Greenpeace prods IT vendors over global warming

Environmental activist group Greenpeace has launched a new campaign to push IT vendors to better manage greenhouse gas emissions.

The group's 'Cool IT' campaign will score top IT firms based on their efforts to cut emissions and educate customers on the matter of greenhouse gas emissions.

Greenpeace said that IT vendors played a crucial role on managing climate change due to the industry's large role in global commerce. The group estimates that actions by IT vendors could cut global emissions by as much as 15 per cent.

The new campaign also comes in the run-up to December's UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen. The group is asking IT firms to play a critical role in lobbying the UN for a strong climate-change policy.

"While governments across the globe are debating climate-saving policy, it is disappointing that innovative IT companies who stand to profit handsomely from tech solutions that reduce greenhouse gases, are sitting on the fence when it comes to advocating for science-based greenhouse gas emissions cuts,” said Zeina Al Hajj, head of Greenpeace's international toxics campaign.

As part of the campaign, Greenpeace has set up a ranking system to recognise the firms who were doing the most to manage climate change. IBM was tops in the first rankings, followed by Sun, Dell and Cisco. Sony, Sharp and Toshiba were at the bottom of the rankings.

This is not the first such system Greenpeace has set up around the technology industry. The group has also in recent years maintained its Greener Electronics guide, which has named and shamed such companies as Apple, Dell and Lenovo over their recycling campaigns and use of hazardous chemicals in products.