IT managers 'in denial' about carbon pricing

Too many organisations are still “in denial” about the importance of carbon pricing and management, according to Gartner.

Gartner cited a recent global survey in which it found that 36 percent of IT managers said they weren’t sure whether carbon pricing would affect their organisation’s plans over the next 24 months.

“While the number of enterprises using or planning to use carbon tracking systems exceeds those legally required to do so, given the inevitable requirements to support carbon reporting in the future, the percentage of enterprises preparing is low,” said Simon Mingay, research vice president at Gartner. “Regardless of actual or anticipated regulations, midsize and large enterprises should at least be building carbon information systems, because, whether in a developed or developing economy, pressure will come down the supply chain to be transparent about carbon emissions.”

The Gartner survey found that only 7.9 percent of IT managers in the UK thought it was possible that carbon pricing would affect their organisation’s plans within two years. Analysts said that result was surprising in light of the UK’s Carbon Reduction Commitment, which goes into effect next year and is expected to affect some 5,000 organisations.

“This apparent lack of preparation, and the inevitability that most enterprises will come under increased scrutiny from customers, investors, partners, key stakeholders and, eventually, regulators, should come as a wake-up call to policymakers, boards, senior leadership teams and CIOs,” Mingay said. “Despite the lack of specific regulations, midsize and large enterprises in developed economies need to recognize that they will be paying for their emissions at some point — it’s just a matter of when, how much and through what kind of mechanism.”