IDC will present a special track on green ICT at the European ICT Forum 2007, which is being held September 10 and 11, 2007, at the Maritim Hotel in Berlin. The session will focus on green ICT as part of corporate and social responsibility.
Green ICT refers to the way in which ICT vendors and users consider the environmental consequences of computer and communications use. When looking at green ICT, the initial starting point is cost and cost saving. It is an economic proposition at the core, but scarcity of resources and increasing cost of energy as well as waste disposal make it increasingly attractive. It becomes part of the ICT supply chain and production considerations, and the legislative environment will speed this up significantly.
"There are numerous point solutions and approaches in the market to address issues such as carbon footprint, power and cooling in the datacenter, and recycling logistics," said Thomas Meyer, vice president, EMEA Systems and Infrastructure Solutions at IDC. "However, in most cases it is perceived that a large investment is required to solve the root causes of the problem. That isn't always true. For example, simple usage policies have been seen to have a major impact on company and employee energy wastage statistics."
Looking ahead, marketing based on "greenness" is already gaining traction in the marketplace and could serve as a key differentiator in purchasing decisions. "In EMEA, the EU and many national governments lead the world in environmental legislation, making it illegal for ICT vendors not to have some degree of 'greenness' in their current product lines," said Martin Hingley, chief research officer, EMEA, at IDC. "IDC believes that a viable corporate and social responsibility [CSR] strategy involves doing something above and beyond the legislation to establish a reputation as a good citizen. It also makes EMEA a natural place in which to create and develop worldwide CSR and green ICT strategies."
Meyer and Hingley chair a session on green ICT at the forum on Tuesday, September 11, which includes the participation of Dr. Klaus Töpfer, former executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
For full details of the European ICT Forum 2007, click here http://www.idc.com/....
Green ICT refers to the way in which ICT vendors and users consider the environmental consequences of computer and communications use. When looking at green ICT, the initial starting point is cost and cost saving. It is an economic proposition at the core, but scarcity of resources and increasing cost of energy as well as waste disposal make it increasingly attractive. It becomes part of the ICT supply chain and production considerations, and the legislative environment will speed this up significantly.
"There are numerous point solutions and approaches in the market to address issues such as carbon footprint, power and cooling in the datacenter, and recycling logistics," said Thomas Meyer, vice president, EMEA Systems and Infrastructure Solutions at IDC. "However, in most cases it is perceived that a large investment is required to solve the root causes of the problem. That isn't always true. For example, simple usage policies have been seen to have a major impact on company and employee energy wastage statistics."
Looking ahead, marketing based on "greenness" is already gaining traction in the marketplace and could serve as a key differentiator in purchasing decisions. "In EMEA, the EU and many national governments lead the world in environmental legislation, making it illegal for ICT vendors not to have some degree of 'greenness' in their current product lines," said Martin Hingley, chief research officer, EMEA, at IDC. "IDC believes that a viable corporate and social responsibility [CSR] strategy involves doing something above and beyond the legislation to establish a reputation as a good citizen. It also makes EMEA a natural place in which to create and develop worldwide CSR and green ICT strategies."
Meyer and Hingley chair a session on green ICT at the forum on Tuesday, September 11, which includes the participation of Dr. Klaus Töpfer, former executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
For full details of the European ICT Forum 2007, click here http://www.idc.com/....
