Computerworld's Mary K. Pratt has posted a handy Green IT Checklist, culled from the winners of the magazine's green IT awards last year.

The list runs the gamut from low-hanging fruit -- including cutting back on paper on your way to achieving the dream of the "paperless office" and installing power management tools -- to long-term targets like embracing cutting edge technologies and taking your data centers green, whether by building new or overhauling existing facilities.

Here's the list in a nutshell:

Low-Hanging Green Fruit
  1. Limit paper use
  2. Buy renewable energy
  3. Use power management tools
Next Steps
  1. Virtualize
  2. Facilitate telecommuting
  3. Include green objectives in procurement policies
Stretch Goals
  1. Get a better grip on data center demands
  2. Replace inefficient equipment
  3. Manage assets more aggressively
Long-Term Targets
  1. Build green
  2. Calculate and manage your energy needs
  3. Adopt new technologies
Pratt's full story offers examples of companies that have made put these strategies to work, with great success -- read it here.