Content Delivery Network (CDN) services provider Akamai has launched a major initiative to reduce its GHG emissions. Most notable is its commitment to an absolute, not relative, reduction.

Akamai's May 2016 announcement: "Today we are committing, by 2020, to reduce our absolute greenhouse gas emissions below 2015 levels by sourcing renewable energy for 50 percent of our network operations."

Most ICT gear - core facilities, communications infrastructures, and edge devices - runs on DC power. Converting AC to DC within a building is inefficient, on-site renewable power generation is often DC to begin with, and super-efficient LED lighting is also DC. All this seems to make DC power distribution an attractive option for ICT facilities, but there have been vigorous arguments for and against. Recent events, beginning a 380-V DC standard for ICT power distribution in 2011, suggest the tide is turning in favor of DC distribution.

Image courtesy IEEE Spectrum

I don't go into the backcountry device-free. A smartphone, with backcountry GPS software, and a digital camera are always with me. Planning for an 11-day rafting/hiking trip through the Grand Canyon in April raised the issue of how to power my gear. I decided to go solar to minimize battery consumption. A February week in the Mojave desert (right) gave me a chance to sort out candidate devices and to configure a compact but workable system. Here are reports from the Mojave and Grand Canyon trips.

A colleague in the financial services sector asked me about the integration of Green ICT into a taxonomy for sustainability certification.

My experience with taxonomies, particularly as founder of a business information company, has given me a crucial insight. Thoughtful construction up-front is the most beneficial, and the most neglected, aspect of taxonomy applications With that in mind, here are two key considerations for a successful Green ICT taxonomy implementation.

Apple recently issued a "Green Bond". What is this new kind of debt instrument and how might it propel Green ICT?

Vertatique has covered much innovation in Green ICT technology and practices. Now, we get to look at green ICT financing as Apple issues a Green Bond.

Apple announced the $1.5 billion debt instrument in a February 2016 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the the American regulatory agency for such matters. Apple's SEC filing contains interesting about the concept of a Green bond and the company's planned use of proceeds. We will exerpt it here, because this information is buried in a very lengthy technical document.

GSICT is the first IEEE International Workshop on Green Standardizations and Industry Issues for ICT and Relevant Technologies, held in conjunction with IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM). GSICT was organized by Dr. Jinsong Wu of the University of Chile.

Here is the source material for Matt Peterson's keynote talk at GSICT.

Click on the "recycle" tag, above, and you will find all sorts of information about ICT's contribution to the global e-waste stream. Exactly how large is this contribution? It appears ICT gear only contributes about a quarter of the e-waste stream.

The "digital hospital" is just one indicator of how healthcare has become part of the Green ICT "Total Industry" model. A 2007 report by the US Energy Information Administration showed the impact: "The 2003 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) data showed that large hospitals (greater than 200,000 square feet) accounted for less than 1 percent of all commercial buildings and 2 percent of commercial floorspace, but consumed 4.3 percent of the total delivered energy used by the commercial sector in 2003 1. Data from the 2007 CBECS show that the major fuels (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and district heat) consumed by large hospitals totaled 458 trillion Btu, which is 5.5 percent of the total delivered energy used by the commercial sector in 2007."

Hospitals and the healthcare facilities have begun to hear the call to action, but challenges remain.

I introduced the concept of "Total ITC / Total Industry" for Green ICT at my Globecom 2015 talk. Here is the graphic from my presentation, with data drawn from earlier work. The slide focuses on energy consumption, but applies to all aspects of Green ICT.