The climatic changes that have consistently plagued the planet in the recent past have elicited an awakening within societies on a global level. It has become evident that the collectively shared environmental resources are limited. Resultantly, the need for the incorporation of sustainable strategies to govern the exploitation of finite natural resources has arisen (Schmidt & Schlichting, 2014). Now, more than ever, the global community’s focus on developing means to sustain natural resources is heightened. Hence, the exploration of the different sustainability measures that can be taken to preserve natural resources has resulted in interest in Green IT, a concept that advocates for the deployment of IT resource to increase both energy and cost efficiency (Deng & Ji, 2015). Thus, as organizations orient themselves towards the incorporation of sustainability strategies in their business operations, the role of the media in the sustainability agenda expands from information conveyance to also accommodate an active role in the conservation of natural environmental resources.
The Role of the Media in the Sustainability Agenda
Humans are social beings. Therefore, within society, communication is an indispensable component of the communal lifestyle. Communication facilitates the exchange of ideas and interests among different social groups, and its scope expands with the technological advancements that mass media experiences. Moreover, media resources facilitate the transmission of multiple messages and meanings, both simultaneously and quickly to heterogeneous populations (Manetti & Bellucci, 2016). Hence the role that the media plays in influencing opinions across the globe becomes undeniable; a factor has made it a crucial information distribution avenue on matters concerning environmental sustainability.
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However, after years of being a mere broadcasting tool, the media is now expected to embrace sustainability in its operations like other organizations are doing. Regardless of the prevailing economic conditions worldwide, corporations are going green. The incorporation of sustainability strategies in business has been supported by the increased dependency on IT to enhance operational efficiency mainly through the reduction of energy use (Tushi, Sedera & Recker, 2014). Hence, organizations have finally realized that the best way to optimize sustainability strategies is to adopt Green IT, which seeks to reduce the negative impact that technology has on the environment. Through sustainable IT practices, organizations can design, manufacture, and use technological subsystems that are efficient and effective, whose focus lies in enhancing energy efficiency. Green IT is enabling corporations to realize their sustainability strategies by using renewable power sources for data centers, minimizing electronic waste, and installing energy efficient chips (Deng & Ji, 2015). Therefore, the exploitation of IT solutions in implementing a media sustainability strategy can offer a suitable platform for green media initiatives.
Increasing Mass Media Sustainability through Green IT
Nonetheless, the changes that the media must make in the pursuit of its sustainability strategy are vital to defining its new operating system. Organizational change comprises of a cumbersome process that requires proper planning to execute successfully. Thus, mass media motivators play a critical role in determining the success of sustainability change initiatives. For instance, the changes that the media should make to enhance environmental conservation are surfacing as a result of external pressure. Institutional motivation from other organizations that have embraced sustainability has elicited coercive force that is likely to promulgate the media to the implementation of a sustainability strategy. Additionally, the technological concept of sustainability presented by Green IT, offering the possibilities of the realization of technical compatibility and relative advantages, serves as a critical external motivator to the media’s adoption of operating systems that are environmentally friendly. However, the successful adoption of sustainability in mass media depends on internal motivators including top management support, an organizational culture that advocates for sustainability and the presence of strategic sustainability intentions like the exploitation of a sustainable competitive advantage (Deng & Ji, 2015). Thus, the media’s readiness to successfully adopt a sustainability strategy lies in the capacity of its internal motivators to justify, initiate, implement, and maintain the change.
Currently, the most controversial sustainability issue that plagues mass media concerns the use of print media for information distribution. Green initiatives oppose the publication of newspapers because paper production is associated with deforestation. Forest coverage around the world is decreasing rapidly, and the continuous release of print media contributes to the same because trees are the raw materials for paper production. Trees are a crucial part of the environment because, without them, the existence of life would be impossible. They provide oxygen which all living things, including humans, require to live. Furthermore, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reduce the intensity of heat and lower temperatures, a totality of functions that results in the reduction of the greenhouse effect that causes global warming (Udeajah & Christian, 2013). Therefore, the elimination of print media is considered a sustainability initiative that mass media can embrace for the good of not only the environment but also humanity.
Such concerns have initiated the need to consider the incorporation of Green IT in mass media to eliminate print media. The prevalence of technology use across the globe has resulted in the preference for online information access points like televisions and online news rather than the traditional data resources like newspapers. According to Udeajah and Christian (2013), the growth rate of preference of online news has almost become overwhelming, primarily because of the ease and flexibility of its access. Additionally, online news sources are offering viewers better visual content as they are not restricted by the parameters of physical production and distribution. Furthermore, they eliminate unnecessary costs as news presentation only requires server space as opposed to producing and transporting costs that are associated with information distribution through newspapers. Also, online news eliminates geographical barriers that previously restricted information access, allowing readers to get a broader range of information with higher efficacy.
Hence, programs like the Open Online Newspaper Initiative (Open ONI) have been implemented to lower the need for print media as well as to reduce congestion in information centers like libraries and archives. Hence, by exploiting Green IT, Open ONI can realize its goal of increasing the accessibility of news by enhancing the flexibility of its deployment. The successful implementation of the Open ONI program in the United States will be facilitated by applying practical and efficient IT solutions like the chronam code, which will enable the distribution of news on easily accessible online platforms. Moreover, technologies like the RAIS image server will equally support the sustainability initiative by reducing the energy required to process images on news articles that are presented on online platforms (Dussault et al., 2016). Thus, Open ONI is a right step in the alteration of media operations designed to enhance environmental sustainability.
Conclusion
The sustainability agenda is one that has traversed geographical, professional, and industrial boundaries. It must be embraced across the board to safeguard the future of humanity. Mass media has facilitated information dissemination on sustainability worldwide, but it is high time that the mentioned industry also implement a sustainability strategy to guide its operations. Successfully executing the change will require the alignment of internal motivators with broad sustainability goals, to revolutionized media through initiatives like Open ONI that rely on Green IT. Hence, in the existent technological era, Green IT is a vital component for realizing environmental sustainability.
References
Deng, Q., & Ji, S. (2015). Organizational green IT adoption: concept and evidence. Sustainability , 7 (12), 16737-16755. https://doi.org/10.3390/su71215843
Dussault, J., Weakley, L., Dalziel, K., & Echols, J. (2016). Introducing the Open Online Newspaper Initiative . Retrieved from https://dh2017.adho.org/abstracts/211/211.pdf
Manetti, G., & Bellucci, M., (2016). The use of social media for engaging stakeholders in sustainability reporting. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal , 29 (6), 985-1011. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2014-1797
Schmidt, A., & Schlichting, I. (2014). Sustainability and climate change: Interpretations and claims by societal actors from Germany, India, and the United States. In Nachhaltigkeit neu denken? Rio+ X: Impulse für Bildung und Wissenschaft (pp. 141-149). Oekom. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.1776.1285
Tushi, B., Sedera, D., & Recker, J. (2014). Green IT segment analysis: An academic literature review. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.667.6199&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Udeajah, R. A., & Christian, N. G. (2013). Ecological Impact of Paper Production: A Case for the Abolition of Print Media. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies , 2 (13), 139. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8730-0_15
