Golfing for a Green Cause

Not since the advent of Web 2.0 has a conceptual proposition been the focus of so much attention within the IT industry.

Whether environmentalists have Al Gore, governments, vendors or consumers to thank is a mute point as Green IT dominates company agendas and appears to be driving everything from product development all the way through to disposal at end-of-life.

Aware of the impact Green is having on the local channel, CRN recently hosted a Green Golf Day to shed light on some of the issues in this arena.

Sponsored by Linksys, Western Digital, IBM and Fuji Xerox, vendors and resellers gathered at the Ryde-Parramatta Golf Club in the early hours of a wet Thursday morning in April.

A few eager players proceeded directly to the course where they enjoyed a quick lesson to warm up for the nine holes ahead of them.

As the clubhouse gradually filled with attendees, many took the opportunity to get acquainted and words like ‘Greenwash’ and ‘environmental strategy’ rose from the hum of conversation.

The damp grounds and waterlogged bunkers had a few golf enthusiasts worried that the event might be called off.

CRN editor Helen Frost put everyone’s mind at ease, taking the stage and announcing that the day would go ahead as planned.

She went on to discuss the motivation behind the CRN Green Golf Day and the significance of Green issues for the Australian channel.

“Although we all see this as a big issue for our industry, no one is really sure whose job it is to take the next step,” she said.

Frost also commented on the influence of current consumer sentiment around environmental issues.

“The main indication from consumers is that they aren’t willing to pay more for the environmental option, but they will go Green if they can save money,”
she explained.

Kevin McIsaac, an analyst at IBRS then presented an informative analysis focusing on how resellers can sell the concept of Green.

He explained that Green is an abstract and complex sale that requires a different approach to selling tangible products.

“If you’re not used to selling a non-specific, non-concrete, non-physical product you’re going to find it hard,” he said. “Green really is just another benefit at the end of the day.”

In his opinion, Green currently possesses a great deal of mind space among business and individuals globally, and can help resellers attract the attention of potential customers.

However, McIsaac noted that while Green is being heralded as an important driver in the future of IT innovation, on the practical side there is still considerable room for advancement.

“While there’s a top-down driven strategy to go Green, somewhere in the execution layer it gets murky,” he explained.

“A lot of people are excited about going Green, a lot of people believe in environmental responsibility, but when the rubber hits the road not many people set aside budget for it.”

McIsaac went on to provide useful data and advice to resellers.
He explained that there are two important factors to consider when selling Green IT.

If an organisation has a Green mandate resellers should align their products to the company’s strategy. In cases where a mandate is not present, resellers can use the concept of Green to raise a project’s profile.

Representing the Platinum sponsor of the CRN Green Golf Day, Marna Bullard, vice president of Worldwide Marketing at Linksys conveyed some of the environmental initiatives the vendor is implementing in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint.

According to Bullard, Australia was chosen to be the first country to receive the new-look Linksys packaging, which features a pizza box style outer section representing a 49 percent reduction in paper and an egg carton insert that uses 70 percent recyclable materials.

The vendor also claimed all packaging and documents are printed on bio-degradable paper that uses eco-friendly vegetable or soy inks.

“We took a look at our packaging. There are a lot of initiatives in the marketplace to reduce paper, waste and what goes in landfill and we found we could do a lot of it without spending significantly more money,” she said.

Bullard also noted that a number of Linksys products have received Energy Star and Minimum Energy Performance Standards certified ratings.

She went on to reiterate the importance of ensuring that eco-friendly practices permeate an organisation, and offered the example of telepresence.

“Something we are actively engaged in is telepresence, which is the virtual way of being somewhere and can reduce a lot of emissions,” she stated.

“And this is something that Cisco CEO John Chambers is really pushing.”

Looking ahead, Bullard claimed the environmental movement will intensify rather than wane as governments around the world begin to follow the European lead in implementing ‘Green’ regulations.

“More governments are getting involved and we expect this trend to continue,” she said.

“Businesses have not gotten on the bandwagon worldwide and there are places in Europe going there much faster.”

Providing a global perspective, Amber Auld, distribution manager for IBM, discussed the growing impact of IT on the environment and the implications of ignoring the issue.

According to Auld, the IT industry makes a significant contribution to global carbon emissions annually and the figure is expected to rise as storage requirements double every 18 to 24 months and computer capacity requirements double every 24 months.

“This is a rocky road when you consider that we are operating on mostly inefficient infrastructure,” she said.

The key to addressing the escalating volume of carbon emissions produced by the IT industry, according to Auld, is to nurture partnerships.

She explained that IBM has been focusing on its interaction with suppliers, business partners and customers in an attempt to arrive at a sustainable solution.

“It doesn’t matter where you are in that chain, everyone needs to be conscious of the issues and we all need to work together to work out how we’re going to solve it in the future,” said Auld.

She also touched on the subject of the ICT skills shortage and argued that Green policies could potentially attract individuals to the industry.

Auld commented that Generation Y places greater emphasis on achieving a work/life balance and are therefore likely to consider an organisation’s environmental mandate when seeking employment.

The final speaker, Tom Lewis, marketing manager A/NZ for Fuji Xerox Printers, exposed some of the unsubstantiated claims being made by vendors – also referred to as ‘Greenwashing’ – which are prevalent within the industry at the moment.

