IT must lead sustainability efforts

Added by The Editor, 6 months ago.

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IT management have the opportunity to lead their organisations' sustainability objectives and must grab it with both hands, according to a new report from market analyst company the Butler Group.

In the report, ‘Sustainable IT Provision', Butler Group analysts say that Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSER) is now a core competence, which IT management must incorporate into its strategy and operations.

The report reveals how to develop a sustainable IT strategy; why IT must take the lead in being more responsible; why being environmentally-friendly is beneficial for both IT and the enterprise; the technologies and strategies that make a more efficient operation and save costs; how using services can contribute to a sustainable approach; and the business drivers and issues providing a compelling reason for firms to act now.

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Victoria, 6 months ago

This is one of those areas where even a simple communications exercise could pay dividends. I work in a shared office block, which runs various poster campaigns about turning off lights, reporting faulty taps etc. And, guess what, as the facility mostly caters for SMEs, pretty much everyone turns off their lights, shuts down the computers, closes windows and turns off printers at the end of the day. In many ways, SMEs are like home users - they see an impact of rising energy bills on their costs far more than employees working at large organisations. But it's also not just a question of IT leading the charge, but senior management generally. And if the measures they put in place have benefits for the environment, so much the better.

Chris Gabriel, 6 months ago

It's a year old now, but I conducted a survey of over 1,000 UK workers about their attitudes to the environment at home and in the office, and it shows that unless workers feel connected to the process (any process actually) they will not get involved. I hosted a meeting for 10 facilities managers last week and not a single one had approached or been approached by IT to talk about the environmental policies of their business. Now, I don't really care who should have said hello first, but, IT could be stars by taking solutions to facilities that could cut energy use and emissions. I also think IT Directors need to be inventive and offer Efficiency Bonuses to their staff who can find efficiencies in IT, but lets not run before we walk. If you've just got whacked by a 15% energy bill rise at home I imagine you'll be turning the lights off though, so why do we not think our employer would do the same?

James Pegg, 6 months ago

Hello, I'm still surprised that some really simple steps are not being taken in the majority of organisations, including my own. Steps that could wipe a substantial amount off the energy bill and help the environment to boot. Namely, educating employees to switch off PCs, printers, monitors, lights etc whenever they are not using these devices or rooms for a period of time, such as when they go home, or switching PCs off during lunch, rather than letting them 'sleep'. If every employee in the country did this, I'm sure it would lead to a massive saving on all fronts in a single swipe.

Jon Wright, 6 months ago

I think organisations' green initiatives would also get a boost if IT worked more closely with facilities management teams in this regard, as there are several areas of common ground. For instance, in my company, the IT team is investigating server virtualisation, which will free up server storage space, while the facilities team is considering how to make the heating, lighting and power in the server room more energy efficient. By working together and showing the combined benefits, the project results will look significantly more substantial and could encourage other parts of the business to see how they can improve their green credentials.