Green tech vs. sustainable tech

At the end of my recent video interview with Hitachi Data Systems CTO Hu Yoshida, he paid me what I thought was a nice compliment: He told me he liked the name of my blog (that is, Sustainable IT) because he appreciated the meaning. It gave me pause to reflect a bit on the whole notion of “green technology” vs. “sustainable technology.”

The terms are, of course, related, and the former enjoys far more recognition and usage. It’s pretty straightforward, after all: Green is understood to mean “environmentally friendly” and “energy efficient”; technology means “technology.” So a server that uses 50 percent less energy than a rival machine while doing just as much work would be considered an example of green technology. A hybrid vehicle that delivers 40mpg, compared to an SUV that gives you 14mpg, is another example of green technology.

Then there’s sustainable technology. The idea is to not just haphazardly buy the newest, greenest products out there and stick them in your server rooms and on your desktops in a frantic effort to become green. Rather, it reflects planning and investing in a technology infrastructure that will serve your company’s needs today and tomorrow, while helping your company save money on wasted resources such as energy and paper; make the best possible use of existing datacenter space so as to postpone having to build a new one; and reduce its overall environmental impact, which is both socially responsible and potentially advantageous should the government start cracking down on carbon emissions and the like.

This approach to implementing green technology not only helps ensure the sustainability of your company for years to come. On a broader scale, reducing waste is good for the environment, something we all depend on, plus it stretches the natural resources we use in our day-to-day lives. If more companies were to invest in a sustainable infrastructure, for example, we’d reduce the strain on utilities that are sometimes forced to initiate business-crippling brownouts.

One fine example of a sustainable technology project is Sun’s new datacenter in Santa Clara. Its modular design is built in anticipation of future growth and future technology.

An electronic document management system is, to me, another example of a sustainable IT investment. It not only reduces paper waste and frees up space from all those hard copies, but it can streamline business in general, boost efficiency, and help your company better embrace growth.

All that said, I’ll no doubt continue to use the terms “green technology” and “sustainable technology” interchangably. Heck, my newsletter is called “Green Tech,” a branding decision made by our marketing folks, which I can appreciate.

But I’m going to continue to beat the sustainability drum and reiterate the importance of not just investing in the right green-technology tools, but advocating and adopting changes within your organization to plan and implement a long-term strategy around both products and overall business practices and organizational culture.

I’ll just end with an analogy: If you want to get healthy, you’re not just going to eat carrots. Sure, they’re healthy, but eating your veggies is just part of the healthy picture. Rather, you plan a balanced, sensible diet. You set goals. You exercise. You see a doctor regularly. You measure your progress. It’s harder. It takes more planning. And it takes discipline, at least at first as you change your lifestyle. But with time, it becomes natural, and the long-term benefits are pretty obvious.