Tech firms ramping up green IT projects

Green IT projects are gaining more traction within tech companies in spite of the recession, as long as they can prove a conclusive return on investment (RoI), according to a new report from consultancy Frost & Sullivan released today.

The firm's third annual Sustainability in Telecoms: Return on Environmental Investments report discusses industry best practices and how to generate RoI, profiling the successes of big name service providers and vendors including BT and IBM.

Cost savings, better differentiation and improved brand loyalty were all found to be key drivers for investing in green IT projects. Most companies featured in the report had already begun developing their own frameworks, and are seeking accreditation from various industry bodies.

"The amount of environmental investments in the ICT sector should at least double in the next two to three years," said Frost & Sullivan principal analyst Sharifah Amirah.

"Despite the lack of concrete frameworks at the 2009 Copenhagen summit, individual governments, stakeholder and consumer pressure will continue to drive businesses to adopt more sustainable operations."

However, measurement frameworks for most are still at a very early stage, held back by a lack of standard measures and the difficulty in measuring non-tangible benefits, said the report.

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