11 May 2007
The vast majority of large companies have yet to build green IT requirements into how they buy and use technology, according to analyst Forrester Research.
While 85 per cent of IT professionals believe environmental factors are important in planning IT operations, just a quarter have written green criteria into their company’s purchasing processes.
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'Our customer survey and interviews provide a directional view into the nascent green thinking of enterprise IT organisations,' said Christopher Mines senior vice president at Forrester Research.
'We heard two reasons why green matters: efficiency and corporate responsibility. Most IT decision-makers told us that a green purchase would only happen in the context of cost reduction.'
One chief technology officer at a manufacturing company said: 'We would do green because it makes business sense, not because it’s green. It would have to show cost savings.'
The Forrester survey found that IT buyers want to hear more about vendors’ efforts to design more environmentally responsible products.
Only 15 per cent of the IT professionals surveyed have a high level of awareness of vendors’ green initiatives, and most say they are hearing little or nothing from top-tier vendors about green solutions.
But Mines says green issues will impact purchasing decisions in the future.
'Technology marketers today will find increasingly receptive audiences for green evangelism,' he said 'Slowly, that receptivity will translate into action on the part of enterprise IT organisations.'
Ethically disposing of old IT equipment can not only release significant value but also support an organisation's environmental strategy.
How much outdated, unused IT equipment is still being retained, just in case a component part comes in useful one day or out of laziness because disposal is a chore? For most organisations a significant, and costly, amount of office space is taken up with dusty bits of kit that are highly unlikely to ever see the light of day. Furthermore, some may even have value on the second user market. So why keep them?
For most companies the problem is inertia combined with a lack of clear responsibility. With such equipment now valueless on the balance sheet, there is no drive from finance to recoup any outstanding investment; while the IT manager has a deluge of far more pressing and critical issues to address.
Organisations need to evolve beyond the haphazard strategies for waste disposal. By proactively embracing organisations that pledge to reuse and recycle 100% of equipment and undertaking regular, routine disposal organisations can actually realise quantifiable asset value while supporting environmental goals.
Graham Nye, Managing Director, Chiltern IT
Posted by: ITPR 15 May 2007
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