Exove has developed a tool for measuring green IT – the results for its parent company are “expectedly poor”

Exove, a software consulting company within the PunaMusta Media Group, introduces a completely new service to the market that allows organizations to assess how environmentally sustainable their IT operations are. The Green IT Maturity Model is based on extensive development work, with input from domestic and international experts, including top specialists in green coding. PunaMusta Media tested the tool on its own IT infrastructure, and the results were, as expected, modest.

IT-related activities are estimated to consume 4–10% of energy and contribute to 2–4% of carbon emissions. These figures are rapidly increasing.

“The widespread use of artificial intelligence in IT further increases energy consumption, and according to some estimates, the share of IT in energy usage could rise to 50% in the future. At Exove, we have been working on green code for a long time, but we have been missing a tool to assess the greenness of organizations’ IT operations,” says Janne Kalliola, Chief Growth Officer at Exove and author of the Green Code book.

Since a suitable tool for measuring the environmental friendliness of IT operations was not found in the market, Exove started developing the tool in collaboration with Finnish and international green IT experts. The method’s verification involved IT sustainability experts from Europe and the United States, as well as CTO-level IT directors from startups to large companies. The result is a tool named the Green IT Maturity Model.

“In the maturity model, we assess the capabilities of green IT in the organization. We examine and measure IT practices from the perspective of sustainability and environmental friendliness. Our experts accompany the company from the initial meeting to the final report presentation. The maturity model covers all dimensions of ICT operations, from device acquisitions to data center usage and coding practices. Together, we identify the right individuals on the customer side to participate in the model review,” says Kalliola.

The method includes over forty evaluation criteria based on which the maturity of the company’s IT responsibility and environmental friendliness is measured. The maturity model helps set sustainability goals for IT and covers all essential IT functions. The end result is a prioritized list of impacts and concrete improvement suggestions.

The method has been tested with two pilot customers, Rukakeskus – the biggest ski resort in Finland – and the parent company of Exove, PunaMusta Media Group.

“The maturity model gave us a comprehensive picture of IT responsibility perspectives and the current state of our operations. The final report will help us choose areas for future development. The survey also served as a good introduction to the entirety of IT responsibility and areas to focus on in the future,” says Jusu Toivonen, Environmental Program Manager at Rukakeskus.

Mirka Lammi, Marketing and Sustainability Director of the PunaMusta Media group, says the tool also promotes collaboration between IT and sustainability functions.

“It has been challenging to articulate sustainability goals in a way that is concrete enough for IT operations, and, on the other hand, IT has been somewhat overlooked in our group’s sustainability goals because we also have manufacturing industries in the group, and we have largely focused on reducing their environmental impact,” Lammi notes.

“For this reason, our own results from the maturity model were, I would say, expectedly quite poor. We received an ‘absent’ rating from the maturity model. We now know our starting point and can measure our progress. The maturity model concretizes on both sides the types of goals and measures we can set and take for IT. I am confident that next year we will already rise to the next level and receive a rating of ‘utilised’,” Lammi concludes.

Would this approach be suitable for your company?

For more information:

Mr. Janne Kalliola
Chief Growth Office
janne.kalliola@exove.com
+358 40 558 1796

Ms. Mirka Lammi
Marketing and Sustainability Director
mirka.lammi@punamustamedia.fi
+358 44 565 8976