Every green IT strategy has the potential to cause increases or reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. In its “Outline for the First Global IT Strategy for CO2 Reductions,” WWF International explains 10 IT strategies that have the potential to bring down CO2 emissions worldwide.

In outlining the key areas that should be focused on, WWF International explains how each strategy can cause low-carbon feedback or high-carbon feedback.

Carbon feedback, the report explains, is based on if a service encourages new services, behaviors and structures that either increase or reduce CO2 emissions.

The 10 IT strategy areas are: smart city planning, smart and efficient buildings, smart and efficient appliances, dematerialization and digital services, use of IT-based controls and knowledge management systems, smarter industry through better forecasting of energy use, improvement to the energy grid, integrated renewable solutions, better public transportation and transportation infrastructure, and more efficient work through telecommuting and avoiding business trips.

When examining IT strategies, the report says, one must look at three effects: the direct emissions related to the product, the indirect effects (such as fewer emissions from teleconferencing) and the systemic effects such as new habits, consumption patterns and social structures.

While direct and indirect effects are the easiest to measure, the systemic effects are more important, but hardest to determine, the report says. A product may be more efficient and reduce little CO2, but it could cause systemic behavior that leads to increased emissions of CO2 elsewhere.