Ecological Footprint: IT

In cooperation with Siemens IT Solutions and Services (Austria) and Plattform Footprint SERI has started the project “Ecological Footprint IT “.The purpose of the project is the calculation, the analysis and the presentation of the ‘Ecological Footprint IT’ for the IT business organisation of Siemens in the subsidiary Austria, called Siemens IT Solutions and Services. In addition the purpose is to develop the method further for a general application in the IT industry.

The “Ecological Footprint” represents the land area, which is necessary to guarantee a certain lifestyle and living standard of one person in the long run. The Ecological Business Footprint is the contribution of companies with their products and services to the Ecological Footprint of consumers.

A scientific feasible method for the calculation of the Business Footprint is on the one hand the starting point for intra-corporate upgrade measures, and on the other hand it is crucial to provide information on the ecological sustainability of products to the conscious consumer.

A partition of the Ecological Business Footprint is the Ecological Footprint IT, which covers the ecological incriminating fraction for the supply of IT services in a company. For the calculation it is of no importance if the IT service is generated in the company itself or if it is outsourced and provided by an external partner.

The purpose of the project is the calculation, the analysis and the presentation of the “Ecological Footprint IT” for the IT business organisation of Siemens in the subsidiary Austria, called Siemens IT Solutions and Services. In addition the purpose is to develop the method further for a general application in the IT industry.

In the course of the study the usage of land area and water expanse will be calculated for one organizational unit of IT services, on the example of Siemens Solutions and Services (Austria). In cooperation with the employees of Siemens IT Solutions and Services, the specific requirements of the IT industry will be considered. The result will be a specific IT industry Ecological Footprint concept, for Siemens IT Solutions and Services as well as for the clients of the company, which represents a meaningful performance figure of the sustainability of IT service compartments respectively IT services.

The study is accompanied by a scientific team of experts composed of the Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI) (an European network analysing social options for a sustainable development in Europe) and the Plattform Footprint (an alliance of environmental and developmental organisations, that aims to anchor the Ecological Footprint as a measure for sustainability in our society).