to newer levels. Thanks to the numerous NGOs not only the governments, even the companies have been forced to come clean on the way they function. Take the case of the US, there are scores of activists that have organized themselves into pressure groups, for instance the Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI) or the Green Computing Impact Organization (GCIO) and the immensely successful Green Electronics Council that came out with the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) to assist in the purchase of “green” computing systems. Even the industry players, to show that they are not all that bad as they are made out to be, have organized themselves into a action group called as Green Grid that advocates energy efficiency in datacenters and computing ecosystems.

To top it all, the dare devil Green Peace has jumped into the fray and now comes out with a quarterly report titled, Greener Electronics Guide, that ranks companies based on their environmental practices. Most of these are hardware vendors, and with every report the companies go up and down the rankings.

Such pressure groups shape the public opinion and there are lot of instances of customers and companies making their purchase decisions based on the reports and standards that these organizations publish. For instance there is a lot of support for EPEAT, the state of California has mandated that all the purchase decision for hardware must be made keeping in mind the guideline. Thus, much of the credit for green consciousness is due to green activism that is rampant here.

Coming back to India. While it is true that there is not much push from the government side, it is also a fact that there is almost zilch consciousness in the consumers mind. A customer here would not make a purchase decision based on the companies eco-track record, solely because he or she has not been sensitized to the need for it. This sensitization is usually done by such NGOs or pressure groups. Since there is not many of them in India, even the corporates are not that keen to go green. Green Peace to some extent has been doing that, talking about the use of toxic substances in HCL and HP products, but it has not really touched emotional chords because of the limited reach. Read more…

With the constant expansion into semi-urban and rural areas, Bank of India (BoI) faced a herculean task, that of finding power for its branches and equipments. Most of the regions beyond the metros are subject to acute power shortages, load shedding , erratic power supply or “no-power” at all. Conventional systems like UPS, inverters or gensets, are not only expensive to run but also harm the environment with their toxic fumes. “In fact, the erratic power supply in many rural branches was even insufficient to charge the batteries of the UPS. Thus we could not depend on them, as in most cases, UPS even if fully charged could suffice for a fixed and short duration. That is when we started looking at alternatives, that was dependable and cleaner. That is where solar power comes into play,” says PA Kalyansundar, GM (IT), BoI.

As a result, few years back, BoI started the solar energy pilot. Based on its success, the pilot was extended to 200 branches across India. The results have been truly amazing. Earlier, due to dependency on electric power to function in the computerized environment, non-availability or acute power shortage led to scenarios where the total branch working along with customer service was unable to function properly. The Bank discovered that gensets were proving to be hazardous to the health of the employees and also that generating conventional power was un-economical as the kerosene, diesel or petrol was not easily available due to the shortages of stock in rural areas. Branch personnel had to travel long distances to procure the fuel required to run generator set.
Thus, by usage of renewable, non-polluting, clean, eco-friendly source – Solar Power computerized branches are able to offer un-interrupted Banking services to all its customers.

“By implementation of solar energy our desire to contribute and to do a little bit for the environment has also been fulfilled,” says Kalyansundar. According to him expected returns from the solar power project can be classified into two parts: – 1) subjective or cost (visible) benefits and 2) objective (invisible) benefits. The normal life cycle of the system is estimated to be approx. 25 years. While calculating the financials the Bank found that the payback period is approx. 4-5 years. Hence for the remaining life-cycle, cost will be nominal for annual maintenance. In addition, the burden on the profit and loss of the branch is reduced on account of zero expenditure on Gensets, fuel for gensets and also maintenance of these gensets. Read more…

TERI has developed a unique solution for the power problem faced by CSCs (common service centres). TERI’s solution, named Solverter™, has an intelligent dual charge battery that can be charged from solar energy as well as from AC mains. It comes in a rugged box—the size of an ordinary UPS/inverter. This solution eliminates the normal UPS and battery; instead it uses a 75-W solar panel, a 100-AH battery, and the Solverter™.

