Sustainability, evaluation and industry trends

Sustainability has been defined as “the process of living within the limits of available physical, natural, and social resources in ways that allow the living systems in which humans are embedded to thrive in perpetuity” (Sustain SU, 2010). Hence, in terms of environmental sustainability, there needs to be a focus on the use of renewable rather than non-renewable resources. And even with renewable resources, there needs to be a focus on avoiding over-utilisation and wastage. Sustainability is about more than just ‘being green’. It is about doing things efficiently and effectively, being innovative and creating a positive impact, achieving excellence, and leaving lasting legacies.

Green IT: cybersecurity cost or benefit?

Tony Proctor CITP, Principal Lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton and Emily Proctor, Post-Graduate Student in International Security, discuss whether green IT and cybersecurity can be mutually beneficial.

BCS impact report: winter 2021

BCS members speak out about Green IT, the future of AI — and a global social media outage. Senior Media Offcer Claire Penketh reports. As part of its Open Technology for Sustainability Day at COP26, Claire Penketh also spoke to Amanda Brock, CEO of OpenUK about how rethinking tech could help save the planet.

Digital and the modern smart home

For the best part of a decade, the smart home has been on the cusp of becoming a reality, writes Alex Bardell, Co-founder of Sustainability for London, Founder of SDAdvocate and active member of the BCS Green IT SG.

Detailed Guidance for Issuing Green Bonds in Developing Countries

This guidance note aims to help bond issuers and their advisors to understand the process and key considerations for a successful green bond issuance. Demand for green bonds and other sustainable finance products is increasing rapidly, and issuers are seeing an opportunity to be part of the green bond market. This publication covers all the steps required to follow best practices in labeling bonds as green. It includes examples, links to further details, and key resources for green bond issuers and their deal teams.

Clean? Green? Renewable? Sustainable?

John Higgins FBCS reflects on the 2021 Green IT issue of ITNOWand this moment in history, when IT’s role in either helping or hindering the climate crisis is critical.

Behavioural Model for Decision-Makers’ towards the Intention to Adopt Green Information Technology: A Preliminary Study

This preliminary survey investigates and validates the measurement model of factors influencing decision makers’ intentions to adopt Green information technology (Green-IT) in manufacturing sectors in Nigeria. The Norm Activation Model (NAM) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) were used to explore the factors that could influence decision-makers’ intention in adopting Green-IT. Using constructs from the NAM and TPB, this survey proposes a model for identified behavioural factors. A quantitative research approach with a data collection and analysis plan using a cross-sectional survey design was adopted. A sample of 30 decision-makers in the top three manufacturing industries in Nigeria was selected using a purposive sampling procedure for participation in the study. The data collected was analysed using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the proposed model. The model was validated in two phases: (i) Initial Measurement Model and (ii) Modified Measurement Model. Findings revealed that Green-IT Attitude, Subjective Norm, Ascription of Responsibility, Awareness of Consequences, Personal Norm, Environmental Concern, and Perceive Behavioural Control were the key elements of the behavioural intention model to adopt Green-IT, with 31 indicators having factor loadings of >0.5, adequate internal consistency reliability, CR > 0.7, and Cronbach’s Alpha, >0.7. The result revealed convergent validity, and acceptable discriminant validity was assessed using AVE > 0.5 and Fornell-lacker’s criterion. The results from the full-scale study would contribute to developing a context-specific model to examine Green-IT adoption in developing nations.

Behavioral intention model for green information technology adoption in Nigerian manufacturing industries

PurposeGreenhouse effects and the need for cost savings necessitate that an organization's information technology (IT) managers design IT equipment acquisition and service provisioning policies to reduce carbon footprint and cost. Analyzing the influencing factors that influence stakeholders' attitudes toward adopting green information technology (Green-IT) is an important input in designing these policies. In essence, the research aims to investigate into the relationship between these factors and how they influence policy-makers' behavior in Nigerian manufacturing industries.Design/methodology/approachThe study develops a model based on the norm activation model (NAM) and the theory of planned behavior (TBP) to investigate the factors that influence decision-makers' intention in adopting Green-IT. A quantitative approach using a survey method is carried out to gather opinions of IT decision-makers using a random sampling technique. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique is applied to test the structural model and measurement model.FindingsThe study's findings support the use of the behavior model for Green-IT adoption. The study's finding indicates that subjective norms, perceived behavior control (PBC), manager's attitude, personal norm (PN), awareness of adverse consequences and the ascription of responsibility (AR) positively influence intention to adopt Green-IT.Research limitations/implicationsThe development and validation of the model are the study's theoretical contributions. The study reviewed the existing literature on the utilization of Green-IT to better understand the intention to adopt Green-IT in Nigeria. It added to the literature by identifying factors that can influence it as well as theoretical underpinnings that can fit the intentions of decision-makers. The scientific community and the industrial companies would have the chance to investigate how this integrated behavioral intention model promotes the use of Green-IT. The research predictors explained about 70.20% of the variance in the behavioral intention to adopt Green-IT.Practical implicationsResearch offers practical implications and recommendations for top management practitioners of the manufacturing industries. Business leaders can use the results of this study to develop an effective strategic IT policy for the successful adoption of Green-IT practices for enhanced productivity. The study found that decision-makers' Green-IT attitudes had a substantial impact on their behavioral intention to adopt Green-IT. The study highlighted the importance of the top management attitude toward green products to facilitate the adoption of Green-IT practices in manufacturing industries in Nigeria. Thus, the positive and significant attitude of policy-makers is a necessary tool toward the successful adoption of Green-IT. Therefore, to foster an environmentally sustainability friendly atmosphere, Nigeria's manufacturing industries shall strive to strengthen the decision-makers' attitude toward practicing Green-IT in their respective domains. The findings showed that AR, AQ, environmental concern (EC), perceived behavior and perceived behavior are critical factors to be considered in an organization.Social implicationsAccording to the findings, an individual's Green-IT attitude has a substantial impact on the environment as social behavior. As a result, the positive and essential attitude of the social sector is a key tool for efficient Green-IT implementation. Nigeria's social activists must try to create awareness campaigns to boost decision-makers' attitudes toward implementing Green-IT in their various regions to develop a friendlier environment. Thus, the identified factors can be of great help to the social sector in designing and implementing successful environmental-friendly policies that could support the adoption of Green-IT practices.Originality/valueThe current research look at Green-IT adoption in manufacturing industries of West African countries. The study offers practical implications and recommendations for top management practitioners of the manufacturing industries, government policy-makers and organizations to enhance the use of Green-IT for mitigating environmental degradation. Recommendations for future research are stated as concluding remarks.