SORTED Guide to Sustainability in Further Education – Part 5 - Estates and Operations – 5.5 Estates and Operations: sustainable ICT

Introduction to the topic area

ICT stands as a friend to assist with many resource efficient strategies, such as paper reduction through use of shared filing and the ability to take laptops and tablets to meetings; energy saving through a network of energy efficient multi-functional print devices; and travel reduction through facilitating virtual meetings and face-to-face interactions over the web. However, to provide these services requires a significant amount of energy to power the equipment and to keep the servers cool, as well as the resources used within the equipment itself: precious metals, chemicals, plastics and embodied energy. Disposing of ICT equipment that is no longer needed can also be expensive.

Organisational value of embedding sustainability in this area

• Financial benefits – being aware of the whole-life costs of ICT equipment at purchase will have financial benefits from running costs, maintenance costs and end-of-life disposal costs.
• Manage the risk of unexpected rises in utility costs.
• Quality of learning experience for students – having good ICT equipment is essential for attracting and retaining students.
• Greater flexibility for staff – ICT equipment that can offer flexibility for agile working, allowing staff to retrieve electronic files from different sites, or from home. This can improve working conditions for staff, reduce time travelling between sites, reduce parking requirements and congestion around campuses, reduce office space requirements, and reduce stress.
• Legal compliance – various Directives and Regulations relate directly to ICT (e.g. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive), or indirectly (e.g. Energy Performance of Buildings) heightening awareness of the need to ensure clear processes are in place to manage the need for compliance.
• Future-proofing against the need for costly electrical capacity expansion, or the need for expensive utility upgrades.

Wider benefits of embedding sustainability in this area

• The FE sector has a role to play in leading the way in embracing improved technology, whilst being mindful of the extra environmental, social and economic impacts it can bring, locally and globally.
• The environmental impacts through the life-cycle of ICT products used in the FE sector is significant (consider materials, manufacturing, transporting, use and disposal).

Getting started

• Read up on what other institutions are doing – using the resources on the Sustainability Exchange Sustainable ICT page.
• Find out what is already being done in your organisation.
• Create a small task group to assess the possibilities of what else can be done. Review high, low and no cost measures, keeping aware of the additional benefits in terms of business continuity, quality of student experience, etc. that can contribute to a financially-focused business case for any project.
• Ask your EAUC colleagues for support via the EAUC Communities of Practice and Topic Support Networks.