His main concern is that the term ‘Green’ is being used incorrectly as organisations worldwide jump on the environmental bandwagon.

By the time the formal part of the day had concluded, the golfers were noticeably keen to get out on the course and begin the round of golf.

A burst of energy and conversation filled the clubhouse and the teams made their way to their respective holes for the shotgun start.

Playing nine holes of golf in questionable conditions proved to be a challenge for some.

CRN’s own Mitch Smith – who admittedly had never played golf before the event – grew frustrated, but he persevered despite the occasional downpour.

Not surprisingly, pristine white CRN polo shirts and caps grew increasingly muddy and the golfers’ shoes soon filled with water.

Nine holes later and looking slightly worse for wear, the teams sporadically made their way back to the clubhouse and lunch was served.

With everyone in high spirits, Helen Frost took the stage once again to present the top performing golfers as well as winners of the trivia competition with a bottle of champagne.

Cutting through the Greenwash

According to Tom Lewis from Fuji Xerox Printers, the ACCC has taken a keen interest in Green marketing to ensure that if an organisation is making a claim it is specific and verifiable.

“If a product saves energy it’s ‘energy saving’ not Green. You have to be specific,” he said.

Lewis emphasised the importance of certification and environmental labeling, such as the ISO 14000 standards that go beyond energy consumption and also consider the impact of design, manufacture, energy efficiency and stewardship at the end-of-life of a product.

While these standards are merely voluntary guidelines that businesses may choose to follow, Lewis indicated that regulated environmental policy is on the horizon. He added that governments and enterprise will be the key drivers in this movement, which has already been illustrated by several large organisations committing to carbon neutrality by 2010.

“What these guys say at the high level will start to come through as regulation in the not-too-distant future,” said Lewis. “These things are starting to move past the talking stage. Governments have been talking about sustainability for a long time and we’re starting to see them come in as requirements now.”

The ACCC has been keeping a close eye on Green marketing claims to ensure organisations are not misleading the public.

For example, action was recently taken against SAAB for claiming its vehicles are ‘environmentally friendly’ as opposed to the more accurate description of ‘fuel efficient’.

The Green Marketing & Trade Practices Act guidelines state that claims must be specific and evidence-based. They should also take into consideration the entire lifecycle of a product, including manufacture and recycling.

The key for resellers, according to Lewis, is to differentiate between facts and a marketing spiel, because customers will not respond to the Greenwash as more information becomes available dispelling myths about what is in fact ‘Green’.

Selling Green: Go for Gold

Anyone who has ever been involved in marketing will understand the term “compelling event”.

The phrase is used to describe something that is going to happen if certain criteria are not met and that bears serious consequences.

According to McIssac, it is a useful sales tool when an organisation is seeking to draw attention to Green initiatives it is undertaking.

“The problem with a complex sale is there’s no physical item that people have to have, so unless you have a compelling event, people don’t actually end up buying,” he said.

McIsaac believes this approach coupled with a focus on the financial benefits of Green IT will help resellers use ‘environmental friendliness’ as a selling point.

He cautioned, however, that ‘Greenwash’ won’t be well received as customers are well-informed and can differentiate between fact and clever marketing.

“Most people say they’re really concerned or have had enough of vendor BS about Green. So don’t go charging in there saying that you have a Green this and that. If you can’t get past the BS sensors, don’t do it. You’ll only make things harder for yourself,” said McIsaac.

Faced with the challenge of taking relatively boring propositions to market, McIsaac claimed the term ‘Green’ can be used to ‘sex-up’ an otherwise
bland project.

“Start using Green to take a project that’s valid, has real benefits but is boring and low priority and take it to the top of the stack,” said McIsaac.

Tom Lewis presented a similar perspective by arguing that while customers are perhaps unwilling to pay extra for Green, it may be effective in attracting attention to an offering, particularly if there are cost savings to
be made.

“If you can offer Green as an added extra, it can definitely help tip a sale,” he said. “You can show people how to reduce costs and you can either offer that service value-added or charge for it on a consultancy basis.”

A new image for IT

The ICT industry has suffered a blow in recent months as the skills shortage intensifies, leaving resellers scratching their heads trying to think of ways to attract employees.

Marna Bullard highlighted the efforts of Al Gore as a major contributor to the popularisation of environmental issues.

In an effort to draw Generation Y to the IT profession, Kevin McIsaac claimed vendors and resellers are implementing environmental policy, which in turn may help alleviate the skills shortage.

“If you’re a sexy reseller with a sexy set of products it will help attract people,” he said.

In McIsaac’s opinion, the main difference between Generation X and Y compared to the baby boomers is a shift in attitude.

He claimed the younger generation is motivated by goals other than power and money, and consequently the corporate culture has altered.

“[Gen X and Y] never really experienced hard times … job security is not important, neither is getting paid a lot of money or owning a home,” said McIsaac. “It’s more about: What can I learn?, What can I contribute to the environment? and Do I enjoy what I do?”

However, McIsaac remains sceptical of whether Green policy is capable of attracting new recruits to the IT industry.

Alternatively, he does believe a Green mandate may sway a Gen Y individual making a choice between two IT companies and recommends adding a green angle to what you’re doing in IT.

“That will help make it more attractive, however I don’t think IT has such a leading role in being Green that it will draw new people,” he said.

“If it was a choice between two IT jobs and one had a strong Green corporate culture and one didn’t, that could certainly make a difference.”