INDIA: Following the initial hype and unending debates on the tangible and intangible effects of going green, businesses have now finally woken up to the benefits of green IT. Irrespective of size and nature of business, companies are now willingly embracing green IT as a primary way to save costs and secondly to give essence to their CSR activities. Back in January 2009, Dataquest came out with its first green audit and found some very interesting results.
The research result was fairly encouraging with close to 69 per cent of the respondents admitting that they were aware of green IT. This was a heartening find, as it proves that there is a high amount of interest on the issue. Not surprisingly, the awareness levels were higher in MNCs with some 77 per cent admitting to know about the issue. But it is interesting to note the high awareness levels among PSUs, some 76 per cent of them said that they were aware of green IT. Another interesting thing to note is that the awareness level was the highest among companies with annual revenues of Rs. 50-100 crore, around 79 per cent. Big companies, with annual revenues of over Rs. 500 crore, came next.
While the research highlighted the green IT activities of PSUs, MNCs and large enterprises, small and medium businesses (SMBs) were not studied in detail simply due to the fragmented nature of this segment. However, a recent survey by IBM and InfoTech Research Group reveals that Indian SMBs are in fact leading investments in green IT. This report completely debunks the widely accepted theory so far that only large enterprises are capable of or are investing in green IT initiatives.
SMBs Lead
The IBM study reveals that even in a very difficult economic environment, Indian SMBs are eager to actively invest in initiatives that reduce the environmental impact of their IT. It also highlights that controlling costs is the most popular factor driving implementation across initiatives, and green initiatives have a clear impact on the bottom lines of organizations. The study is based on a survey of more than 1,000 information technology executives at companies with between 100 and 1,000 employees across industries, and in a dozen countries including India, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
The findings show that more than 55 per cent of Indian companies are going to, or have already commissioned, third-party environmental audits, purchased emission credits, or have made improvements in their supply chain efficiency to reduce energy consumption. Businesses around the world have discovered that going green isn't just good for the planet; its good for their bottom line as well.
In today's economic climate, the primary driver for the majority of IT initiatives is the ability to provide a solid return to the business. SMBs too have now realized that green initiatives help decrease electricity consumption and consumables usage, while increasing features and functionality for the business, says Ramesh Narasimhan, director, general business, IBM India/South Asia.
IT Personalities
The study found that companies typically fall into one of the four IT personalities - green advocates, smart spenders, green observers, and green seekers. Green advocates, that make up about 25 per cent of the companies surveyed, are those who integrate environmental considerations into all areas of their business. Smart spenders make up 38 per cent of the survey group, and are defined as SMBs willing to make upfront investments to achieve a long-term cost reduction. Green observers, who make up 30 per cent of the survey group, do not have specific environmental goals and need management support for initiatives to improve energy efficiency. Finally, green seekers at 7 per cent, are interested in adopting energy efficient technology but are unsure of where to start and how to quantify results.
