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Whitehouse et al. (2016) state that a further ‘conscientious, applied
examination of key ethical and societal challenges ‘will continue to take
place in the future both in practice and on practice’ (2016, p. 24) to
ensure relevant codes can be maintained. However, it is also important to
note that criticisms in relation to codes of ethics and their adoption (see
e.g. Webley and Werner 2008) can be applied, mutatis mutandis, to cloud
computing. It is also important to acknowledge that codes of ethics are
often perceived as ineffective in changing organizational culture, being
necessary but not sufficient measures to exert change in behaviours
(Webley and Werner 2008).
6.3.2.2 Green and Sustainable Cloud Computing
Literature on cloud computing has developed notably with reference to
“green” computing, which plays to a renewed societal interest in relation
to protecting the environment. In some instances, the “green” issue is
discussed to the extent that the relatively novel term, “greenwashing”, has
been linked to this sector (Nanath in Moorthy et al. 2015). This refers to
the marketing of cloud computing as more environmentally friendly than
other tools, when in reality no substantial effort has been made to render
it so. In a more extreme sense, “greenwashing” may even refer to an
attempt to make something that is environmentally damaging appear to
be environmentally friendly. This section reports different perspectives on
cloud computing providers and their attention (or lack thereof) to environmentally sensitive issues.
Scott and Watson (2012) assert that new technologies such as cloud
computing ‘provide unprecedented opportunities to improve the efficiency of business operations and represent a realistic opportunity to
reduce energy costs and combat global warming’ (Scott and Watson 2012,
p. 1). Di Salvo et al. (2017) go so far as to affirm that cloud computing is
not only a green technology, but it is the “greenest.” They claim that the
centralised aspects of cloud computing effectively facilitate the operation
of a virtual machine system and storage of data in a manner that consumes
less than half the energy and global resources required by traditional
decentralised systems. Lin (2012) also examines “green” cloud computing
and highlights that a well-considered scheduling strategy of the various
information flows, combined with careful management of resource allocation, may further contribute to a more sustainable and green technology.
Buyya and Gill (2018) provide a more balanced discussion, arguing
that while cloud computing reduces some discrete environmental
6 ETHICS AND CLOUD COMPUTING
Whitehouse et al. (2016) state that a further ‘conscientious, applied
examination of key ethical and societal challenges ‘will continue to take
place in the future both in practice and on practice’ (2016, p. 24) to
ensure relevant codes can be maintained. However, it is also important to
note that criticisms in relation to codes of ethics and their adoption (see
e.g. Webley and Werner 2008) can be applied, mutatis mutandis, to cloud
computing. It is also important to acknowledge that codes of ethics are
often perceived as ineffective in changing organizational culture, being
necessary but not sufficient measures to exert change in behaviours
(Webley and Werner 2008).
6.3.2.2 Green and Sustainable Cloud Computing
Literature on cloud computing has developed notably with reference to
“green” computing, which plays to a renewed societal interest in relation
to protecting the environment. In some instances, the “green” issue is
discussed to the extent that the relatively novel term, “greenwashing”, has
been linked to this sector (Nanath in Moorthy et al. 2015). This refers to
the marketing of cloud computing as more environmentally friendly than
other tools, when in reality no substantial effort has been made to render
it so. In a more extreme sense, “greenwashing” may even refer to an
attempt to make something that is environmentally damaging appear to
be environmentally friendly. This section reports different perspectives on
cloud computing providers and their attention (or lack thereof) to environmentally sensitive issues.
Scott and Watson (2012) assert that new technologies such as cloud
computing ‘provide unprecedented opportunities to improve the efficiency of business operations and represent a realistic opportunity to
reduce energy costs and combat global warming’ (Scott and Watson 2012,
p. 1). Di Salvo et al. (2017) go so far as to affirm that cloud computing is
not only a green technology, but it is the “greenest.” They claim that the
centralised aspects of cloud computing effectively facilitate the operation
of a virtual machine system and storage of data in a manner that consumes
less than half the energy and global resources required by traditional
decentralised systems. Lin (2012) also examines “green” cloud computing
and highlights that a well-considered scheduling strategy of the various
information flows, combined with careful management of resource allocation, may further contribute to a more sustainable and green technology.
Buyya and Gill (2018) provide a more balanced discussion, arguing
that while cloud computing reduces some discrete environmental
6 ETHICS AND CLOUD COMPUTING