Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What is Information and Communication Technology (ICT)?
- What is Green ICT?
- What do Australian Government agencies have to gain from implementing Green ICT measures?
- What are Green ICT Quick Wins?
- Who should use the Green ICT Quick Wins?
- Why are Green ICT Quick Wins important?
- How were the Green ICT Quick Wins selected?
- What is the Policy Authority for the Green ICT Quick Wins?
- What is the objective of the Green ICT Quick Wins?
- When do agencies need to implement the Green ICT Quick Wins?
- What about other Green ICT areas?
What is Information and Communication Technology (ICT)?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provides the following definition:
“ICT refers to the technologies and services that enable information to be accessed, stored, processed, transformed, manipulated and disseminated, including the transmission or communication of voice, image and/or data over a variety of transmission media.” [1]
What is Green ICT?
Green ICT is a frequently used term that commonly refers to reducing the energy and other resources consumed, and the emissions and other waste produced across the ICT lifecycle – from manufacture, procurement and use of ICT in an organisation through to its re-use, recycling and disposal.
Green ICT can also describe the application of ICT to enable improved environmental efficiency across a range of business processes. For example, by making use of technologies such as teleconferencing, an organisation can reduce travel costs, improve productivity and lower carbon emissions.
What do Australian Government agencies have to gain from implementing Green ICT measures?
Direct benefits may include:
- improved environmental performance
- increased financial efficiency
- reduced carbon footprint
In-direct benefits may include:
- improved morale resulting from staff knowing that they work in an organisation that is addressing environmental concerns
- progress towards complying with whole-of-government energy intensity targets
What are Green ICT Quick Wins?
The Green ICT Quick Wins are measures that are relatively easy to implement and can reduce the carbon footprint generated by an agency’s ICT infrastructure. For example, the automatic shutdown of desktop workstations outside of normal business hours can improve the energy efficiency of an agency.
The Department of Defence (Defence), the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Medicare Australia have implemented automatic shutdown mechanisms in their desktop environments. All three agencies have realised significant financial efficiencies as a result.
- Defence has realised savings of over $5 million per annum in power usage. This equates to an estimated 31,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide entering the earth’s atmosphere each year.
- ABS estimates that it has realised savings of up to $50,000 per annum.
- Medicare Australia has saved $237,000 per annum. [2]
Who should use the Green ICT Quick Wins?
All government agencies should implement the Green ICT Quick Wins within their environment.
Why are Green ICT Quick Wins important?
The Review of the Australian Government’s Use of Information and Communication Technology by Sir Peter Gershon (‘the ICT Review’) highlighted a lack of meaningful or consistent agency data on ICT energy usage, the opportunity to achieve energy efficiency savings and the need to build momentum for a whole-of-government initiative.
How were the Green ICT Quick Wins selected?
The list of Green ICT Quick Wins was created in consultation with a cross agency working group comprising representatives from over 20 government agencies. The list of Green ICT Quick Wins was endorsed by the Chief Information Officers’ Committee on 7 April 2009.
What is the Policy Authority for the Green ICT Quick Wins?
The Government’s decisions resulting from the ICT Review required the development of initiatives to better align the Government’s overall sustainability agenda, its ability to understand its energy costs and the footprint of its ICT estate.
The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) is responsible for leading the development of a Whole-of-Government ICT Sustainability Plan [
],. Agency implementation of the Green ICT Quick Wins will feed into whole-of-government sustainability planning. [3]
What is the objective of the Green ICT Quick Wins?
The list of Green ICT Quick Wins has been created to help government agencies implement low cost measures to realise immediate energy efficiency savings.
Implementation of the Green ICT Quick Wins by agencies is a first step towards reducing the environmental impact of government ICT operations and will build momentum towards a whole-of-government ICT Sustainability Plan.
When do agencies need to implement the Green ICT Quick Wins?
Implementation of the Quick Wins will deliver immediate energy efficiencies. Accordingly, agencies should implement the Quick Wins as soon as possible.
What about other Green ICT areas?
Data centre efficiency, ICT disposal (‘e-waste’) and tele-working initiatives are also being progressed by Finance and DEWHA.
Data Centre efficiency and other environmental considerations for data centres will be included in the whole-of-government data centre strategy.
A whole-of-government tele-working policy for ICT professionals is also being developed by Finance in conjunction with the Australian Public Service Commission.
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005, ‘Innovation, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Statistics glossary’ [], Using Innovation, Science and Technology Statistics, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.
- ^ Australian National Audit Office 2009, Audit Report 25 - Green Office Procurement and Sustainable Office Management [], Australian National Audit Office, Canberra.
- ^ Gershon, Sir Peter 2008, Review of the Australian Government’s Use of Information and Communication Technology, Department of Finance and Deregulation, Canberra.
See Reference
- ANAO – see Australian National Audit Office
- ABS – see Australian Bureau of Statistics
- DEWHA – see Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
- ICT Review – see Gershon 2008
Further Reading
- Department of Climate Change 2008a, Australia’s National Emissions Target [], Department of Climate Change, Canberra, December.
- Department of Climate Change 2008b, Kyoto Protocol [], Department of Climate Change, Canberra.
- Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts 2006, Energy Efficiency in Government Operations (EEGO) Policy [], Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra.
Contact for information on this page: GreenICT@finance.gov.au