Green IT: 6 steps towards responsible IT management.

The concept of moderation, whether economic or ecological, is becoming increasingly important within companies across Europe.

And with good reason, as digital technology accounts for 3 to 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, or nearly 2 billion tonnes of CO₂. To illustrate this statistic, the French newspaper Le Monde estimated that this volume would be comparable to a 3,500-kilometre car journey for each person who uses digital equipment and products.

Faced with current societal and environmental challenges, companies are being forced to question their consumption habits, including in the area of IT management.

What are the best practices for an eco-friendly IT infrastructure? In the age of AI, how can we adapt our consumption of these products without hindering their use? How can an IT outsourcing provider such as Rcarré support you in this process?

Answers and analysis from our experts.

What is ‘Green IT’?

Sustainable IT, or Green IT, refers to all practices and technologies aimed at reducing the ecological, social and economic footprint of digital tools.

This concept includes eco-design (reducing resource consumption), refurbishing and extending the life of equipment, optimising infrastructure (pooling cloud servers, using renewable energy) and raising user awareness of good digital practices (turning off unused devices, optimising email use and limiting printing).

The aim of Green IT is to make IT more sustainable, limit its ecological footprint and promote solutions that are more respectful of the environment and living organisms.

For businesses, this approach also has the advantage of generating medium- and long-term savings through the rationalisation of practices, better management of resources, equipment and energy, and overall process optimisation.

Reduce the environmental impact of your IT outsourcing with these six actions.

It is possible to adopt responsible IT management, especially by using the services of a specialised provider. However, not all IT outsourcing services take into account the environmental, societal and economic considerations associated with Green IT.

To help you see more clearly, here are six actions that a committed IT provider can take to help you reduce the environmental impact of your IT outsourcing.

1. Choose eco-friendly alternatives when purchasing equipment.

For your computers, servers or smartphones, choose energy-efficient equipment and, if possible, certified by recognised environmental labels such as Energy Star or EPEAT.

This action can have a significant impact, as in 2023, 80% of the digital carbon footprint was concentrated in the manufacturing stage of devices, according to a source from the French Ministry of Digital Affairs.

For example, purchasing 1,000 refurbished laptops avoids the emission of nearly 55 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2 eq.). Extending their lifespan by just one year avoids the emission of 17.1 tonnes of CO2 eq. Finally, it is worth noting that not purchasing (and therefore not manufacturing) 1,000 smartphones avoids the emission of 50 tonnes of CO2 eq.

If your company is not keen on purchasing refurbished products, Rcarré offers an alternative: leasing, commonly known as ‘Device As a Service’ (DAAS). Under this scheme, Rcarré offers companies the opportunity to rent their IT equipment and provides proactive maintenance throughout the duration of their contract.

Refurbished after each rental, the rented equipment can be given a second life, thereby reducing the significant environmental impact associated with the production of IT equipment.

2. Opt for hybrid and shared cloud hosting solutions.

Behind these technical terms lies a simple principle of cloud data hosting: rather than monopolising a server whose resources you do not need to use in their entirety, using a shared hosting service allows you to consume only the space you really need within the data centre.

However, saving money should never come at the expense of the quality or performance of your IT tools.

Rcarré offers public, private and hybrid cloud hosting solutions tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses, large accounts and financial sector professionals (PSF). For all our offerings, we guarantee the security and confidentiality of your data, as well as the constant availability of your IT services.

3. Organise the management of your electronic waste.

In Luxembourg, as in France, the WEEE Directive (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) requires companies to manage their end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment responsibly.

Computers, servers, tablets and smartphones are not ordinary waste. That is why it is important to implement a specific recycling procedure for your obsolete IT equipment.

With extensive experience in this particular area, an IT service provider such as Rcarré can advise you on the best way to manage the collection and recycling of your used equipment in accordance with current standards and regulations.

4. Deploy collaborative tools to control the carbon footprint associated with travel.

The rise of remote working since the 2020 health crisis has led to the development of intuitive, high-performance collaborative solutions adapted to all types of business.

With the help of your IT manager, deploy unified communication tools tailored to your activities and replace some of your travel and physical meetings with videoconferencing, shared documents or collaborative workspaces.

Proximity and human connection are core values at Rcarré. We do not believe in eliminating spontaneous exchanges between teams, but rather in optimising business practices by reserving face-to-face meetings for high value-added topics.

In addition to saving time and increasing productivity, this approach contributes to a significant reduction in your carbon footprint. Travel, whether by plane or car, is one of the leading causes of pollution worldwide.

5. Extend the life of your IT equipment through proactive management and maintenance measures.

Proactive maintenance consists of preventing IT failures and incidents before they occur.

In practical terms, your IT manager continuously and closely monitors the performance of your equipment, enabling them to take action well in advance, before an incident disrupts your business.

The best waste is no waste at all: by reducing the need to replace equipment, proactive maintenance is one of the most effective ways to combat the obsolescence of your IT infrastructure.

Rcarré applies this method on a daily basis through its IT services offering, seeking both performance and longevity for its clients’ IT infrastructure.

6. Decide on a data processing policy (data archiving and lifecycle).

One final point that is often underestimated is the financial and environmental cost of storing obsolete data in a business. You can reduce this cost, and the associated environmental impact, by only keeping the information you really need.

Depending on your industry, the legal retention period for certain documents (invoices, contracts) can range from a few years to more than a decade. Once this period has passed, a data processing policy would allow you to delete unused information, thereby freeing up storage space.

Regular data deletion has several advantages: it reduces the bandwidth used to transfer this data and limits the disk space needed to back it up, thereby reducing storage costs.

Finally, keep in mind that by retaining unnecessary data, you increase your cybersecurity risks. In the event of a cyberattack or data leak, cybercriminals would have access to a wider range of information about your business, your partners and your customers.

Rcarré, a committed IT service provider, supports companies in their transition to responsible IT outsourcing.

Rcarré takes a proactive approach that puts ecology at the heart of its practices. This translates into concrete initiatives for the second life of materials and the sustainability of equipment, but also into a comprehensive approach aimed at measuring and reducing our company’s carbon footprint (working clothes, sustainable infrastructure management, employee awareness).

This commitment was recognised in 2023 with the award of the CSR label by the National Institute for Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility (INDR).

To find out more about our responsible IT outsourcing services and put Green IT to work for your company, contact us now.