Let's think green, act green

The green initiatives taken by some companies on the occasion World Environment Day

CIOL - June 04, 2011 -- One more Environment Day to introspect how green we are. Racing along the information highway with lightening speed, we always feign ignorance about the disintegration that we cause to the environment and ecosystem due to the disproportionate growth that always questions the organic equilibrium. According to various industry studies, the ICT sector contributes to nearly 2 per cent of the global greenhouse gases emissions. In India, the ICT sector is responsible for around 10 per cent of the global ICT emission. With an annual projected growth rate of 12-16 per cent, this emission will grow significantly, warn experts. The contribution of the telecom industry is also not minor. That was the reason why the Greenpeace activists recently led a march to the headquarters of Bharti Airtel in Gurgaon to urge the telecom major to take steps to reduce its carbon emissions and shift to renewable sources of energy to power its network operations. All these lead to the million-dollar question. What is the awareness level of the Indian ICT sector, when it comes to realizing the importance of going green? Green initiatives taken by some major players Indian IT major Wipro said is celebrating the World Environment Day with a series of activities including film show, photography contest and also the launch of the Bio-Diversity Project of Electronic City. Wipro said it is embarking on a project of converting a major part of its Electronic City campus into a bio-diversity friendly area. The aim is to make the campus more in tune with the native flora and fauna, and help breed birds and insects that are native to the land. Wipro said that its sustainability initiative has been evolving rapidly since its inception more than three years back, and it was widely recognized as well. As part of the sustainability program, the IT bellwether took up many steps in the recent times. In order to ensure energy security and to reduce dependence on fast-depleting fossil fuels, Wipro said it is promoting energy-efficiency programs around green buildings. It said there is significant increase in purchase of clean energy. It is also taking water treatment very seriously through rain water harvesting, engaging with proximate communities in improved water management and also increasing its recycling ratio. In order to prevent the biodiversity loss, the IT bellwether will convert five of its existing campuses to biodiversity campuses and also all new campuses will be designed and built on the principles of biodiversity. Infy for a 'Sustainable Tomorrow' Similarly, a company that follows the philosophy of 'Sustainable Tomorrow', Infosys Technologies said it is participating in the World Environment Day campaign to help the next generation take a step towards a cleaner and greener future. Following this year's theme at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for World Environment Day, 'Forests: Nature At Your Service', the Green Connect team at Infosys is conducting two major activities at the Bangalore Campus. One is Petit Infoscions cleaning drive, aimed at the children of Infosys employees, giving them a chance to be part of this campaign. In this activity, the kids and parent Infoscions will participate in a Walkathon followed by a two-hour cleaning drive in the city. Another is a power-efficient lighting programme, under which the employees can purchase LED lamps at a discounted price. This activity is aimed at encouraging employees to save electricity. Another IT player, UST Global has launched a month-long programme as part of the Environment Day. This also includes an event called AroundUS, a reforming initiative where associates can choose any Community activities categorized – green, healthcare and education. "This gives you a chance to work in your locality or with residential associations for a noble cause. Thereby, transforming lives and living UST Global's Mission - Transforming Lives of Clients, Employees and Community," UST said in a statement. This would be an ongoing program and as part of the launch, 2,500 tree saplings were distributed in our TRV center free of cost to help encourage this drive amongst associates since a month. UST said that it also has a conserve natural resources through 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' initiatives across the company as part of the CSR strategy. Green IT for cost optimization According to Vivekanand Venugopal, vice president and general manager of Hitachi Data Systems, India, Green IT is pretty relevant for the Indian enterprises. Green IT is not only about being socially responsible, but it is also key contributor to cost optimization and control, he observed. "Now businesses have started to realize the datacenter contributes significantly to the power bill and hence have started making the CIOs accountable," he said, adding, "Today, not only things like your manufacturing and services operations have to be eco-friendly, but the information technology your company uses must also be green." Venugopal said Hitachi has achieved a green supplier ratio of 100 per cent and established "Super Eco Factories" that utilize industry leading environmental protection systems. Sharing its green though, Steria India, a provider of IT-driven business services, said the company is constantly committed to taking measures to help save the environment and spreading awareness. "We are committed to our goal of minimizing our impact on the environment while helping our clients to do the same… We are integrating green thinking and implementing green solutions in everything we do," said Sachdev Ramakrishna, director - marketing, Steria India. The company has also set up solar powered computer centers at Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation in Talawade, Maharashtra as part of its green initiatives. On this occasion, Convergys has made a movement to promote organic living by inspiring its employees to go for discounted organic foods and shopping for environmentally friendly products. It also arranged for an interaction between Greenpeace volunteers and Convergys employees at the company's Gurgaon sites, to discuss energy and forest conservation and organic farming. "We at Convergys believe that every day is Environment Day and on this day, we reaffirm our commitment to preserve and nurture our environment with renewed vigor and resolve," said Aashish Singh, Director of HR for Convergys. Also, Greenpeace and CyberMedia have joined together to launch a website, http://www.goinggreen.co.in/, to bring all the latest happenings around the world on clean energy adoption and Green IT to the readers. The website also calls on the ICT sector in India to take a 'Green Pledge', which is available on the CIOL and Greenpeace websites. Hope these initiatives will give us a chance to talk more about our 'green success' in the near future.

Source: http://www.ciol.com/News/News/News-Reports/Let's-think-green-act-green/150812/0/