Framework for Assessing Environmental, Social, and Economic Sustainability of ICT Organizations
Date
2013
Authors
Odeh, Khuloud
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Key challenges that confront the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry today in defining and achieving social, environmental, and economic sustainability goals include identifying sustainable operating standards and best practices and measuring and assessing performance against those practices. The industry lacks a framework for assessing sustainability that is consistent, reliable, and applicable to ICT organizations' practices beyond the data center operation and purchasing of electronic products. Without an industry accepted framework, the burden of defining sustainable practices lies with each organization or company. This has resulted in inconsistencies and a general lack of baseline information regarding sustainable practice in the sector. To address this gap, an ICT sustainability assessment framework was developed. The framework took a balanced approach in accounting for the environmental, economic and social sustainability issues in ICT and recognized contributions of innovation to sustainable ICT. The rating method was based on a weighted and aggregated set of criteria that were validated by ICT sustainability experts. An expert focus group validated the model ratings against their professional judgment. Practical application of the model was also demonstrated for a leading North American Telecommunication company.
Description
Keywords
Information technology, Sustainability, Green IT, Sustainability, Sustainability Assessment, Sustainable Computing, Sustainable ICT, Sustainablity Rating