John Sterlicchi | June 17, 2008
A GROUP of chief information officers in the US has come up with a six-point plan to infiltrate organisations with environmentally friendly initiatives.
The organisation represents CIOs in state governments, but observers say the pointers are valuable in all enterprises.The National Association of State Chief Information Officers has put out a report, Green IT in Enterprise Practices, urging its members and large enterprises to help shape policies that will lead to greener technology. The report's first recommendation is for CIOs to develop a green IT plan for the enterprise, including equipment purchasing, recycling, virtualisation and data centre consolidation.
Secondly, the enterprise should ascertain where it stands on energy consumed and greenhouse gas emitted.
Thirdly, once a measure is obtained, a project's success should be monitored.
For example, in following a data centre consolidation initiative, examining the energy usage rate prior to consolidation and then comparing that with energy usage in the aftermath of consolidation is important for success and shows the benefits accrued for the project.
Fourthly, CIOs must become advocates of green policies in their organisations.
They must use their authority to drive towards greener practices without making major jurisdictional policy changes.
Fifthly, CIOs must collaborate with, and partner, other agencies and vendors to promote the green benefits of a program.
"State CIOs have an opportunity to become transformational leaders in green IT initiatives," says Dugan Petty, chair of the association's Green IT Working Group.
"By advocating green practices through the use of IT, state CIOs can have a tangible influence on reducing their state's environmental impact."
Finally, CIOs need to take advantage of the times.
Because of the current fuel and energy cost crisis there has never been a better time for a CIO to be an advocate of green initiatives.