Environmentally sustainable Information and Communication Technology usage: awareness and practices of Indian Information and Communication Technology professionals

Abstract

There is a growing interest in the importance of environmental sustainability in every industry as it can help organizations to achieve significant benefits through sustainable work practices. Green Information and Communication Technology is becoming a universal issue but it appears to be more of a concern in developing countries especially because of a perceived lack of awareness. The aim of this study is to determine the level of awareness of environmentally sustainable practices by Indian Information and Communication Technology professionals. It is evident that there are a very limited number of published scholarly articles available, which study Indian Information and Communication Technology professionals' awareness of environmental sustainability. This article tries to illuminate this relatively new domain by outlining Information and Communication Technology professionals' understanding about environmental sustainability and their organization's sustainability practices. Through data collected via questionnaires, the study found that participants in the age group of 35 and above are more aware of renewable energy, have a better knowledge of e-waste and exhibit a stronger personal responsibility to help make a difference on environmental issues in comparison to the other surveyed age groups. It was also found that Information and Communication Technology professionals working for organizations with less than 1000 employees tend to have lower awareness of sustainable Information and Communication Technology practices whereas environmental sustainability practices are more adopted in organizations with 1000 employees or higher. Female employees exhibited a higher awareness about greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy and e-waste over their male counterparts but the adoption of environment sustainability practices was largely similar between both genders. An awareness of sustainable Information and Communication Technology practices can help organizations to adopt various strategies in developing effective sustainability work practices and educating their employees. Finally, it is important for smaller organizations to provide training to educate their staff about sustainable Information and Communication Technology practices.