Businesses need to utilise the green IT they already
have when it comes to tackling climate change, rather than waiting
for new developments, according to the Carbon Trust.
The organisation, which works at developing and encouraging
investment in low-carbon technologies, said there is already a
range of
green technologies that firms could use to significantly lower
their carbon footprint.
Speaking at a Conservative Party conference fringe meeting,
Michael Rea, chief policy officer at the Trust, said, although
continued innovation was important, the priority at the moment is
to increase the use of existing carbon-cutting methods.
"From an IT point of view, there is so much you can do with
existing technology," he said. "That is primarily where we are
working at the moment. It is possible to build a low carbon economy
with technology we have already."
He said that the Trust is constantly giving grants and
encouraging investment in new technologies. "There is absolutely a
need for innovation. But there is a huge prize for using what is
already around," he said.
Many IT departments in companies and public sector organisations
are adopting green practices, with thin-client technology and
mobile working included. Rea said there is a long way to go, and
said the necessary "policy framework" was now needed.
"We need the right policy framework, both to deploy existing
technologies and develop new ones. The other challenge is to think
about how we can get the right kind of investment support."