“We’re all in this together”From Clashes to Collaboration –

a business and IT perspective to support greener global citizenship

Presented by Jan Green, and Denise Oram Glyndŵr University, Wrexham

24 March 2010

Presentation Format

• Introduction• Ride the energy bike• The role of the eco-team• Source locally• IT perspective – creating awareness• Green IT and sustainable issues as an essential

element of socially responsible computing• Summary

Introduction

• Who are we?• We are corporate citizens:• Corporate Citizenship: ‘Understanding and

managing a company’s wider influences on society for the benefit of the company and society as a whole’

• (Andriof and McIntosh 2001)

Let me tell you a story …… about the energy bike - www.globalactionplan.org

• The bike is connected to an alternator which translates the energy created by cyclists into electricity

• The electricity is then used to power a range of appliances – a light bulb, a computer screen and a radio

• Extra pedal power!

The Energy Bikewww.globalactionplan.org.uk

Highly effective in changing behaviour – Restorick (2007)

• 80% have installed low energy light bulbs• 96% turn off stand-by functions on electrical

equipment• 92% turn off mobile phone charges at the socket• 50% switch off computer monitors when away

from their desk – and each evening• 68% only fill the kettle with the amount of water

need

Continuous Improvement Using Eco-teams

• Generating and implementing employee ideas through participation

• Kaizen – perform a little better each day• Group of workers performing similar tasks• Attendance is voluntary• Meetings are regular and within normal working

time, free from interruption• Process is supervised or led• Aim: to identify, analyse and solve work related

problems and recommend solutions to managers

Quality Circles

• Individual identification of problem• Prioritise issues to work on• Develop a solution – using quality tools• Present solution to management• Implement solution• Monitor change• Identify problem – repeat the cycle

To take away with you ….Quality Circles in Practice

• Silent session to consider and identify -1. the environmental problem you would like to solve in your organisation2. what do you perceive the benefits of solving this problem will be at:

the individual levelthe organisational level

Is Your Journey Really Necessary?

• In times of bad weather our risk averse culture generates national news bulletins from the highways agencies and police not to travel unless our journey is really necessary

• Why do we travel?• Why do goods travel?

Sources

• In northern Europe, do we NEED strawberries from New Zealand for Christmas lunch?

• Over to you – where did the footwear and clothing you are wearing today originate from?

Real stuff!• In discussions earlier this year with the Built

Environment department at Glyndŵr University commented:

• When we add in procurement our carbon footprint doubles – results of independent survey carried out by SQW – covering Welsh based Universities

Contributions to Air Pollution - USA family Embree (2007)

Contributions to Air Pollution

60% 19%

7%

14%Tranport

Electricity

Home Fuel

Purchases

Social Channel Capacity

• Work of Robin Dunbar (1992)

• The maximum number of persons ‘with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship – ie – knowing who they are and how they relate to us’

• Magic number – or tipping point is 150 – over this number people become strangers, organizations, group etc – “things get clumsy at 150” (Gladwell 2000:184)

• Our plea is – use yours – spread the message

Personal practice ………

• Rainwater butt – water garden, wash car, wash windows and other outdoor cleaning

• Compost – fruit and vegetable peelings• Lavatory water cistern• Buy appropriate quantities of food that is locally

produced wherever possible• Change shopping habits• Denise will expand this into the IT sector …

Personal practice …an IT perspective

Moral dilemma

• How to continue with e-innovation and resolve issues of sustainability

• Raising awareness of sustainability issues and considerations advancing technologies present

Exponential development

Consideration:

• Social involvement

• Impact on environment

Re-cycling – a solution, justification?

• An ethical approach

• Dumping grounds

• Exposure to toxic waste

21st Century

• Ethical focus shifting to individual’s personal rights and responsibilities towards others

• Much the case with sustainability of e-technologies

• What can we as individuals do?

Issues

• Brundtland: “A development is sustainable if it meet the needs of the present without compromising ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

• Fashion driven by technological advance• Consistently improved models • Profit-driven manufacturers

Issues

• Change in culture • Design and development• Wants and needs of society driven by trends• Global business demands• Moral integrity on decline

Changes

• Long-term growth• Prevention rather than cure• Consider corporate social responsibility &

accountability• Honesty, obligation & integrity• Ethical factors: ‘must’, ‘ought’, ‘should’

What is needed?

Tool:• To address issues of sustainability• To be used by system engineers & developers• For those responsible for educating future

professionals

Importance -Decision-making

• In process of creation and development of new technologies to address issues of sustainability

• New responsibility to develop new values into agreed standards to support change

• Application of ethical decision-making procedures

Ethical decision-making

• Crucial to improve student’s perspective of sustainable issues and decision-making through integration into their learning experience

Stahl: “students need to adopt ‘reflective responsibility’ as an expression of an ethically reflected morality”

Culturally negotiated ethical triangle: a mechanism for visualising and creating awareness of issues at

stake in ethical decision-making (Oram and Headon, 2002, Oram, 2009)

Global character of digital technology

Generates:• New lifestyles, new standards and human

behaviours, new values, new cultures, new civilisations.

Emerging technologies offer:• Opportunities to improve people’s lives• but may present new threats to their rights

Summary

• Plan to source locally• Change your behaviour• Expand local perspective• Ripple-effect the message• Celebrate!• Any questions?

References• Blowfield M and Murray A (2008) Corporate Responsibility – a critical

introduction Oxford University Press• Brundtland. WCED (World Commission on Environment and

Development). Our Common Future. Oxford. U.K. WCED 1987• Embree C (2007) Engaging Consumers through Corporate Marketing

and PR Programs (in Tang and Yeoh Cut Carbon, Grow Profits, Middlesex University Press

• Gladwell M (2000) The tipping point Boston: Little, Brown• Gray B (1985) Conditions facilitating interorganizational collaboration

Human Relations 38(10):911-936• Restorick T (2007) Engaging Employees in Climate Change (see Tang

and Yeoh)• Stahl, B C. (2007). Reflective responsibility for risk: a critical view of

software and information systems development risk management. Int. J. Risk, Assessment and Management. Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 312-325

References

• Oram, D. & Headon, M. (2002). Avoiding information systems failure: culturally determined ethical approaches and their practical application in the new economy., Kaunas, Lithuania, 18-19 April 2002 (Kaunas University of Technology & Lithuanian Ministry of Social Security and Labour). InEkonomika (Engineering Economics) no. 2 (28), pp. 9-13

• Oram, D., "Considering Sustainability Through Ethical Approaches and their Practical Application", Proceedings of the 2009 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS '09), Phoenix, Arizona, USA, May 18-20 2009.