Wipro's Green IT Initiatives: Strategy, Benefits & Challenges
This paper examines Wipro Ltd.'s comprehensive green IT initiatives, tracing the company's efforts since 2006 to reduce its environmental footprint across product design, manufacturing, and service delivery. It covers the formation of the EcoEye governance council, the Greenware product line compliant with European ROHS standards, e-waste management programs, virtualization and data center consolidation, and corporate social responsibility through education. The paper also identifies key challenges — including heavy capital investment and reputational risks from second-hand equipment markets — and extracts a strategic framework of 23 green IT target areas. It concludes by situating Wipro's approach within the broader green-computing movement in the IT industry.
- Introduction to Green IT and Wipro's Commitment: Definition of green IT and Wipro's foundational goals
- Wipro's Green IT Programs and Services: EcoEye, Greenware, e-waste, and service offerings
- Benefits Reaped by Wipro for Green IT: Server reduction, cost savings, and CSR outcomes
- Challenges Faced by Wipro: Investment risks and second-hand equipment market issues
- Learning Points from the Wipro Case: 23-target strategic green IT framework explained
- Nature of Green Computing in the IT Industry: Industry-wide green computing trends and certifications
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Grounds abstract concepts in concrete company data — for example, the reduction of servers from 400 to 100 and annual power savings of 1 million KWH give the argument measurable credibility.
- Balances positive outcomes with genuine challenges, including capital investment risk and the reputational problem of second-hand equipment entering developing markets, avoiding a one-sided promotional tone.
- Organizes the strategic framework into four clearly labeled categories (Strategies, People, Facilities and Operations, IT Improvements) with enumerated sub-areas, making a complex corporate initiative easy to follow.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper uses a case-study analytical structure: it introduces the theoretical definition of green IT, applies it to a real corporate actor (Wipro), and then extracts transferable lessons. Citing industry standards such as IEEE IT Professional alongside primary corporate sources and EU directives models the practice of triangulating evidence across regulatory, academic, and organizational texts.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a definition-and-context introduction establishing green IT principles and Wipro's overarching goals. It then moves sequentially through program descriptions, measured benefits, obstacles, and a strategic framework summary. A final section broadens the scope to industry-wide green-computing trends, certifications, and the role of media and social activism — giving the case study a wider analytical conclusion rather than ending narrowly on one company.
Introduction to Green IT and Wipro's Commitment
Green IT is defined as the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and related components — such as monitors, printers, networking and communications devices, and storage drives — in a manner that minimizes impact on the environment (Murugesan, 2008). The objectives of green IT solutions are to: reduce the use of hazardous materials; maximize energy efficiency throughout the product life cycle; and promote recyclable or biodegradable materials to minimize waste.
The challenge of green technology is twofold: first, to make computers as energy-efficient as possible; and second, to design algorithms and systems that use computer technology effectively. Wipro has addressed both by initiating green IT through consolidation and virtualization. Computer virtualization is the concept of running two or more logical computer systems on a single set of physical hardware.
Wipro Ltd is a global corporation in the field of Information Technology. The company has been taking comprehensive measures since 2006 to address climate change within its products and service delivery. Some of the initiatives taken by Wipro were innovative and were among the first of their kind in India. The company structured a goal of becoming carbon-free by 2014. To accomplish this goal and take strategic action toward it, Wipro established a governing body named EcoEye. The committee consists of seven senior managers, three of whom report directly to the company's chairman within their functional areas. The council endorsed 120 projects focused on creating a carbon-free environment.
Wipro's green initiative was also reflected in its hardware production, under the brand name Greenware. The new range of products in the Greenware category was made compliant with the European Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS), which restricts six hazardous materials used in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. Methodology was adopted to make new PCs free from brominated flame retardants (BFR), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury (Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council, 2003). Wipro's green IT initiatives were not confined to specific projects; rather, the company treated them as an ongoing innovation effort aimed at discovering opportunities to diversify into business and product lines that would make a meaningful impact on customers and society as a whole.
The three compulsions that propelled Wipro to pursue green IT initiatives were regulatory, physical, and general. The most recent initiative taken by the company was setting up two subsidiaries as part of its diversification strategy, distinct from its core business, that demonstrated the company's commitment to eco-businesses. Wipro established EcoEnergy in June 2008 to offer customized, eco-friendly solutions in clean energy to clients across all industries. EcoEye served as an inclusive charter for ecological sustainability. The objectives of this charter were to:
- Make the company a carbon-free and water-positive organization
- Sustain decent levels of biodiversity
- Set standards in recycling waste
- Assist employees in achieving a smaller ecological footprint in their personal lives
References
Bose, I. (2009). Green IT matters at Wipro Ltd. The Asian Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong and Wipro Ltd.
Corporate Website Wipro Ltd. (2011). Retrieved from www.wipro.com
Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council. (2003). Official Journal of the European Union. Retrieved from http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:037:0024:0038:EN:PDF
Donnellan, B., Sheridan, C., & Curry, E. (2011). A capability maturity framework for sustainable information and communication technology. IEEE IT Professional, 13(1), 33–40.
Murugesan, S. (2008). Harnessing green IT: Principles and practices. IEEE IT Professional, January–February 2008, 24–33.
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.