Information Waste, the Environment and Human Action: Concepts and Research

Abstract

Abstract. Information technology is powered by electricity. Although its impact on Green House Gasses (GHG) is still rather limited, the next decade will show an explosion of its impact because technological innovations on data communication, information retrieval and datacenter operation will not compensate the increased need for energy of information technology. This paper approaches the problem not from a technical perspective, but from the perspective of information value and the opportunities to detect and remove information waste. For this we identify several indicators of information waste and we then propose some key ideas for researching the topic.

How In-memory Technology Can Create Business Value: Insights from the Hilti Case

“…However, the Instant Knowledge Finder might also lead to unintended consequences, such as information waste [Wijnhoven, Dietz, and Amrit, 2012], as the ability to discover and retrieve data at zero cost might lead to the generation of unnecessary or useless data. This information waste might cause employee information overflow and/or have a negative effect on the energy needs of information systems, which are directly related to greenhouse gas emissions [Wijnhoven, Dietz, and Amrit, 2012]. Here, additional effort is required in order to ensure a useful, non-redundant, and understandable knowledgebase.…”