Feature

The Greening of IT

Green is good—and good for business. Our exclusive survey shows just how IT leaders are balancing the twin imperatives of running a profitable business and a cleaner one.

IT is turning greenish.

That's right. Many technology leaders shrug their shoulders at the mention of climate change in conversation, or they pass on conference panels that use the "green" terminology. But in fact, according to exclusive CIO research, they are beginning to think green. Stricter government regulations, rising energy costs and the growing awareness that sustainability is a real business concern are pushing companies to strategize how they will meet future energy demands and calls for carbon emissions data. Green IT is making inroads in the data center; CIOs are also starting to realize that's only the beginning. Fifty-four percent of IT leaders responding to a CIO magazine survey about Green IT report that their organizations have environmental sustainability goalsÂ for information technology. In other words, they are trying to reduce IT's impact on the planet.

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They are motivated almost equally by social responsibility and business benefits. Thirty-eight percent say they're going green because it's the right thing to do; 37 percent say doing the right thing for the planet also helps them reduce operational costs by, for example, cutting energy consumption. A handful—only 5 percent—see sustainable IT as a competitive advantage.

For IT departments, a focus on costs—and energy costs in particular—is a logical place to start. If you pay attention to the news, you know that addressing climate change depends on rethinking energy use. Electricity is "more and more part of my overall bill that I pay as a CIO," says Patricia Lawicki, senior VP and CIO with Pacific Gas & Electric. Reducing the electric bill cuts costs and frees up funds for additional IT investments.

Few IT organizations have gone much further. Though there's plenty of media attention to calculating carbon footprints (and a few high profile companies, like Dell and British retailer Marks & Spencer, have declared their intentions to become carbon neutral), IT leaders as a rule are not grappling with the question of their—or their companies'—carbon emissions. Among 280 IT leaders surveyed, 61 percent said they were not measuring their corporate carbon footprints right now, though 16 percent said they were preparing to do it. Only 11 percent of respondents said that their companies are not just conscious of their carbon output, but that IT is part of the calculation.

That is likely to change. Nations are negotiating a follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which establishes global emissions limits. (The process began last December in Bali). Although the United States isn't a signatory to the original agreement, U.S. officials are participating in the new talks. Meanwhile, a 2006 California law mandates a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Regional alliances of states are also developing emissions limits. And Congress is crafting national carbon regulations; many political observers consider these inevitable. Although these regulations and proposals generally target major emitters, such as power plants, they are likely to affect other businesses through higher electricity prices.