ICT Sustainability

Assessment and Strategies for a Low Carbon Future

An Online Graduate Course & Book by Tom Worthington MEd, FACS CP

Skip to content

ACS. (2007). Policy Statement on Green ICT. Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20070906171858/http://www.acs.org.au/acs_policies/docs/2007/greenictpolicy.pdf.

AGIMO. (2010a). Australian Government Data Centre Strategy 2010 - 2025. Available: http://www.finance.gov.au/policy-guides-procurement/data-centres/data-centre-strategy/.

AGIMO. (2011). Australian Government Architecture Reference Models (Version 3.0). Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20170124035333if_/http://www.finance.gov.au:80/sites/default/files/AGA-RM-Final-v3.0-July-2013.pdf.

ANU. (2009). Professor Ross Garnaut discusses the challenges of climate change (pt1). (Video). Australian National University. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfw5cSi_OuI

ANU. (2015). ICT Sustainability, Programs and Courses, Australian National University. Available: http://programsandcourses.anu.edu.au/2015/course/COMP7310

Australian National Audit Office. (2008). Provision of IT Hardware for the ANAO. Available: https://www.tenders.gov.au/?event=public.advert.showClosed&AdvertUUID=C4B4A503-EB31-ACEF-1D908563F4950D0D.

Basel Convention Secretariat. (1989). Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Available: http://www.basel.int/text/documents.html.

Bureau of Indian Standards. (2009). Greenhouse gas specification with guidance for the validation and verification of greenhouse gas assertions. (identical to ISO 14064-3:2006 Greenhouse gases - Part 3) Available: https://ia801004.us.archive.org/35/items/gov.in.is.iso.14064.3.2006/is.iso.14064.3.2006.pdf.

Bush, G.W. (2007). Executive Order 13423-Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management. Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20080924134047/http://ustreas.gov/offices/management/dcfo/procurement/policy/docs/0802-attach.doc.

Byteback. (2008). Opening of New Byteback Sites: Media Release. Sustainability Victoria. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20150413020620/http://www.brwmg.vic.gov.au/news/documents/OpeningofnewBytebacksites.pdf

Clean Energy Regulator. (2017). Register of Greenhouse and Energy Auditors. Available: http://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/Infohub/Audits/register-of-auditors.

Commonwealth of Australia. (1989). Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act. Available: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/hwoeaia1989548/.

Commonwealth of Australia. (2007). National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act. Available: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ngaera2007403/.

Commonwealth of Australia. (2008). National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations. Available: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/ngaerr2008512/.

Commonwealth of Australia. (2011). Clean Energy Future. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20110818104305/http://www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/prime-minister-julia-gillard-welcomes-visitors-to-the-clean-energy-future-website/.

Computerbank. (2017). Low Cost Computers. Available: http://www.computerbank.org.au/.

CoSN. (2010). CoSN Energy Usage Calculator. Available: http://isse.utk.edu/ccp/projects/benefitscalculator/elecbenecalc.html.

Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. (2006). Energy Efficiency in Government Operations. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20130421003843/http://www.climatechange.gov.au/government/initiatives/eego/about-eego/policy-summary.aspx.

Department of the Environment. (2013). Emissions Reduction Fund Green Paper. Available: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/66237232-3042-4cd8-99a3-040705fead3b/files/erf-green-paper_1.pdf

Department of Environment. (2015). National Carbon Offset Standard. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20170329062358if_/http://www.environment.gov.au:80/system/files/resources/749d844e-4ee8-440b-bf1d-19365046b2bc/files/national-carbon-offset-standard-v3.pdf.

Department of Environment. (2015a). National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA) Factors. Available: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/3ef30d52-d447-4911-b85c-1ad53e55dc39/files/national-greenhouse-accounts-factors-august-2015.pdf.

Department of the Environment and Energy. (2017a). National Carbon Offset Standard for Organisations. Available: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/d24bb1e1-3c93-4a78-98b0-61a8e506821c/files/ncos-organisations.pdf.

Department of the Environment and Energy. (2017b). National Carbon Offset Standard for Products & Services. Available: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/69279b0f-5056-4309-932c-dc9512c84769/files/ncos-products-and-services.pdf.

