Operationalize Green

When I talk to companies the need for Green is usually not an issue anymore, which is great! But it seems a lot of organizations are in the midst of trying to figure out how to opperationalize green. I think that's a very natural flow of events, as Green has been for most an initiative, and successful initiatives are becoming part of daily operations.

There are tools helping you to track your progress. For most organizations Green house gas emissions are the #1 issue they try to address, as there are potential cost coming e.g. in form of carbon taxes.

Energize and provide focus to your organizations, set a bold target. Once you have figured out where your energy is used (remember the Energy audit) you can start taking action. I would expect that the biggest opportunities might not be in the factories as they have been under constant productivity improvement pressure for decades. And as IT becomes more pervasive in companies, with typically low utilization rates and missing energy management systems, IT should show up as one of your highest payback items.

So focusing on CO2 here is one way to get there:

• Have a plan and a vision, be bold and specific
  – “Zero CO2 and 100% renewable energy by 2011”
  – Don’t fall into the trap that Green is expensive and you have to do it all yourself
• The highest impact is changing your policies
  – Buy renewable Energy
  – Buy recyclable and recycled materials
  – Specify efficiencies (e.g. 95% efficient power supplies) and make it part of the RFQ
  – Set goals for ROTC/ROI* for all Green investments, including IT
• Create a Dashboard with Green Indicators e.g.
  – Total Enterprise % power consumed on off hours, find your minimum, eliminate energy waste relentlessly (Power management on everything, PC's, A/C, lighting, etc.)
  –IT utilization, ROTC, OPEX
  – % power from renewable sources
  – % materials recyclable/recycled
  – Etc.
• Invest in Green with high ROTC
  – Have others help you
  – E.g. Renewable Power is easier to buy than to generate

These steps should get you closer to opperationalize Green in your Enterprise!

*ROTC return on total capital /ROI return on investment