Towards green IT: assessing the environmental impact of public administration

Abstract

The Public Administration (PA) in Portugal is impacted by the constant acceleration and evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), where the Portuguese State, transposing European Union directives, has legislated and encouraged their use as instruments of added value for the PA. Establishing rigorous and sustainable governance is crucial, ensuring that the organization’s strategic objectives are aligned with ICT and, preferably, with Green IT practices. In this context, it is necessary to be able to estimate and subsequently evaluate the impact of strategic and operational choices on improving environmental quality. For such, this article presents a framework developed to optimize ICT management practices and indicators that, in this environmental area, support the forecasting and assessment of the impact of the choices made in the search for technologically advanced solutions in the Barreiro municipality. These choices enable, among other things, a reduction in energy consumption, implying a reduction in financial costs, resulting in environmental benefits, such as a reduction in CO2 emissions into the atmosphere or less deforestation. The results presented, obtained in a real-world context, make it possible to assess the progress of alignment with Green IT in this area, as well as the overall result.