Department of the Environment and Energy. (2017c). National Carbon Offset Standard for Events. Available: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/8fb3c39f-6aa2-4526-b4b2-36ee201d01e3/files/ncos-events.pdf.

Department of the Environment and Energy. (2017d). National Carbon Offset Standard for Precincts. Available: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/91aadf60-1454-4cde-81dd-587df7cdadd7/files/ncos-precincts.pdf.

Department of the Environment and Energy. (2017e). National Carbon Offset Standard for Buildings. Available: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/88f3280a-ebc9-47f3-8f28-7537dafd7056/files/ncos-buildings.pdf.

Department of the Environment and Energy. (2017f). National Greenhouse Accounts Factors. Available: http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/5a169bfb-f417-4b00-9b70-6ba328ea8671/files/national-greenhouse-accounts-factors-july-2017.pdf.

Department of the Environment Water Heritage and the Arts. (2006). Provision of Desktop, LAN, Helpdesk and Midrange Services. Available: https://www.tenders.gov.au/?event=public.atm.showClosed&ATMUUID=96B446FD-BAB5-9AF0-2965115589173ABA.

Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. (2010). Australian Government ICT Sustainability Plan 2010 - 2015. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20100920174207/http://www.environment.gov.au/sustainability/government/ictplan/publications/plan/overview.html.

Department of Finance and Deregulation. (2008). Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines. Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20110601215755/http://www.finance.gov.au/procurement/procurement-policy-and-guidance/CPG/division-1.html.

Department of Innovation Industry Science and Research. (2008). Supply and maintenance of IT equipment. Available: https://www.tenders.gov.au/?event=public.atm.showClosed&ATMUUID=B0608989-0714-647B-8F78121A0A9D07A1.

Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. (2005). Criteria for the export and import of used electronic equipment. Available: http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/51666/20050902-0000/www.deh.gov.au/settlements/publications/chemicals/hazardous-waste/electronic-paper.html.

Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. (2012). National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme. Available: http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/national-waste-policy/publications/factsheet-national-television-and-computer-recycling-scheme-operation.

EPA. (2016). Activate Power Management on Your Computer. ENERGY STAR® Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Available: https://www.energystar.gov/products/low_carbon_it_campaign/power_management_computer.

EPEAT. (2008). EPEAT Criteria: PCs and Displays. Green Electronics Council. Available: http://www.epeat.net/resources/criteria/#pcanddisplays.

EPEAT. (2012). General EPEAT Orientation. (Video). Green Electronics Council. Available: http://www.screencast.com/t/J9BxlLpX

European Union. (1993). Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 of 29 June 1993 allowing voluntary participation by companies in the industrial sector in a Community eco-management and audit scheme. Available: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31993R1836:EN:HTML.

European Union Joint Research Centre. (2018). Best Practices for the EU Code of Conduct on Data Centres. Available: http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC110666/kjna29103enn.pdf.

European Union Renewable Energies Unit. (2008). Code of Conduct on Data Centres Energy Efficiency. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20160422193413if_/http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/sustainable_growth/docs/datacenter_code-conduct.pdf

European Union Renewable Energies Unit. (2009). Code of Conduct on Data Centres Energy Efficiency: Participant Guidelines and Registration Form. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20160624135817if_/http://iet.jrc.ec.europa.eu/energyefficiency/sites/energyefficiency/files/files/documents/ICT_CoC/participant_guidelines_v2_0-final.pdf

Garnaut, R. (2008). Understanding climate science. Available: http://www.garnautreview.org.au/chp2.htm.

Gershon, P. (2008). Review of the Australian Government's Use of Information and Communication Technology. Available: http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/ICT-Review/.

GHGP. (2004). GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. Available: http://www.ghgprotocol.org/standards/corporate-standard.

GHGP. (2010). Sector Toolsets: Service Sector. Available: http://www.neilstoolbox.com/bibliography-creator/reference-website.htm.

Google. (2010). Google container data center tour. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRwPSFpLX8I.

Giungato, P., Rana, R., Tarabella, A., & Tricase, C. (2017). Current Trends in Sustainability of Bitcoins and Related Blockchain Technology. Sustainability, 9(12), 2214 Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su9122214.

