Fujitsu Australia releases green research

 However, 60 percent of firms have no IT policy concerning the environment.

The research, which covered 310 CIOs and senior IT managers, highlights the key drivers for Green IT policies where they exist and the barriers Australian companies are facing.

Across the board, IT departments are slowly becoming more sustainable, but this trend may be more a positive side effect than a principal policy driver.

The main motivator for many companies seeking to reduce their IT energy consumption is to reduce costs. The added benefit is that the company ends up reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

Fujitsu Australia's Head of Sustainability, Alison O'Flynn will be presenting the research findings at Palamedia's Sustainability Exchange, in Sydney today.

"The findings in this report give further insight into how Australian firms are responding to the emerging carbon-priced economy and the role and impact of Green IT policies in business," said O'Flynn.

"There are real business benefits from taking a strategic view of Green IT including reducing costs, improving corporate reputation and increasing morale but there is still a substantial way to go before the full benefits of Green IT are realised."

In November 2008, Fujitsu launched the online diagnostic tool for Environmental Readiness Assessment which helps organisations proactively measure their environmental readiness.

About the Research

In late 2008 Fujitsu Australia commissioned research firm Pollinate to answer a series of questions regarding that status of Green IT.

These areas examined included:

• The awareness of the impact IT operations have on the environment
• The incidence of Green IT policies both planned and actioned
• The drivers and barriers to implementing a Green IT policy
• The CIO's understanding of where to find information on how to develop a Green IT strategy.

Responses were taken from over 310 CIOs and senior IT managers from various industries across Australia.

Data was collected through a combination of online surveys, face-to-face interviews and Connection Research report: Green IT and Sustainability in 2009 - attitudes, plans and actions.