Taxonomy of sustainable IT values

Sustainable IT is the effort towards design, manufacture, use and disposal of computer hardware efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact to the environment. This implies biodegradability of defunct products and factory waste and energy efficiency. The performance of Green IT is a function of the 'green' steps taken towards sustainable IT. The development of green IT is a dynamic process and in the future may also have to address human health concerns. Several educational institutions of higher learning and technology companies have pioneered sustainable IT initiatives to achieve environmental and organizational sustainability.;This study is a modest attempt towards classification of green IT initiatives and indicators, provision of taxonomy of sustainable IT values incorporated by businesses and educational institutions and analysis of their impacts on environmental, social and economic performance of organizations. The study examined the green IT initiatives undertaken by a sample of 20 Universities and 15 Corporates and identified the following sustainable IT values as responsible for sustainable IT: (1) Green Computing and Infrastructure Management, (2) Reducing carbon foot print, (3) Greening IT supply chain and sustainable software development, (4) Environment friendly electronic waste disposal, and (5) Institutions facilitating green IT and organizational sustainability. The study inter alia, recommends investment of 10% of corporate profits towards Sustainable IT Solutions; incentives for outstanding employees and their contributions towards green IT in firm's promotion policy; creating awareness among employees regarding innovative sustainable practices as well as E-Governance to incorporate sustainable IT solutions.