Spring Promotion

Unfortunately, the hype around going ‘green’ has blurred the lines of the real issue at hand: excessive consumption of rapidly declining resources. The above-mentioned scenario may leave one feeling slightly dreary about where to start a ‘greening’ initiative – because despite all the confusion surrounding the issue, the need to adapt to more sustainable and viable consumption practices remains vital for any organisation.

When implemented correctly, IT’s propensity to contribute significantly to energy-savings is perhaps one of the most straightforward ways an organisation can decrease its environmental impact. Because IT equipment is generally updated every three or four years, it creates an ideal opportunity for the introduction of newer, more efficient technologies – and cost saving can be considerable, up to 50 percent in some cases.

The IT industry is by no means exempt from greenwashing tactics and companies can be blindsided by thinking they are purchasing a ‘green’ product when in fact the product adds to the impact on our environment at the end of its lifecycle.  Take notebooks with extended batteries and hard drives that require less energy.  As notebooks take over the sale of PCs and companies increasing adopt this mobile enabler whilst patting themselves on the back that they are contributing positively to the environment through the support of these product, the question of how these notebooks are disposed of should be raised and more pertinently, how do they impact the environment at this point?

But sometimes common sense should prevail. While manufacturers’ efforts to deliver ‘green’ products must be commended; organisations need to think holistically about ‘going green’ and should consider the entire lifecycle of the products or technologies they intend to use before making an investment. The corporate world’s role in reducing the carbon footprint is enormous, and thus it is essential that it does not fall prey to greenwashing tactics, but rather that organisations take it upon themselves to look deeper than ‘product labels’, and more thoroughly scrutinise the claims made.