Computer simulation for assessment of the environmental impact generated by the information technology

Abstract

In an irreversible process, people and businesses use Information Technology (IT) in different activities on a daily basis. This demand leads the technology industry to a relentless pursuit of innovation and the result is a cycle of improvements, innovations and the consequent increase in the disposal of these components into the environment as well as increased energy consumption and the emission of CO² in the atmosphere. In this context, the Green IT comes up as an alternative to minimize the harmful effects to the environment caused by the manufacturing, intensive use and disposal of IT. One of the barriers that lead companies to delay the adoption of Green IT practices is the cost involved in deploying it and that there are no return guarantee. Thus, making use of IT itself through the system dynamics methodology and Vensim software (VENTANA SYSTEMS, 2015), this study aimed to simulate the reducing of the environmental impact that the implementation of Green IT practices, such as server virtualization and switching off equipment when not in use, can bring over ten years in an IT unit of a university. The results demonstrate that, with very simple practices adoption, it is possible to get a reduction of up to 62% in energy consumption and emission of CO².