A Methodology for Creating Energy Sustainability in an Enterprise

Authors: John Lamb, Robert Epstein, Vasundhara L. Bhupathi, Sanjeev Kumar Marimekala

Abstract:

As we enter the new era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud computing, we mostly rely on the machine and natural language processing capabilities of AI, and energy efficient hardware and software devices in almost every industry sector. In these industry sectors, much emphasis is on developing new and innovative methods for producing and conserving energy and to sustain the depletion of natural resources. The core pillars of sustainability are Economic, Environmental, and Social, which are also informally referred to as 3 P's (People, Planet and Profits). The 3 P's play a vital role in creating a core sustainability model in the enterprise. Natural resources are continually being depleted, so there is more focus and growing demand for renewable energy. With this growing demand there is also a growing concern in many industries on how to reduce carbon emission and conserve natural resources while adopting sustainability in the corporate business models and policies. In our paper, we would like to discuss the driving forces such as climate changes, natural disasters, pandemic, disruptive technologies, corporate policies, scaled business models and emerging social media and AI platforms that influence the 3 main pillars of sustainability (3P’s). Through this paper, we would like to bring an overall perspective on enterprise strategies and the primary focus on bringing cultural shifts in adapting energy efficient operational models. Overall, many industries across the globe are incorporating core sustainability principles such as reducing energy costs, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reducing waste and increase recycling, adopting advanced monitoring and metering infrastructure, reducing server footprint and compute resources (shared IT services, cloud computing and application modernization) with the vision for a sustainable environment.

Keywords: AI, cloud computing, machine learning, social media platform.

References:

[1] J. Lamb and S. K. Marimekala, “STEM Projects using Green Healthcare, Green IT, and Climate Change”, IEEE UEMCON 2018, October 2018.
[2] J. Lamb and S. K. Marimekala, "Smart Green Infrastructure for Innovation and Transformation Hosting Environments", CEWIT 2013, October 2013.
[3] Lamb, John and Marimekala, Sanjeev Kumar, "STEM and Green IT", CEWIT Conference, CEWIT 2015, November 2015.
[4] J. Lamb and N. Godbole, “Smart Energy Efficiency for a Sustainable World”, IEEE UEMCON 2019, October 2019.
[5] Godbole, N., & Lamb, J. Making Healthcare Green: The Role of Cloud, Green IT, and Data Science to Reduce Healthcare Costs and Combat Climate Change. Springer, July 2018
[6] John Lamb, “The Greening of IT: How Companies Can Make a Difference for the Environment” 1st Ed., IBM Press, 2009.
[7] M. J. Franchetti, "Carbon FootPrint Analysis" 1st Ed, CRC Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4398-5783-0.
[8] U.S. Dept. of Energy. Zero Energy Buildings Resource Hub. https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/zero-energy-buildings-resource-hub/
[9] Snow, J. “How Artificial Intelligence Can Tackle Climate Change”. Retrieved August 2019, from National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/07/artificial-intelligence-climate-change/
[10] Godbole, N. Information Systems Security: Security Management, Metrics, Frameworks and Best Practices, chapter 29 and chapter 30, (2009) Wiley India Pvt. Ltd, ISBN 13: 978-81-265-1692-6
[11] Dietrich, B., Plachy, E., Norton, M., "Analytics Across the Enterprise", IBM Press, 2014, ISBN 13:978-0-13-383303-4
[12] Madni, Azad M, et al., “Leveraging Digital Twin Technology in Model-Based Systems Engineering” MDPI, January 2019.
[13] Verdouw C. N. and Kruize, J. W.., “Digital Twins in Farm Management” Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand, 2019.
[14] David Rolnick, et al. “Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning”. 2019. https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.05433
[15] https://www.nec.com/en/global/solutions/energy/index.html
[16] EPA report on data center energy efficiency August 2021, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/energy-star-expands-efforts-improve-energy-efficiency-us-data-centers
[17] Romm, Joseph, “Climate Change – What Everyone Needs to Know” Oxford University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-0-19-025017-1.
[18] Gates, Bill, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” Alfred A Knopf, 2021, ISBN 978-0-38-554613-3