UK Businesses Not So Green

LONDON -- Nearly 70% of UK businesses have no target to reduce their carbon footprint research by the Green Technology Initiative reveals today, yet over 90% of respondents to the Green IT Awareness Survey think that tackling the carbon footprint of IT systems is core to an overall green strategy.

Across the board the survey reveals a story of businesses believing in the concept of greener IT but failing to translate that into action, instead they are looking to suppliers and to the Government to carry the responsibility for bringing down emissions. Chris Hines, Director of Sustainability, at The Eden Project comments: "IT has the potential to have huge benefits for sustainability. But if played wrong can accelerate its impact disastrously. All business can think smart about making IT work for them and the planet."

Seventy nine percent do not link power costs to hardware spend or IT budgets. Despite the fact that a small server will now cost more to power during its lifecycle than it costs to purchase initially. Indeed over 95% of respondents do not know how efficient their IT systems are because they have no measurement.

"What we are doing in IT today is not sustainable. Systems efficiency is the cheapest and easiest way of reducing the carbon footprint of the work you do and delivered properly it has the benefit of bringing down costs across the board," says Dan Sutherland, founder and acting chair of the Green Technology Initiative. "Whilst undoubtedly UK enterprises are willing to take action, many lack the incentive, knowledge and resources to make immediate changes."

The Green Technology Initiative