IT will be at the forefront of green initiatives

According to a new report advancements in information technology (IT) will be at the forefront of carbon reduction measures in the future.

In a report published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an agency of the United Nations, how companies use their broadband services will be key to them meeting green commitments.

The report, entitled 'The Broadband Bridge' advocated companies looking more into the possibilities offered by teleworking.

This is the process of allowing internet-connected staff members to work on computers from home rather than having to commute to the office each day. The savings on offer here are two-fold; one it reduces emissions from vehicles and two the company does not have to use as much electricity for its employees to operate.

If company databases are held on virtual platforms such as cloud computing software also, the firm will be able to cut down on the number of servers it needs on site.

The report cites the example of a Swedish telecoms provider which used a combination of teleworking, flexible working and video conferencing for several years and achieved carbon reductions of 20 to 40 per cent per employee.

It says that more companies adopted this approach then most nations would be well on course to reduce their carbon emissions by two per cent overall by 2020.

"A lack of awareness about ICT and broadband's enabling role is a key challenge going forward. Policies and strategies will need to consider how to influence individual behaviour and raise awareness to enhance the uptake of broadband-enabled low-carbon solutions among consumers worldwide," the report concludes.

"By taking action now, broadband's potential as a transformational technology, will more rapidly move from ideal to reality."

The report echoes comments made recently by Andrew Boddington, director of marketing for Returnonit.co.uk, who said that using systems such as virtualisation and cloud computing can make a serious improvement to your company's profit and loss account because it lowers energy consumption.

Breaking news from ihotdesk, Green IT Solutions in London

Posted by Louise Tate