MALAYSIAN businesses need to know how green IT management can help with their bottom-line while improving sustainable practices and reducing carbon footprints.
With increasing international and Government pressures for businesses to operate sustainably, Malaysia’s small to medium enterprises (SMEs) will have to face the increasingly urgent question of how to be sustainable without busting their budgets.
One avenue is to reduce consumption through effective re-use and recycling of IT equipment effectively, said Rentwise chief executive officer Leanne Ooi, at the Green IT Saves Money seminar held at Connexion@Nexus, Bangsar South.
With its green credentials, Rentwise is a Microsoft Registered Refurbisher and one of only a few home-grown IT vendors providing comprehensive solutions which include financing and consultancy together with maintenance, support and IT lifecycle management services.
“IT departments can contribute very positively to sustainable efforts without asking for more budgets,” said Ooi.
Having a good Green IT policy means making IT life cycles more sustainable, ensuring companies can meet strict environmental standards when retiring and disposing of equipment while maximising equipment recovery values and resolving data security concerns.
“The ultimate goal is to have a cost-effective and sensible solution both technically and financially as it reduces unnecessary expenditure and lowers the carbon footprint of the organisation,” said Ooi.
The Government has continued to strengthen and expand regulations on sustainability in order to meet its commitment to reduce carbon emissions intensity per GDP by 40% by 2020 compared to 2005 levels.
It has also identified Green IT as an emerging driver for sustainable economic growth, and under the National Green Technology Policy, is aiming to reduce the overall consumption of resources while sustaining national economic growth. In keeping with this, the stock exchange Bursa Malaysia was among the earliest in the world to require yearly reporting on sustainability measures for public listed companies.
Rentwise’s Green IT Saves Money seminar is contributing to those efforts.
“Our intention is to enhance awareness on good IT management practices in general with a lens on sustainability,” said Ooi.
Rentwise hopes to raise awareness on Malaysia’s current sustainability policies, programmes and green incentives as well as highlights sustainable avenues for maximising company IT budgets.
“SMEs need to know how IT management makes a big difference towards reducing their carbon footprint and the types of sustainable options available for them meet sustainability obligations,” she added.
“Companies working towards Green IT should make sustainability a daily practice which firstly begins by understanding your electricity consumption and measuring your carbon footprint based on your consumption,” said green specialist Ismail Abdullah.
Ismail shared his long experience from national and state projects like the Malaysia Green Technology Road Map, National Energy Efficiency Master Plan and the Malacca Green City State 2020 Blueprint at the seminar.
“By making conscious effort to conserve energy usage and reduce CO2 emissions through simple steps like choosing to use energy-efficient equipment and supporting green procurement, this will create sustainability in energy consumption for the future,” he added.
Originally published in The Star Online: http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/smebiz/news/2016/03/30/proving-that-green-it-is-good-for-both-business-and-the-environment/ on 30 March 2016. Reproduced here in full.