Guerin, T. (2008). Using Telecommunications to Reduce your Organisation's Carbon Footprint. Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20120318053700/http://www.ee.unimelb.edu.au/green_internet/multimedia/Slide_Packs/Guerin%20-%20Telstra.pdf.

Hansen, R. (2008). Browser Power Consumption. Available: http://www.sectheory.com/browser-power-consumption.htm.

IEEE. (2006). Standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products, Including Laptop & Desktop Computers & Monitors IEEE Std 1680-2006. Available: http://www.scu.edu.tw/green/class/97/GSC/IEEE%201680.pdf.

Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment. (2008). Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator. Available: http://isse.utk.edu/ccp/projects/benefitscalculator/elecbenecalc.html.

International Standards Organisation. (2000). Quality management systems- Guidelines for performance improvements - AS/NZS ISO 9004:2000. Available: https://infostore.saiglobal.com/store/PreviewDoc.aspx?saleItemID=496670.

IPCC. (2006). IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Available: http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/.

ISO. (2011). Essentials ISO 14000 Environmental Management Standards. Available: http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_14000_essentials.

Kaplan, M. Forrest, W. Kindler, N.. (2010). Revolutionizing Data Center Energy Efficiency. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20150201211408/http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/bto/pointofview/pdf/Revolutionizing_Data_Center_Efficiency.pdf.

Minister for Finance and Deregulation. (2007). Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines. Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20110601215755/http://www.finance.gov.au/procurement/procurement-policy-and-guidance/CPG/.

Marino, F., Leccese, F., & Pizzuti, S. (2017). Adaptive street lighting predictive control. Energy Procedia, 111, 790-799. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.241.

Minister for Finance and Deregulation. (2007). Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines. Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20110601215755/http://www.finance.gov.au/procurement/procurement-policy-and-guidance/CPG/.

Monash University. (2011). Harvard (author-date) style examples. Available: http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/tutorials/citing/harvard.html.

Nakamoto, Satoshi (2008, 1 November). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Available: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

Natural Edge Project. (2008a). Engineering Sustainable Solutions Program Sustainable IT Lecture Series. Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20080808180519/http://www.naturaledgeproject.net/SustainableIT.aspx.

Natural Edge Project. (2008b). E-Waste Education Course One: Lecture 1: Responsible Actions - Product Stewardship. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20160810030048/http://naturaledgeproject.net/EWasteLecture2.1.aspx.

Philipson, G. (2010). Carbon and Computers in Australia: The energy consumption and carbon footprint of ICT usage in Australia in 2010. Australian Computer Society. Available: http://www.computersite.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ACS_Computers_and_Carbon_Report.pdf

Queensland Government. (2008). State Procurement Policy: Operational Concept - Sustainable procurement. Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20091030004421/http://www.qgm.qld.gov.au/policy2007/key_policy_operational.html.

Sawada, T. Origuchi, T. Nishi, S. (2007). Environmental Load Reduction Effects of Ubiquitous Broadband Services. Available: https://www.ntt-review.jp/archive/ntttechnical.php?contents=ntr200703025.pdf.

SFIA Foundation. (2015). Skills Framework for the Information Age, Framework Reference Version 6. Available: https://www.sfia-online.org/en/sfia-6/home.

Tata Consultancy Services. (2011). Green Procurement Policy. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20140913003347/http://www.tcs.com/investors/corp_responsibility/green_proc_pol/Pages/default.aspx.

.

Tata Consultancy Services. (2017). Corporate Sustainability Report 2016-2017. Available: https://www.tcs.com/content/dam/tcs/pdf/discover-tcs/investor-relations/corporate-sustainability/GRI-Sustainability-Report-2016-2017.pdf.

TelecomTV. (2009). Green Planet. (video). Available: http://www.mobileworldlive.com/green-planet-episode-1-the-green-economy.

The Climate Group. (2008). SMART 2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20110813015310/http://www.smart2020.org/_assets/files/03_Smart2020Report_lo_res.pdf.

UNFCCC. (2006). Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism. Available: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/mechanisms/clean_development_mechanism/items/2718.php.

