PCs pump out same CO2 as planes

Some people wonder why so many IT companies are making such a noise about being green. Well, if you didn’t know this already, here’s a shock for you:

The global CO2 emissions from IT are thought to be around two per cent of that put out by humans and their technology, according to a report by analyst Gartner.

That is roughly the same amount as the aviation industry.

I’ll say that again – computers pump out the same CO2 as aeroplanes.

Now in response to this companies all over the world are going to have to adapt. Legislation will force  change in companies. And think about it – if you have two suppliers offering the same product, if one of them can prove green credentials, then you’re going to pick that one.

The analyst (using crystal ball or not, we don’t know) predicts :

Gartner predicts that by the end of 2008, 50 percent of mid and large sized Western European IT organisations will declare a green imperative as a result of financial, environmental, legislative and risk-related pressures.

Now, this big green thing isn’t going to go away as quickly as some would like. True, there is a lot of PR and fluff, but in a way there has to be to get things moving. It’s the way the business world works.

The reason why this computer and IT part is important is because most people have considered cars, planes and coal burning to be the culprits of climate change. But now people have to start looking at the engines of their own businesses – the server room.

The problem is, cars and planes are taxed and regulated quite strictly. Would you say the same about computers? And if you tax one industry for its part in hurting the world, why not another? Silicon Valley, I bet, is really racking its brains on this one at the moment.