Analysis of factors motivating Sri Lankan organizations towards green IT : a survey among green awarded organizations

Abstract

Green concepts have been now identified as the right element to connect both corporate innovation and environmental integration. It is encouraging to identify that few Sri Lankan organizations have initiated green concepts including green IT practices. There are internal as well as external factors which motivate organizations towards ‘Greening’. This dissertation identifies motivation factors for implementing green IT among forty five Sri Lankan ‘Green awarded’ organizations. This data can be utilized in setting green targets ofthe country and for the benefit of organizations who are planning to ‘Go green’ in future facing minimal barriers with maximum productivity. Green awarded organizations with clear vision and mission are more focused and are more successful in retaining green concepts and green processes. In addition defining a vision & mission will help an organizational management to educate their employees and motivate them towards participating in greening their IT processes. The results show that cost reduction and the efficiency of powering ICT infrastructure are the main motivation factors for energy efficiency and virtualization consolidation related initiatives, while asset disposal initiatives are mainly driven by organizations' sustainability strategy and corporate social responsibility. Further, market incentives are identified as the main motivational factor for travel reduction practices. However, government energy efficiency regulations, greenhouse gas regulations, regulations on discarding e-waste, and the encouragement from industry associations show very low impact on motivating organizations towards achieving green IT.