The Smart 2020 report by The Climate Group estimates that IT represents two per cent of the world’s human carbon output, mainly as a result of the huge energy requirements of systems such as datacentres, distributed networks, telephony and, of course, the multitude of related devices and equipment.

But has the recession killed off green initiatives? No, of course not. However, in the grand scheme of creating a more sustainable business, the majority of activities over the next year will centre on the “greening” of the IT function. Furthermore, it is most likely that these actions will be driven by the need to create energy-efficiency savings for the financial wellbeing of the organisation –­ so this is not primarily about saving the planet.

But carbon reduction is valid whether it comes as a by-product of a drive to lower energy spend or whether it is planned upfront as part of an environmentally aware business case. If you’re getting greener, it’s worth making some noise about it ­ – whatever the real driver of those improvements.

Recently I have been amazed by those vendors that fail to be explicit about what environmental improvements they have been able to achieve within their own organisation. Although we often hear vendors talking about “drinking their own champagne”, green IT is an area where this is particularly compelling.

It gives them the opportunity to demonstrate their infrastructure capabilities, but also their commitment to, and understanding of, the sustainability challenges organisations face. And for those vendors who do not have relevant customers yet, it is a way for them to demonstrate what they can potentially do for you.

Broadly speaking, there is a mixture of expertise that has grown up within the vendor community. For example, technology-led firms such as HP and Fujitsu have been producing and refining the performance and maintenance of hardware over many years. And then there is consulting expertise that has been developed over a much shorter period of time ­ – for example, Atos Origin and its relatively new Green Accounting offerings.

However, vendor offerings are evolving rapidly at the moment, so push companies to keep you informed of improvements or additional capabilities. If you are a UK IT leader, you will be aware of the Carbon Reduction Commitment, the country’s climate change and energy-saving scheme. It is critical that you know as precisely as possible what your energy consumption and carbon output is ­ – how can you improve if you do not know what you consume?

This is where vendor carbon reduction tools and methodologies can really help –­ although their capabilities vary considerably.

Delivering IT services to support a sustainable organisation ­ – using IT to reduce the other 98 per cent of carbon emissions not produced by IT – is a big hidden opportunity to engage with broader organisational agendas for change. Greening the IT function is just the first step to proving how beneficial sustainability can be in terms of its impact on the bottom line, on people and on the environment.

If you are ambitious and have a passion for sustainability, consider how you might expand your role to become a sustainability leader within your organisation.

Kate Hanaghan is senior analyst at Bathwick Group. Bathwick’s recently published Sustainability Study is available at http://bae.bathwickgroup.com/bsi