Industry news

Employees want more green IT

Employees want their businesses to use more green IT, a survey has revealed.

Figures from a study by the Carbon Trust revealed that 70 per cent of staff polled wanted more guidance and empowerment to cut carbon emissions at work.

Four-fifths said they had received no training on how to be 'greener' at work, but 93 per cent of those who had been trained said it was useful.

Experts suggest that businesses can vastly reduce their carbon emissions by introducing high-definition video-conferencing as an alternative to executive travel.

The technology would reportedly increase use rates, but the cost of an improved bandwidth is much cheaper than the cost of travel and may improve employee availability as well as help fight climate change.

Hugh Jones, solutions director at independent body the Carbon Trust, explained that simple initiatives like appointing a 'carbon champion' can help to trigger action in employee terms.

He added: "In the current economic climate it's never been more important for all businesses, of all sizes, to act on climate change.

"You need your teams to consider the carbon footprints of the method of travel they use and the products they source."

Recently, Microsoft's Bill O'Brien suggested that businesses looking to reduce their IT emissions could consider investing in virtualisation systems.