PhD Defence | Embedding Green ICT Maturity in Organisations

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam PhD candidate, Albert Hankel will be defending his PhD thesis “Embedding Green ICT Maturity in Organisations” on Thursday 3rd September.

Albert Hankel’s thesis is about the role Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has in making organisations more sustainable. Through the use of a maturity model, he followed a number of organisations in the adoption of Green ICT activities. Hankel completed his research under the supervision of Patricia Lago (VU Amsterdam) and Gaston Heimeriks (Utrecht University) and his work was sponsored by his employer SURF.

ICT is both part of the problem and the solution for our transition to a sustainable society. Green ICT activities however, are mainly focused on reducing the footprint of ICT (the problem). The potential Green ICT has to have a positive impact is much greater, so how can organisations make use of the full potential of Green ICT?

In his thesis, Hankel used a Green ICT maturity model that includes both aspects of ICT in a number of organisations. Participants were positive on the use of the model as a tool and were inspired by the results. Implementing Green ICT solutions, however, was not trivial for the organisations for several reasons. A key insight was that organisations need to be ready to adopt Green ICT solutions and approach the problem from a systemic perspective. Only then can organisations make use of the full potential of Green ICT.

Watch the PhD defence live via YouTube.