UPS. (2010). UPS Geospatial Technology Delivers Faster and More Sustainably. (Video). Pen State Public Broadcasting. Available: http://thenewlogistics.ups.com/sustainable-business/fuel-efficiency/.

US Army Logistics Innovation Agency. (2013). Smart and Green Energy (SAGE) for Base Camps. (Video). U.S. Army. Available: https://youtu.be/1HKuDPHQebE?t=3m57s

US Congress. (2005). Energy Policy Act of 2005. Available: http://web.archive.org/web/20110721065033/http://energy.senate.gov/public/_files/ConferenceReport0.pdf.

US Department of Energy. (2008). Energy Star: Computer Key Product Criteria, Version 5. Available: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=computers.pr_crit_computers.

US Department of Energy. (2010). History of ENERGY STAR. Available: https://www.energystar.gov/about/history-0.

US Department of Energy. (2011a). Energy Star: Data Center Energy Efficiency Initiatives. Available: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=prod_development.server_efficiency.

Vranken, H. (2017). Sustainability of bitcoin and blockchains. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 28, 1-9. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.04.011

Ward-Dutton, N. (2007a). Real-world Enterprise Architecture part I: journey vs destination. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20130912231609/http://www.mwdadvisors.com/blog/2007/05/real-world-enterprise-architecture-part.html

Ward-Dutton, N. (2007b). Real-world Enterprise Architecture part II: conversation, federation, road trips and tools. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20130912085521/http://www.mwdadvisors.com/blog/2007/05/real-world-enterprise-architecture-part_11.html

Wikipedia. (2011a). Business process. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process.

Wikipedia. (2011b). Business Process Model and Notation. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Process_Modeling_Notation.

Wikipedia. (2011c). Business process improvement. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Process_Improvement.

Worthington, T. (2009). Green Technology Strategies: Using computers and telecommunications to reduce carbon emissions. Available: http://www.tomw.net.au/green/.

Worthington, T. (2011). ICT Sustainability: Assessment and Strategies for a Low Carbon Future. Available: http://www.tomw.net.au/ict_sustainability.

Worthington, T. (2012). A Green computing professional education course online: Designing and delivering a course in ICT sustainability using Internet and eBooks, 7th International Conference on Computer Science & Education (ICCSE), IEEE, pp.263-266, 14-17 July 2012 Available: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCSE.2012.6295070.

Worthington, T. (2017). A Course in ICT Sustainability: Are Bitcoin and Blockchain Bad for the Environment? (Video). Available: https://youtu.be/0p4NkkbNHfM

Weske, M. (2018). Defining Business Processes (Video), from BPMN Meets DMN: Business Process and Decision Modeling, Hasso Plattner Institute. Available: https://open.hpi.de/courses/bpm2016/items/1tnO70IrSXuzxGqTnpCzbf


About the book: ICT Sustainability: Assessment and Strategies for a Low Carbon Future

Edition Notice

ICT Sustainability is about how to assess, and reduce, the carbon footprint and materials used with computers and telecommunications. These are the notes for an award winning graduate course on strategies for reducing the environmental impact of computers and how to use the Internet to make business more energy efficient.

Copyright © Tom Worthington, 2018

Third edition.

Cover shows Power on-off symbol: line within a circle (IEC 60417-5010).

Latest version of materials available free on-line, under at Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license at http://www.tomw.net.au/ict_sustainability/

Previous edition, 2017:

ISBN: 9781326967949 (Hardback)
ISBN: 9781326958503 (Paperback)
ISBN: 9781326967918 (PDF)
ISBN: 9781326958497 (ePub eBook via Lulu and Apple)
ASIN: B005SOEQZI (Kindle eBook)

Editions of these notes have been used for the courses:

  1. ICT Sustainability (COMP7310), in the Graduate Studies Select program, Australian National University (first run July 2009), and
  2. Green ICT Strategies (COMP 635), Athabasca University (Canada). Adapted for North America by Brian Stewart.
  3. Green Technology Strategies: offered in the Computer Professional Education Program, Australian Computer Society (first run as "Green ICT Strategies" in February 2009),