“The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of our planet. ”
– John F. Kennedy
Earth Day is around the corner (April 22, 2013) so it’s time to review our project plans and see how can we do our part to help the planet. As a Project Manager, you are in unique position to integrate sustainability in your project planning and celebrate true spirit of the Earth Day.
Environmental Considerations / E-Waste Reduction. Include environmental considerations and electronic waste reduction goals in your project planning. You can help environment by optimizing project communications and deliverables to reduce number of emails and documents. It eventually reduces your computing/storage hardware needs and thus helps the environment. In addition, you may want to consider donating your used computing resources and gadgets to qualified organization if possible. Give yourself a STAR if you already follow these practices.
Adaptive Printing Practices. Do you know ‘How many trees we can save by not printing 500 pages?’ Approximately 5%. If twenty of colleagues follow this practice then you end up saving a tree. It is hard to resist temptation of printing but you can help environment by adapting reduced printing strategy. Use shared folder and other collaborative tools to share project documents instead of printing a big stack prior to your meetings. You may consider buying a projector (if you don’t have it already) so you can share documents with meeting participants. You can claim another STAR if you follow all these practices.
Renewable Resources/ Recycle. It’s time to have an environmental KPI (Key Performance Indicator) in your project measurement plan. This means using recycle paper (if you must print), partnering with eco-friendly vendors/suppliers, use of Energy Star rated computing devices and promote use of Hybrid/Electric vehicles for business travel. It’s time to award yourself another STAR if you already follow these practices.
Travel Reduction. It may be necessary to have face-to-face meetings, and associated travel, when you are in process of forming a team –or- working with a new client. However, you can leverage collaborative technologies (including audio/video conferencing) to work with establish teams (i.e. performing teams) and clients. This will reduce burden on your budget as well as help the environment. It is best to think about it upfront and include associated risks/benefits during project planning phase. You qualify for one more STAR if you follow these practices.
Hibernate. That’s right – Hibernation is a good practice when your computing resources are not in use. Idea here is to extend this concept beyond your computing resources and save energy wherever possible. Be aware of your energy consumption at work. You may save some energy by switching off unnecessary lights, plugging of your unused servers, using energy efficient data center vendors and having a goal of reducing your per capita energy consumption on year over year basis. You deserve another STAR if you already follow all these practices.
Now it’s time to add all the STARs you earned. If you have three or more stars – It’s time for you to celebrate the Earth Day with your team. For everyone else, it’s time to make your project plan greener and wait for next year.
Happy Earth Day!
