Green Initiatives Undertaken By Wipro Limited - Case Study Example

Running Head: Green IT at WIPRO Green IT at WIPRO Name Course Professor Date Word Count: 1485 Green IT at WIPRO Wipro is a division of Wipro Limited and specializes in providing technology and process solutions, as well as integrated market. The company is based in India, providing IT solutions to the corporate segment. The company is estimated to be worth $10 billion. It has scooped several awards for its customer care, social responsibility and leadership (Wipro, 2013). 1. Green Initiatives Undertaken By Wipro It began with reducing energy consumption through merging and virtualization of its datacenter. An emerging increase in Wipro’s server usage was causing considerable difficulties in regulating and tracking the energy costs which were rising by the day. The IT department therefore decided to use blade servers and virtualization to minimize the problem. As a matter of fact, CIO Laxman Badiga noted that, the amount of space used in the datacenter was raised by consolidating their servers for different applications and this in turn helped opening up space and optimizing their cooling needs (Luna F. 2010). Virtualization is a technology that enables several operating systems to be executed from a single processor, simultaneously. Server virtualization enables an organization to cut cost in procuring and maintaining hardware, enhance power management as well as reducing cooling and power costs (IBM, 2013). There are several factors that can contribute to extreme energy use in a data center. However, X86 hardware is not utilized fully becoming the largest consumers of energy. Servers utilize about 80% of the entire IT load, which is about 40% of the estimated consumption in the data center. X86 servers process only single application remaining 85-95% idle, yet power is consumed (VMWARE, 2011). Another initiative used by Wipro towards green IT was making its manufacturing plant ISO 14001 certified. According to ISO OBP, (2013), ISO 14001:2004 outlines the criteria for certifying an environmental management system. The ISO gives the framework to be followed by an organization for a smooth environmental management system; it does not give the requirements. Any organization can use the ISO certification regardless of its nature of operations. ISO 14001:2004 assures organization’s internal and external stakeholders that, something is being done on environmental impact. International standard enables an organization create and implement policies, taking into account significant environmental aspects and legal requirements. Its success is dependent on the commitment from all the stakeholders. The system enables organizations to take actions towards environmental protection. It also assists in striking balance, controlling pollution and socio-economic needs. Environmental management systems encourage the application of the most applicable technique at a given time (ISO OBP, 2013). One year after the application of ISO 14001, Wipro introduced a program to its customers, where discarded items were collected and sent to certified vendors for proper disposal. The initiative taken to manage e-waste was called green computing. It enabled proper management of waste in all levels of production. Another initiative taken towards green IT was the manufacture of eco-friendly computers. The computers referred to as GreenWare was in line with European Restriction of Hazardous Substances (ROHS). European Commission (2013) defines ROHS as legislation controlling the usage of hazardous substances in the manufacture of electrical and electronic gadgets. It promotes proper collection and recycling of the gadgets. Wipro also joined the Greed Grid as an initiative towards green IT. Green Grid (2007) described itself as an association of IT professionals, policy makers, non-profit organizations, as well as end users. Green Grid stakeholders pledge to enhance the efficiency of data centers and the entire information technology. It also seeks to unite industrial efforts globally, aimed at creating universal metrics that will help it achieve its goal. Wipro launched the EcoEye initiative in 2008; a program meant at increasing the company’s ecological sustainability. The initiative emphasizes on decreasing the ecological footprints of the core business operation, of the organization. It encourages proper engagement with employees, supply chain, customers and partners to build a more sustainable society. It focuses on energy, water and waste efficiency (Wipro, 2013). 2. (a) Challenges faced by Wipro Several challenges were encountered as Wipro was embracing the Green IT concept; it was quite difficult mostly because it involved an overhaul of the existing nongreen datacenter into a green one. At the top of the list of the challenges were financial constraints. For instance, the initial budget of Rs 6 million needed to be increased by 5 to 10 percent, due to the rise in business needs. Another challenge encountered was the requirement for a total audit of the entire blue print of the existing infrastructure in the datacenter. The datacenter blueprint kept data on how the organization arranged its racks and determined how much cooling and power was needed per rack. Conversely, the new datacenter’s power and cooling requirements had to be restructured. The move to green IT also caused some interruptions in the normal operations of the organization. A