The big consulting firm Deloitte is out with a study that shows that despite the recession, big companies are investing in Green IT in a very big way. And it sees no end to those investments, for a simple reason: Green IT helps the bottom line.
BusinessWeek reports:
Two out of three of the companies surveyed by Deloitte --- enterprises with revenues of $500m plus --- said they have at least five per cent of their IT budget earmarked for green IT projects.
One in three claimed to have allocated 15 per cent or more, and one in eight were spending more than 25 per cent on green projects.
Cutting cost is still a significant motivating factor behind green investments, along with reducing regulatory risk and improving public perception, Deloitte said.
The investment in Green IT is serious, and not mere window-dressing. Two-thirds of companies surveyed say they have a formal program in place for monitoring and improving environmental performance, for example. And just as important is that "just under half of companies said they charge the cost of electricity for IT directly back to departments—making them directly accountable for the power they use."
No pain, no gain, as they say. Unless departments don't feel the pain of not improving energy use, they won't make any changes for the better. This is particularly true when it comes to IT.
No matter how much worse the economy gets, Green IT investments will still be made. Bottom-line benefits ensure that.
