Going Green to Save Green

Nearly 7 in 10 respondents have started down the green road, with 24 percent currently using or pilot-testing green computing solutions and 45 percent more in the planning stage of at least one initiative. Of the 17 percent who have no plans to implement a green solution in the next 12 months, 26 percent don't see an ROI in adopting green computing, 15 percent report that it is not in the budget, and another 15 percent state that their companies' energy costs are not high enough to justify the investment.

Environmental considerations are certainly stirring a lot of interest in going green. In fact, 86 percent of survey respondents said green computing is at least somewhat important to protecting the environment. Among those respondents who report that they are embracing green computing, however, the underlying motive appears to be protecting the bottom line more so than protecting Mother Nature: Almost three-quarters, 74 percent, of companies adopting green computing are doing so to reduce energy costs. Half are adopting such practices to extend useful life of hardware. Meanwhile, 31 percent are doing it to reduce harmful emissions attributed to global warming and health problems.

In regard to power bills, few companies, 24 percent, reported that their energy costs have increased over the past 12 months; 60 percent don't anticipate those costs will increase over the next three to five years. Still, as noted above, three-quarters are adopting green IT practices to lower power bills.

Energy costs alone aren't at the forefront of many a business leader's mind; there's also concern about future supply. Around two-thirds of the respondents agreed that the nation is facing an imminent power shortage and that energy saving measures must be taken to ensure future business growth.