Green IT should change whole firm, expert claims

Written by Jessie Richards

Businesses must learn to use green IT to improve the environmental performance of their whole organisation, an expert has suggested.

Speaking at the Green IT Expo 2009, Juliet Silvester, head of environmental programmes at Fujitsu, told IT outsourcing users that companies must boost their efforts to tackle climate change.

The expert said IT only causes two per cent of carbon emissions and claimed green IT measures can do more than just reduce the impact of technology.

"We are actually addressing a very, very small part of the problem and what we need to be doing is looking at how we can address the other 98 per cent," Ms Silvester explained.

She recommended that firms use green IT to spark a cultural change in their organisation and encourage them to adopt processes which are more environmentally responsible.

Recently, Cisco technical operation lead Nick Robinson told the expo that companies can improve their buildings' energy efficiency by using green IT in their intelligent management systems.