Put Green IT on your agenda

weekly roundup In a bid to combat rising energy and fuel prices, there have been some efforts in the last couple of years to produce power-saving or energy-efficient IT systems. But there are "greener" reasons for doing so.

You've probably seen those TV ads asking you to measure your carbon footprint, which primarily refers to the amount of carbon dioxide you produce based on your daily activities. The higher the carbon footprint, the more harmful it is to the environment.

Electricity emits some of the highest levels of carbon, so much attention has been focused on businesses to reduce their daily power consumption.

Unfortunately, the IT industry today is still largely power-hungry and observers have warned that this insatiable appetite is costing companies dearly. According to research company Gartner, large businesses spend between 4 percent and 8 percent of their IT budget on energy--an amount that will increase four-fold by 2011. Electrical power consumption, Gartner says, is "the tip of a melting iceberg for an IT industry that is currently unsustainable".

This week, there are more calls for companies to "go green", especially since an Intel study revealed that 80 percent of businesses have never conducted an energy audit. More worrying, only 29 percent of enterprises currently invest in energy-efficient PCs, even though 94 percent of those surveyed are aware that energy consumption from IT is a major contributor to global warming.

It is comforting to know, at least, that some companies are starting to pay more attention to this problem including Google, Hewlett-Packard and chipmaker Via. The U.K. government has also pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent by the middle of the century.

In other news this week, find out what Microsoft and Motorola have refused to admit to. Also, read about what RFID holds for us in the future and what SMBs are missing out on.