Previous page:Most Canadian business leaders have yet to define a green energy strategy
The IDC Canada survey findings on corporate inaction, mirror those of the Penn, Schoen and Berland poll. Senf said 33 per cent of respondents to the IDC poll indicated their company was "not at all involved" in any program to reduce global warming and climate change.
About 28 per cent said they were "slightly involved"; four per cent answered "extremely involved"; and nine per cent were "significantly involved".
The respondents, however, revealed some corporate conscience as 31 per cent conceded their companies "should be extremely involved" in developing green initiatives.
Environmental concerns, apparently do not figure highly in deliberations concerning IT expenditures.
IDC found 24 per cent of Canadian firms believe environmental issues are "not important" to their IT purchases; 26 six per cent said they are "slightly important;" 27 per cent "important;" 18 per cent, "significantly important;" and five per cent, "extremely important."
Senf says it's possible that companies view IT purchases as just one of the many factors affecting the environment.
He says at least 60 per cent of the respondents were involved in recycling electronic components, 65 per cent power saving PCs and computer screens, 49 per cent encouraged employees keep equipment on "sleep mode" when not in use, 47 per cent chose low energy consuming servers and back end equipment, and 39 per cent offered work-from-home options.
"The numbers reveal most energy-related initiatives are PC-centered. It seems the messages from server vendors are missing their mark half the time," says Senf.
By their numbers alone, corporate PCs consume a massive amount of power, but companies can also reduce energy consumption by purchasing more efficient servers and data centre hardware, according to another observer.
"Top level executives are beginning to realize the need for an energy strategy because it's hitting them in the pocket," says Nauman Haque, analyst, Info-Tech Research Group Inc., London, Ont. "Companies are now spending three times as much they did three years ago in powering and cooling data centres."
Haque said there is an increasing need for data centres that run cooler and require less power.
Waste and cost reduction as well as "customer goodwill" towards environmentally conscious corporations will drive interest in green initiatives, says Haque.
Despite the numbers, Senf says the IDC survey revealed a positive angle.
Corporate executives appear to have no shortage of ideas for launching a green project. When asked how their companies can contribute to reducing its impact on the environment, respondents offered suggestions such as: using flat screen monitors, employing recycling programs, deploying lighting controls, implementing server consolidation and even trading in "green credits" similar to the emission credits of the Kyoto Accord.
"Perhaps all we need now is to convert understanding into action," Senf says.
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