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Summary of social
responses to manage IT
and the environment
Eric Williams
United Nations University
Environmental impacts
and IT hardware
1.
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•
•
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Hardware
eco-labels
Takeback systems
Getting toxic out
E-waste
2. Applications
•
Telecommuting
•
Teleconferencing, paperless office, e-commerce
•
IT to enhance air/water quality management
Hardware: Eco-labels
Certification by third-party organizations that model meets
certain environmental criteria:
National takeback systems
European Union – Directive on Waste
from Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (WEEE) comes into effect
2005. Legislates target of ~ 70%
recycling by weight.
Other countries already implementing
their own: Switzerland, Japan,
Taiwan, etc.
Getting the lead (and other
toxics) out
European Union – Restriction on
Hazardous Substances (RoHS).
Goes into effect 2003. Includes ban
of lead and certain BFRs in circuit
boards. . Legislates target of 70%
recycling by weight.
Japanese firms are taking initiative in
making lead/halogen free electronics
Reuse and upgrade
OEMs: many takeback and sell their own
refurbished machines (high end)
SME – some specialize in reselling,
upgrading (e.g. Computer Renaissance)
Consumers: sometimes sell (e.g. via Ebay)
or donate to charity. Most end up in
closets.
E-waste trade
In response to publicity, China
banned import of used IT
equipment. Some US OEMs
and recyclers signed pledge
to change practice. Effective?
Desirable solution?
Applications: telecommuting
Firms – some active in giving option to
telecommute. Often IT-related firm
(e.g. AT&T, IBM)
Government – US govt. encourages
telework internally. But externally….
Mainly based on cost, worker benefit
perspective, not environment.
Teleconferencing,
paperless office, e-commerce
Adoption driven by economic factors.
Business slump sometimes helps
travel substitution with
teleconference.
Paperless office not yet adopted on
wide scale
Efforts to reduce packaging in ecommerce shipments.
Rebound effects
Main relevant policy to date is energy
taxes, high in some countries.
But…do not apply to imported
manufactured goods.
What kinds of policies to address
sustainable consumption?
IT for air/water
management
Malaysian example: GIS used to
identify source of local quality
problem (septic tanks) in Putrajaya .
Combination of national, local and
firm action to correct.
Wide variety of activities to adopt GIS
and other information enhancers in
the industrializing world.
Summary
Reasonable degree of action to
manage waste IT, though little
addressing reuse. E-waste trade still
open issue.
Relatively little concerted action to
promote environmental benefits of IT
nor control rebound effects: mainly
driven by economic and social forces.