Even though the
ICT sector currently has poor ‘green’ credentials, it the potential
to reduce environmental impact through best practice says a new
report from Socitm Insight.
SOCITM
According to the
new report, ‘Green ICT: current research into the environmental
impact of ICT’, ICT currently accounts for 2% of global CO2
emissions; as much as the airline industry.
Yet Socitm
suggests that the ICT industry can make effective practical changes
to reduce its own environmental impact from improved equipment
life-cycle management; reduction of waste from desktops and
datacentres; better use of electricity. In addition it advises
organisations can become greener though adoption of practices such
as flexible working and increased efficiencies in business
processes.
The report is
intended to act as a practical guide for IT managers who want to
move towards greener practices within their own department as well
as using ICT to reduce the organisation’s overall environmental
impact. IT includes information on how ICT impacts upon the
environment, information about how to measure environmental impact,
and ideas for its mitigation. There are also case studies of firms
that have used ICT to reduce the environmental impact of the
organisation.
The report covers new legislative drivers and forthcoming audit
requirements that will require IT managers to take the green agenda
seriously, developing an understanding of environmental issues
generally as well as those specific to the sector like ‘how much
electricity does our ICT consume’. The report will also show how
the environmental impact of ICT can be properly measured, and how
to make business cases for new developments that take into account
environmental impact.