Green IThas untapped business opportunities that
companies are not exploiting,Ovumanalyst Warren Wilson says.
He says carbon-cutting technologies have a huge and untapped
potential to combat climate change and IT suppliers are not
exploiting the opportunities.
Few companies offer services that measure and analyse the impact
of non-IT projects, such as building or manufacturing, and this is
where the opportunity lies.
There are three possible ways to tackle climate change using
technology. The first, and most often discussed, is how to make
computing and networking themselves more energy-efficient.
The second option is to substitute low-carbon technologies for
traditional, high-carbon equipment and processes, such as having
virtual meetings instead of using air or road travel.
The third and least understood role that IT can play in
combating climate change is using IT to measure, analyse and
minimise the impact of manufacturing, buildings, vehicles and other
things that account for large proportions of carbon emissions.
Wilson says this is a big untapped business opportunity for
technology firms.
"We have heard about what companies are doing internally to
reduce their carbon footprint. What we will now be hearing about is
the applications that they have developed to help their customers
reduce their footprint.
"It is at a very early stage and the market is still wide open.
Reducing the environmental impact of things like manufacturing is a
bigger challenge, and a more complex part of the problem."
The Smart 2020 report says IT could potentially cut global
emissions by 15%, removing 7.8 gigatons out of the potentially
removable 52 gigatons by 2020. But Wilson said the IT figure is
conservative.