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The survey by Strategic Oxygen and Cohn & Wolfe of more than 3,500 CIOs, chief officers, IT managers, line of business managers and other top IT enterprise decision-makers also recognized HP, IBM and Microsoft for having energy efficient products and using eco-friendly materials.
The respondents included Apple among the top five brands for designing products that are “perceived to have a green look and feel,” Strategic Oxygen and Cohn & Wolfe said in releasing the latest GreenFactor study.
The first study on green IT was issued in July 2008. According to the latest research, buyers see little differentiation among various products presented as a green offerings -- a finding that is not new.
Brand rankings, however, changed in the recent study: Dell moved to the No. 1 spot with 30 percent, HP slipped to second place with 26 percent. Researchers said no one brand clearly emerged as the green leader on global basis as there was little statistical difference among the top brands -- findings that mirrored the July study.
The GreenFactor studies have found that IT buyers judge companies according to attributes that researchers say can be divided into two categories: brand products and brand operations.
Brand product attributes that come into play when considering a company include whether a firm:
• Produces hardware that is made from biodegradable/recyclable materials
• Designs products or packaging that appears to be green because the
design looks clean
• Offers recycling programs for old hardware
• Produces energy efficient products
• Promotes a green image of themselves
A company’s brand operations attributes include having green manufacturing, data center or other facilities; using green packaging, efficient transportation and other environmentally responsible practices in shipping; and leading development of green technologies.
According to the research, decision-makers consider brand product more strongly than brand operations when contemplating purchases. However, a company that effectively demonstrates solid environmental stewardship in both areas has an advantage.
IT buyers also told researchers that laptops and servers top the list of products they expect to be purchasing in the next 12 months, and that they’ll be looking at the environmentally friendly attributes of the products and their manufacturers in making their purchases.
Green Tech
It is clear that the major high tech companies are on the leading edge of sustainability and are becoming more eco-friendly. From their reduction in packaging material on their computers, printers and even refill ink cartridges -- to the way their machines have been designed for maximum energy efficiency, the high tech industry is at the forefront of the green revolution.
If every business would strive to reduce their carbon footprint by a very manageable 4%-5% per year, the reduction in greenhouse gases would be cut in half in less than ten years.
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Robert Piller is President of EcoMarketingSolutions.com, which helps companies promote their brand with environmentally-friendly imprinted promotional products that won't end up in landfills. He is a frequent guest columnist and he invites readers to view and comment on his blog at GreenSpotBlog.com.
Green IT - Is Packaging and Design Enough
It is great to see IT companies embracing the green movement, however I hope companies go beyond just appearing to be green and actually deliver on being green.
While working as a brand consultant, I saw many companies that created "healthier" looking packaging to persuade customers that their products were healthy when in fact the ingredients inside were not healthy.
Consumers are becoming more educated and aware, and I don't think the perception of being green will be enough. See additional thoughts on my post Green IT is Packaging Enough
EDunigan - TrackVia
Green Measurements Are More Important Than Marketing
I fear that a report like Green Factor, whose mission is to "illuminate 'green' marketing opportunities," is only rewarding companies for how well they promote their green initiatives rather than what they are actually doing to become sustainable. Climate Counts ranked Dell ten out of 12 and put Apple dead last, while Green Factor says IT professionals placed them into 5 place. Click here to read more about this on my "Green IT - Marketing Versus Measuring" post.
Software Efficiency
Another area PC manufacturers should look for efficiency is software itself.
Often the consumer must replace their computer because the next version of an operating system consumes even more resources, requiring faster processors and more memory.
If PC manufacturers offered "light" versions of their next operating systems, then users could upgrade their operating system without having to buy a new computer.
This would allow people to get 10 or more years from their system, instead of the requisite 4 or 5 years.
For instance, many users are "recycling" their old computers by installing UBUNTU.
UBUNTU is a linux like operating system that uses up far less resources than the new windows VISTA or MAC OS X. Users report that installing this operating system gives "new life" to their systems.
UBUNTU has plenty of "open source" software that allows users to browse the internet, open and send mail, as well as edit office documents and spreadsheets, etc.
So my advice to Dell, Apple and Microsoft is to announce new "light" versions of their software so that users can continue to use their current computers, rather than throw them out and have to upgrade, which is not environmentally friendly.