I am aware that all may not agree with my assertion but let us debate this point a little more. In my opinion, the CIO can take a step forward and provide his support to such an initiative and send a clear message that he is ready to go beyond his boundaries to contribute to important programs of the organization. Let me delve at a few examples wherein the CIO can add value; the possibilities can be a lot more depending on the organizations they work for and the programs they undertake.

Contribute to ongoing programs

Companies adopt villages, work with NGOs, or run their own programs as a part of their CSR drives. The CIO can offer help in various forms. For instance, he can offer to set up communication channels, to develop systems to capture data and monitor progress, to help generate information and statistics, etc. To speak from my experience, my last organization had tied up with an NGO to empower rural women by helping them start some vocation, for example, tailoring, handicraft, etc. We spoke to the corporate affairs department and developed systems which helped them monitor progress of each of the schemes including money spent, number of participants, output generated, money earned by individuals, etc. In another case, we helped develop a mobility solution for data to be captured directly from the field.

Making IT assets available for the needy

In all our companies, whenever the IT assets like the PCs, laptops, and printers get to the end of their life cycles, and as per policy, we replace them. The old equipment is either sold or given as a buy back. It is here that the CIO can suggest and seek approval from the management to give away the old assets to rural schools, villages adopted by the company, or to other needy groups through NGOs, etc. Since the resale value of these equipment is small it makes sense to put those assets to better use this way. In the last three organizations I worked with, I was able to seek management’s nod and we gave away PCs and printers to some rural schools and to others through an NGO.

Saving on energy consumption

Many companies have taken it upon themselves to reduce energy consumption, to seek to lower carbon footprint, or to lower pollution levels. These are important organizational programs and therefore it makes sense to make our own contribution. We, as CIOs, can help by adopting green technologies and by optimizing usage of IT assets to help our organizations to meet this objective. For example, in one of the organizations that I worked with, it was decided to reduce energy consumption levels as a part of its social commitment drive. The major contribution, of course, came from the factory employees who did this by improving shop floor efficiency levels, getting newer energy efficient machines, improving production processes, etc.

The administration department started the move to switch off lights and fans when not in use, and also replaced old incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Not to lag far behind, we, in IT, undertook a concerted program to reduce energy consumptions in the data center. We introduced virtualization and reduced physical servers by over 55%, we replaced the old split ACs with targeted cooling systems and implemented power saving features on all desktops and laptops. We were able to demonstrate drop in the energy consumption by over 40% and the energy audit report was submitted to the management for information.

These are just a few examples of how the CIO can stay a step ahead of the others and pick up initiatives to add value to organizational programs. This also helps him develop his personality and confidence and puts good use of his talents for a social cause.

I am neither challenging the efficacy of these technologies nor the intent of vendors, but just expressing my opinion that the propaganda borders on hype. Rather than being pressured by such moves, the CIO should think independently and act in a way that is in the best interest of the organization he works for and for the environment and society at large.

The CIO is a respectable professional and a responsible citizen. He, therefore, has to ensure that all resources that he uses are properly utilized and nothing is wasted. By doing so he does well for the organization that he works for as he optimizes use of assets and resources like power. He serves the society by putting less pressure on the scare resources. He also does a great work in protecting the environment from wasteful use of energy. Instead of just trying to show that he has implemented green technologies, CIOs should look at the larger picture of optimal and best use of technology resources which automatically will take care of issues that green technology promotes.

This objective can be met by adopting the following actions:

• Judicious upgrade of technology: Very often we find ourselves burdened with equipment that are old and comparatively low on performance. Besides frequent breakdowns and increasing cost of repairs, these equipment also consume more power, need more cooling, and turn out to be energy guzzlers. However, it is not so easy to throw out old and expensive stuff and the CIO needs to put in sufficient justification to propose a change or replacement of equipment.
  There comes a time when the old machines have to be retired and the CIO needs to recognize the fact and act accordingly. There is no point in holding on to old machines and flog them till they are dead. Newer technologies not only give more speed and capacity for the same buck but also consume less power and occupy less space.

• Using the right technology: At the time of technology selection, the CIO has to scout for new product introductions and choose the one that is most appropriate for his requirements. There have been several solutions in the market, in the form of server virtualization, enterprise storage, precision air-conditioning, sleep mode for idle machines, etc. But CIOs have been very slow in adopting these new technologies, often preferring to stay with the familiar. Most of these solutions help you optimize the use of resources, cost lesser per unit of data or processing power, and carry a smaller footprint than the old solutions. Delay in adoption is, therefore, undesirable and should be addressed appropriately by the CIO.

• Optimal utilization: Use of technology resources needs care; we have to ensure that all servers, storage, desktops, etc., need to be utilized optimally. Unutilized or under-utilized equipment is a waste. Along with the overheads in maintaining them, it costs dear to the organization and to the society. There has to be a proper distribution of load, proper evaluation and sizing before procurement, and frequent monitoring of utilization thereafter. Before rushing in to add further capacities, it is advisable to examine whether optimization of usage can create more capacity for use.

• Product end-of-life programs: Replacement of old equipment has become inevitable today due to accelerated changes in technologies. Equipment like desktops, laptops, printers, and media like CDs, DVDs, tapes, etc., have often to be disposed as they become unusable. Simple disposal is an environmental hazard and we, as enlightened citizens, should avoid such a step.
  Desktops, laptops, etc., are often given by companies as buy-back to the vendor and vendors have their own channels for putting them to alternate use. In other cases, corporates give away the old machines to rural schools so they are put to use further. Specialized agencies exist today that undertake dismantling of equipment and media for to extract useful elements and to scrap them in an environment-friendly manner. CIOs should get in touch with such agencies and do their bit to protect the environment.

These small but significant steps can go a long way in ensuring a better environment for our children.