Critical success factors for implementation of green IT in developing countries: : The case of E-waste in Kenya

As much as going green is a very popular topic of discussion and much emphasis is put on the subject, not all areas, topics and locations are explored. Some continents have effectively, strategically and efficiently addressed the problem while others are still fighting to address it. We undertook this research to find out what it takes to ensure that the e-waste problem is solved in a developing country. The purpose of the study was to investigate what factors contributed at a financial, technological and environmental level to the prosperity of the e-waste project in Kenya. The financial factor attempts to investigate if any economic value is achieved. The technological factor investigates if there is any new technology added to the recycled and the technology used to breakdown the e-waste.The environmental factor deals with how the environment is affected by e-waste. To achieve this, a questionnaire, interviews and reports were used to collect data. The semi-structured approach of the interviews employed allowed us to achieve an in-depth approach of collecting data. This in turn helped us collect many different views of the subject. Various theories where used in addition to the data collected so as to give an interpretation and create scenarios of various outcomes should the models be applied. The translation of this data led to results showing that not all the three factors have to be in place to ensure success. Depending on which theory was applied some factors become more attainable than others. However all three factors are achievable and attainable when dealing with green IT. It became apparent that other factors like sensitization, government involvement and extended producer responsibility apart from the three did also have a direct impact on the result