Data & technology for sustainability
Green IT
The environmentally responsible design, manufacture, use, and disposal of information technology, aimed at cutting the sector's energy, carbon, water, and e-waste footprint.
Definition
Green IT, or green computing, is the practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and digital infrastructure in ways that reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions, water use, and electronic waste. It spans the full technology life cycle — green design, green manufacturing, green use, and green disposal — across devices, data centres, networks, and software.
References
definition and sector footprint
Overview
What it means
The ICT sector accounts for an estimated 1. 8–3. 9% of global greenhouse gas emissions across its life cycle, and data centres add large water footprints for cooling. Green IT addresses both efficiency (performance per watt, cooling, utilisation) and circularity (longevity, refurbishment, responsible e-waste recycling), alongside using IT itself to enable environmental gains in other sectors.
How it is used
Organisations adopt green IT strategies covering procurement standards (energy labels, EPEAT), data-centre efficiency metrics (PUE), cloud optimisation, and end-of-life take-back; it feeds corporate Scope 2 and 3 accounting.
Why it matters
Digitalisation is sold as dematerialising, but its own footprint is material and growing; green IT keeps the digital transition honest. **Note:** Confidence Medium: a practice field rather than a single codified definition.
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