Defining Green Information Technology

It seems that every where we turn, we hear more and more companies talking about going green. The sudden surge of corporations making this claim has undoubtedly led to confusion among consumers trying to understand what all of this actually means. Consumers want to see companies become more aware of environmental issues and increasingly prefer to purchase from "green" companies. While value can be gained even from the simplest efforts, there are very important distinctions between the "go green" movement everyone is talking about and Green Information Technology. Green IT is much more complex as it involves actually implementing green practices into a company's overall strategy. The below presentation intends to clarify some of the confusion many consumers have on the topic.

 

Examples of "Going Green" versus "Green IT"

Going Geen

·  Powering off computers and other equipment at the end of the day
. ·  Recycling paper products
. ·  Promoting virtual meetings and telecommuting
·  Using renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power when possible

Green IT

·  Developing more energy efficient, earth-friendly components
·  Properly disposing of toxic materials in displays and other hardware
·  Developing safer products with longer life cycles
·   Large-scale initiatives such as HP’s “telework” program which saved 2.5 million round trips, over 65 million miles of travel, and 28,000 tons of C02 emissions. 

 Surveys Say...

A number of surveys have been conducted recently that show how environmental protection is increasingly on people's minds. A study at California State University demonstrated the following results:

·         As much as 98% of individual respondents claim they regularly practice habits focused on protecting the environment
·         Up to 86% of individuals surveyed said they would be more likely to purchase a product from a company if they knew the company was using green business practices
·         Eighty-one percent of those surveyed supported businesses going green so strongly that they said the government should provide incentives for companies considering green business practices


Conclusion: Going Green makes good business sense!