Green IT needs investment up front

Posted by Paul Sells

Organisations within the information and communications industry, such as IT outsourcing solutions providers, are unlikely to invest in green IT before they have the finance and projects in front of them, it has been claimed.

Simon Mingay, research vice president of lead sustainability and organisation strategies at industry analyst Gartner, commented that any investment in sustainable technologies before projects are put on the table is likely to be limited.

"There's a chicken and egg situation here - [ICT companies] are not going to put significant investment in until there are projects; until countries, local authorities and cities start coming up with projects progress will be slow," he explained.

Mr Mingay went on to say that the ICT industry will invest in turn once third parties guarantee funds.

Last month, Dr Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general at the International Telecommunication Union, urged delegates at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen not to miss the opportunity to harness advanced technologies to reduce emissions across a wide range of industry sectors.