lot of time and resources were misused in getting used to the new system. (b) Benefits wipro obtained from green computing Wipro has benefited significantly from the green initiative. Some of the benefits include (Srivastava A., nd). a) Efficiency use of resources- The main resources the organization focused on were water and electricity. Initiatives taken to conserve water, and electricity included recycling, change of building design where sky lighters and natural ventilation were used, and introduction of cooling equipment. Several technologies were adopted to enhance cooling efficiency. b) Climate change- The companies operations on green initiatives led to a reduction of carbon footprint to 320,367 tonnes. Climate conservation was done through various ways including; use of energy certified equipment, elimination of CRT monitors in favor of TFTS and virtualization. c) Pollution and waste reduction- The initiatives ensured that there was minimal release of untreated waste to the environment. The organization also ensured that waste and unused materials were disposed appropriately. 3. Lessons that other organizations can learn from Wipro’s Experience Wipro launched a number of initiatives towards Green IT. The initiatives included a number of comprehensive programmes, aimed at increasing its ecological sustainability. Wipro shows the way to go for green computing. The latest Greenpeace list shows Wipro leading after scoring 7.1/10 in the category of electronic companies. The ranking is based on the organization’s commitment in sustainable operations and production of greener products (Mello J. 2012). Wipro scored the highest, becoming a role model to other organizations, after its substantial effort in supporting green policies and embracing renewable energy. The organization was also credited for its effort in controlling electronic waste by collecting them for proper recycling. Wipro also eliminated the use of hazardous product in its production. The sustainability benchmark set by Wipro was not only in India by around the globe. HP scored 5.7/10 points, which was the highest among the American companies (Mello J. 2012). 4. Should Green computing be driven by IT vendors of corporate customers? Green computing should be the responsibility of all stakeholders; Venders, users and regulators. However, vendors should engage their suppliers and consumers to ensure that a sustainable economic approach is maintained. Vendors especially electronics companies have made efforts to eliminate toxic chemicals from devices. They should also influence their supply chain to use recommended energy sources as well as those with minimal effect to the environment. Green space maintains that vendors use carbon to manufacture some gadgets, which are then sold to consumers (Mello J. 2012). Adoption of Green computing is becoming a necessity in all organizations. However, addressing the problems requires a thorough understanding. Organizations must audit their IT use; ranging from data centres, corporate IT, servers and Personal computers. Data should be collected and analysed to set the benchmark for tangible returns. An assessment methodology should be well-designed for any organizations and should narrow down to the individual client device. The assessment sets a continuous and sustainable framework targeting operation and resources optimization. Green computing gives an organization a competitive advantage and is thus a business necessity (Fujitsu, 2012). References Wipro (2013) About Wipro. Retrieved on 5th September, 2013 from http://www.wipro.com/about-wipro/. Luna F (2010) Management Information Systems: Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems. Pearson. IBM (2013) Virtualization basics. Retrieved on 5th September 2013 from http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v28r1/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.tivoli.tpm.scenario.doc%2Fvirtual%2Fccom_basics.html. VMWARE, (2011) How VMware Virtualization Right-sizes IT Infrastructure to Reduce Power Consumption.White paper. Retrieved on 5th September 2013 from http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/WhitePaper_ReducePowerConsumption.pdf. ISO OBP, (2013) ISO 14001:2004(en). Retrieved on 5th September 2013 from https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:14001:ed-2:v1:en:en?utm:source=isoorg&utm. European Commission (2013) Recast of the RoHS Directive. Retrieved on 5th September 2013 from http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/rohs_eee/. Green Grid (2007) Green Grid Metrics: Describing Datacenter Power Efficiency. Technical Committee White Paper http://www.thegreengrid.org/~/media/WhitePapers/Green_Grid_Metrics_WP.pdf?lang=en. Wipro (2013) Sustainability at Wipro is all about good citizenship. Retrieved on 5th September 2013 from http://www.wipro.com/about-wipro/sustainability/. Srivastava A., (nd). Going Green is Inevitable. Wirpo Technologies. Retrieved on 5th September 2013 from http://www.wipro.com/documents/NC_GoingGreen_CommToday_Nov2k9.pdf. Mello J. (2012) Wipro, HP top Greenpeace list of green electronics companies. Retrieved on 5th September 2013 from http://www.pcworld.com/article/2014720/wipro-hp-top-greenpeace-list-of-green-electronics-companies.html Fujitsu, (2012) Trending now: green computing is not an option. Retrieved on 5th September 2013 from http://fujitsunews.com/2012/05/trending-now-green-computing-is-not-an-option/ Read More