The inaugural meeting of the UK’s first green technology user group took place last week in London.

The Environmental IT Leadership Team (EILT), led by environmental charity Global Action Plan and sponsored by IT company Logicalis, aims to clarify what green IT means and develop reliable information guides for organisations in the public and private sector.

The group will initially question political, industry, technology and expert witnesses and publish research later this year on best practice green IT strategies. Organisations that have already signed up include the British Medical Association, Sony, John Lewis, E.ON UK, the University of Cumbria and Lloyds TSB.

‘Users are getting bombarded with different claims from vendors on the environmental nature of their products. Many do not know which claims are genuine and which are not,’ said Trewin Restorick, director of Global Action Plan.

A Gartner report earlier this year estimated that IT accounts for two per cent of CO2 emissions globally, the same as the aviation industry.

EILT will also examine if benchmarks can be created to standardise claims from vendors on the performance of products.

‘Just as vendors used different measures to compete against each other on processor speed, they are now doing the same on the efficiency of hardware,’ said Gary Hird, technical strategy manager at John Lewis Partnership, a member of the group.

‘We have now experienced a number of suppliers contacting us and emphasising their green credentials.’

EILT will provide continuing guidance for businesses, as it predicts that best practice techniques will evolve rapidly over the next two to three years. The team also wants to bring in a senior policy adviser from the government to see if Whitehall policy can help address IT’s carbon footprint.

‘It is essential to develop a better understanding of the impact of IT on climate change,’ said Peter Ainsworth MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.