Euro Businesses still wasting energy

Recent research shows that a high proportion of businesses in Europe are wasteful in their approach to saving energy through green ICT (Information Communication Technologies) policies and do not implement  measures to save energy and thus money around the usage of common ICT equipment.

According to new research carried out by CEPIS, the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies and its Green ICT Task Force, over a third of organisations in Europe do not implement green ICT policies. This research targeted ICT managers across Europe providing insight on organisations’ usage of ICT equipment, as well as their awareness of and attitudes to energy efficiency.

Approximately 350 ICT Managers from 16 countries in Europe participated in the research to determine how ‘green’ ICT-aware organisations really are, by assessing their attitudes, and how everyday ICT equipment is used and monitored in the workplace. The results showed that the ‘greenest’ ICT-aware organisations are in Greece, Ireland and Switzerland. Energy efficient policies however are lacking in business, with over a third of organisations stating that they do not implement green ICT policies. The main driving factor for why there are no policies in place according to respondents, is that there is no official legislation enforcing such practices.

Almost half of organisations do not inform or train their computer users in how to best reduce energy consumption. ICT underpins virtually all aspects of business, yet over two thirds of organisations do not carry out basic monitoring of technology used by employees. Overall a ‘green’ attitude is lacking in larger organisations especially since micro-organisations are more like to actually implement such policies.

This snapshot of business practices in Europe shows that organisations need to become more aware of green ICT and its benefits in relation to saving costs and the potential ICT to contribute to green business. Download ‘Energy Efficient Enterprise in Europe: Examining Green ICT Awareness in Organisations’