Assessing the Greenness of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems through Green IT Solutions: A Romanian Perspective

• Main Authors: Minodora Ursacescu, Dan Popescu, Cristina State, Ion Smeureanu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-08-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: sustainability; ERP system; green IT; green ERP system; virtualization; asset lifecycle
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/16/4472

Businesses and technology play an important role in the global economy, where the achievement of sustainability goals has a positive impact on society and companies. In this regard, there is a need to integrate information technology and sustainability to enable companies to act in a greener manner. Knowing that the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is one of the most powerful business solutions for companies, it is crucial to align its use with sustainability elements through the use of green information technology (IT). We explored the relationship between ERP systems and green IT practices to assess how green IT provides an opportunity for organizations to improve ERP systems in more environmentally responsible initiatives. For that purpose, we empirically analyzed four Romanian economic sectors based on an online survey that contained criteria to explore organizational awareness about developing green ERP systems. The findings indicate that companies are generally focused on the key benefits of ERP systems related to operational aspects and less on the sustainability benefits. Based on these results, the main conclusion highlights the strong need to embed IT in business sustainability initiatives by adopting green IT solutions.