Greenpeace has challenged the IT industry to do more to cut
greenhouse gases.
The charity has
launched a campaign to encourage technology staff to put
pressure on their employers to improve their climate change
strategies.
The IT industry can potentially help cut global carbon emissions
by 15% by 2020, but the organisation says IT staff need to push
their employers to make sure this happens. The emissions cuts
needed to avoid the worst consequences of climate change are 50% by
2050, making the technology sector crucial.
Greenpeace has also reported on the huge amounts of
e-waste being dumped in developing countries.
Greenpeace said, "Techies are the IT industry's main
constituency: they are its employees, customers and fans, and when
they collectively demand climate leadership, and greener gadgets,
and futuristic, awe-inspiring IT climate solutions from the CEOs of
major IT corporations the industry will sit up and take
notice."
It says the industry stands to gain profit and admiration if it
puts its energies into finding solutions for climate change.
Companies should not only be providing IT climate solutions, but
also accurate measurements of the positive impact these solutions
will have overall.
Greenpeace will be rating the performance of the CEOs of major
IT companies such as Nokia, Cisco, Fujitsu, IBM and Dell. They are
calling for IT leaders to lobby for a deal at the UN Climate Summit
due at the end of this year in Copenhagen. The charity is also
inviting IT staff to place their bets on who is most likely to
improve their performance.