Is the channel over Green?

There are already signs that Green is becoming a bit of a grey topic as resellers nod their head as if to say, “I’ve heard it all before.”

Resellers are starting to notice that vendors touting the benefits of Green technology are conveniently whipping out a few facts about their own environmentally friendly practices and so-called Green products. It seems as though they are scouring their archives to find something … anything … they can spin into a Green story. We’ve heard it all, from asking employees to limit the number of emails they print to turning off office lights for an hour at lunch. Resellers are not surprisingly getting the impression that some companies are simply clutching at straws.

The question is how do we differentiate between vendors making a genuine effort in this arena and those trying desperately to capitalise on the trend? I’m sure Green is an important consideration in the research and development of some technologies; unfortunately these efforts are getting lost in a crowd of companies patting themselves on the back for recycling paper.

The results of an ACS audit revealed ICT use by Australian Businesses generated 7.94Mt of carbon dioxide in 2005, equivalent to 1.52 percent of total national carbon dioxide emissions. To put this figure in perspective, road transport accounts for 12.6 percent, industrial processes 5.3 percent, metal production around 2.3 percent and civil aviation just under one percent of total national carbon emissions.

With the ICT industry growing at an exponential rate, I expect the above figure to increase considerably in coming years, no matter how many businesses turn off their lights ...