A topic that we are seeing more and more often around these parts -- and which we expect to increase significantly for the rest of the month, now that the Copenhagen climate summit is right around the bend -- is how companies are putting IT to use in reducing their carbon emissions.

A report out from Frost & Sullivan illustrates this nicely: Because of the Great Recession and stricter environmental legislation in Europe, the market for virtual-meeting technologies grew nearly 15 percent last year, now equal to US$162 million. This is a direct result of companies looking to cut costs and reduce their carbon footprints at the same time that technology is making it easier and more affordable to conduct meetings and other business online.

But this use of "green IT 2.0" is not limited to carbon; Pär Hammarström from IFS North America takes us inside the findings of a not-yet-published report that explores how manufacturing firms can benefit from computing power. In a nutshell, most of those companies that do use IT to measure and manage their operations are not yet applying it to environmental impacts, even though there are a number of solutions out there for measuring all of a company's impacts.

By the time next week's newsletter rolls around, we'll be in the midst of the Copenhagen conference; I know of a few IT-centric events that we'll be covering, but anything that's on your radar is much appreciated. Send me your tips at matt@greenerworldmedia.com.

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