Sustainability -- The Next Driver For Innovation And Growth

I just came across this Forrester blog post which discusses some new categories of sustainability solutions and services to help provide a clear taxonomy of the varying solutions available in the marketplace. It builds on the recent survey I wrote about here.

Forrester’s recategorising creates three main sectors: IT energy and resource efficiency (known as “green IT”), IT-enabled green business processes (what Forrester terms “IT for green”), and corporate sustainability planning and governance (“green business”).

Examples of IT energy and resource efficiency (Green IT) include a baseline energy consumption and emissions footprint; design, build and optimise data centres; virtualisation and consolidation; and power management software.

IT-enabled green business processes (IT for green) include collaboration and conferencing; supply chain optimisation; building automation; and environmental management systems.

Corporate sustainability planning and governance (Green Business) examples are corporate sustainability strategy; develop an overall sustainability plan; position green IT within corporate sustainability goals and programs; green procurement policies.