The solution has been pilot tested at various locations across India and has successfully provided an average backup of four to six hours in the absence of electricity. The pilot sites were in rural villages, where CSCs will operate or are operating. These tests were conducted with the SCAs (service centre agencies) that have already set up CSCs. One test was carried out at IL&FS at Baramati, Maharashtra; the pack provided continuous backup for up to six hours during the non-availability of electricity at the centre.

Presently, the pack powers a single computer, with standard software, a printer/scanner (Multi Functional Device). Upgrades and customizations are available on order.

(Shashwat DC. Published in Dataquest)

Tapta camee karabhaya haraye Visvakar mane |
Namastamo bhinighnaya rucaye lokasakshine ||

Salutations to you, possessor of the lustre of refined gold, destroyer of ignorance, the architect of the universe. Salutations to the destroyer of darkness, Splendor incarnate; the witness of the world.

A shloka from Aditya Stotram

Among the pantheon of Hindu gods – close to 30 million, according to claims – Surya has an unique and exalted position. The sun god is worshipped as one, ‘who knoweth all that lives’, and regarded as sustainer of life on our planet. In the Rig Veda there are quite a few hymns that elucidate the role played by Surya and implore him to continue his benign mercy. According to scriptures, Aditya Stotram (from which the above shloka has been quoted) was a prayer performed by Lord Rama, asking for power and energy to annihilate the evil hordes of Ravana and slay the demon king himself.

Not only for element worshipping Hindus; the sun was an important deity for the ancient Egyptians who worshipped him as Ra. It is said that the Greek city states were also in
some ways tapping the solar energy for their daily use and even for warfare. Remember the story on how Archimedes was able to burn ships with a very powerful convex lens that magnified the solar ray. Even during the medieval times, according to some researchers, as far back as 1447, Leonardo Da Vinci had predicted and prescribed the use of solar energy on a major scale for the sake of industrialization.

Thus, since time immemorial we have been looking up at the sun to give us power and energy to sustain our selves. The fact is true even today, in the age of supersonic jets and inter-planetary probes, we still look at sun to power our home appliances, office equipments, cars and what not. Much like Lord Rama did thousands of years ago, we are still looking at the sun, albeit instead of bowing our heads and cupping our hands, we have photovoltaic solar cells that do the same for us. The difference being now the worship is termed as clean energy or solar energy. And there are very pertinent reasons – more so for a developing nation like India – why quite like the ancients before us, we are again looking at the sun to save us.

Need for Solar
The past few years have been quite astonishing in terms of economic growth in India. With the economy growing at close to 9% y-o-y, everywhere around us are visible and tell-tale signs of this growth. But even as the those big expressways and massive glass buildings come up, there are serious questions that are being raised and need to be addressed; do we have the means to power this growth? Read more…

Climate change is no more a fancy technical term to be debated by scientists and researchers, rather a hard reality that is affected and felt by all of us. For centuries, man had been oblivious to the impact his actions had on the ecology. Thus, unhindered environmental degradation and pollution continued unabated under the garb of progress. Every detrimental action was excused with the term, for a better tomorrow.

But now that tomorrow seems to be turning into today, we seem to have started seeing the fruits of our actions. A vivid example could be this years winter and summer in the city of Mumbaiboth being unusually harsh. It is obvious that there is a shift taking place, and, undoubtedly, a shift for the worse.

The scenario seems to be pretty bleak and beyond our control, isnt it? So, is there anything that we can do, and is there anyone who can save us? The answer to both the questions is no. Just because the problem is on us, does not mean that the solution is beyond us. In fact, each and every one of us is a part of the solution. I firmly believe that if every single individual, including you and me, were to make a concerted effort towards saving electricity and not polluting our environment, the solution would appear by itself. The onus is very much upon us, and every small step will go a long way in fighting climate change. Let me share with you my experiences borne over years of running IT systems at the State Bank of India.

One might wonder how the IT and environment might be related? The answer is not hard to guessin almost all modern organizations, IT systems are the biggest guzzler of power. Thus, IT departments can become the harbinger of change and lead the way in terms of environmentally friendly practices. But typically, when companies talk of Green IT, they refer to concepts like green data centers, virtualization, green storage, mainframes, blade servers, etc. There seems to be a lot of hype around these concepts with various vendors trying to sell their products under the green garb. Read more…