Nearly two-thirds of enterprise IT leaders are planning to buy carbon credits to offset their datacentre's energy consumption, according to new research.

A new survey of European IT decision-makers suggests that six out of ten firms have now articulated a green IT strategy. Of those, over 60 per cent said purchasing carbon credits was part of that overall strategy.

That could suggest that firms are happier to pay a premium for being energy inefficient, rather than altering their behaviour.

But many IT leaders may feel they have little option other than to buy carbon credits, said Jim Smith, vice president of engineering at Digital Realty Trust, who sponsored the survey. "European companies expressed concern about the lack of clear, practical industry standards," he added.

"Companies are looking to the datacentre industry for leadership and clarity on how to define, design and operate a green datacentre. The industry must make this a key focus this year," said Smith.

The research was based on polling decision-makers at large firms in the UK, Germany, France, Ireland and the Netherlands.