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The Eco-Enterprise and the Reality of Green IT, by Michael Healey, GreenPages’ CTO
InformationWeek, January, 2009.
As the economy slows, will the truly green initiatives that focus on the broader environment and cost a bit—or a lot—more be swept aside by bottom-line-driven cutbacks, regardless of their positive impact on the planet?
Don't bet your carbon credits on IT sticking to its green guns: A mere 12% of the 419 business technology professionals we surveyed for this report say they'd be willing to pay more for a greener product. Unless these higher-cost initiatives become government mandates, good green intentions will be no match for red ink on a budget balance.
For the majority of firms, IT has yet to face that choice; green IT initiatives have thus far been primarily focused on reducing power consumption in overburdened data centers, in large part by virtualizing servers. Being able to cite this as a major achievement in the organization's effort to be more environmentally friendly is a side benefit. But truly going green is not nearly that simple. Yes, technologists have driven advances across all industries, including many that reduce carbon emissions by enabling remote workers, even championing video telecommunications. But let's not pat ourselves on the back too hard: Electronic manufacturing still produces toxic and hazardous by-products, and the waste from old systems leaves lead, mercury, and other nasty stuff in our landfills.
The nascent green IT movement is in for some tumultuous times. As the economy slows, there will be an increasing focus on the ROI of all investments, green or otherwise. Meanwhile, the changing of the guard in Washington signals a resurgence of pure green initiatives that unquestionably will add costs, especially those regulating electronic waste and requiring vendors to produce more environmentally friendly systems. These aren't complementary forces. In this report we'll help IT professionals sort out the current green landscape and see where their peers are today, decide where they realistically can be in a year, and look ahead to what's on the horizon.
Download the full InformationWeek analytics report, greenit.informationweek.com
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