by Rich Rowe
You see it in the news every day. From manufacturers to service providers, many companies are touting their environmentally friendly green practices. Despite these claims, many fall into the category of “greenwashing,” or trying to make themselves look more environmentally friendly than they really are. Although many greenwashers sometimes get away with these unscrupulous practices, their deceptions do not go entirely unnoticed. For example, a number of utility companies promising to foster renewable energy have been exposed for simply diverting the extra funds purely toward marketing. Finding effective green investments — ones that have real impact — is one way for companies to truly promote their practices as being green.
Green IT offers legitimate ways for an organization to adopt environmentally friendly practices that can make a sizable impact. In addition to being environmentally responsible, Green IT significantly lowers IT’s overhead costs, particularly for energy use. As companies become aware of the true cost of IT, CIOs may soon be expected to address and report on energy consumption as part of their overall fiduciary responsibilities to the company. However, it is not wise to wait. Taking a proactive stance on energy efficiency and enterprise sustainability now will likely yield significant annual cost savings and ROI.
To determine which energy-efficient technologies and IT strategies to implement, the IT function must first clearly understand how its equipment is performing and how it is impacting the company and the environment, ranging from energy consumption to greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, all energy-consuming IT equipment must be metered and monitored. This single step can reveal everything from inefficient IT facilities to points of power hemorrhages and minor problems that can be easily fixed. Once this step is completed, the following options can be pursued based upon the findings:
- Energy management and emissions tracking software
- Power-efficient hardware and alternative energy
- Cooling redesign and upgrade
- Consolidation and virtualization
Although Green IT projects deliver clear ROIs, there is plenty of inertia standing in the way of Green IT. These projects frequently require upfront investment, and they certainly require plenty of planning and time. Occasionally, they even call for a change of corporate culture. Green IT projects may also require a restructuring of job responsibilities, such as getting the IT and facilities departments working more closely together.
Related Resources: MorganFranklin Solutions
Green IT Services: Until recently, few companies were concerned with being environmentally
friendly. But cost, legislative, and environmental pressures are now forcing them to take
steps toward “going green.” To learn more about our Green IT services download the PDF (65kb).
Virtualization Assessment: Server virtualization consolidates underutilized physical servers by deploying systems into virtual machines that can run safely and move transparently across shared hardware.
However, preparing for this complicated transition requires in-depth knowledge of virtualization and the proper tools to develop the future virtual configuration. To learn more about our virtualization solutions, download the PDF (60kb).
How We Can Help
MorganFranklin is a single source for all financial, management and
technology support with a proven track record leading time sensitive
and technically intense initiatives.
Our teams carry certifications and degrees such as CPA, CIA, CISA,
MBA, and PMP, and possess an average of 20 years experience at manager and higher staff levels. Our ability to tap diverse expertise
in-house allows us to proactively manage your requirements and
quickly address issues that could impact your compliance, efficiency
or profitability. Count on MorganFranklin to bring extensive experience,
diverse perspectives, determination, and competitive rates to meet
all of your financial and information technology needs.
To learn more about Green IT and virtualization, please contact us at greenit@morganfranklin.com.
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Issue
Many companies promote themselves as being environmentally friendly, yet many of their claims are simply “greenwashing” that makes no improvement at all.
Relevance
Companies experience serious public image issues if exposed as “greenwashers.” Green IT projects can offer significant environmental impact and financial benefits.
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