Green taskforce to stress businesses

Our anonymous contributor, from a large global company, has sent us his first rant for the big Greenbang…

Is reducing energy consumption enough for the IT industry?

When figures are banded around as to how much IT companies are going to reduce energy emissions it is tempting to see the IT industry as an ambassador for carbon neutral business, or so the PR and marketing departments of the world’s largest vendors would have us believe.

Only today, the UK government announced a new “Green Shift” task force that will oversee the introduction of ‘green PCs’ that use 98 per cent less energy than standard computers.

In its own right, this figure seems like an incredible step, but put into global context, it may only be a drop in the ocean.

Analyst firm Forrester recently published research predicting that global worldwide PC numbers will hit 1bn next year, with this figure set to double by 2015. While it has taken over a quarter of a decade to reach that 1bn, the alarming news is that it will now double over the next 5 years – with growth like this, can an industry that is trying so hard to reposition itself as “clean” really change its spots?

The jury remains out, but with PC shipments not alone in experiencing phenomenal growth, vendors are going to have to dramatically change their business models if the industry is going to clean up its act.