The Green IT Advantage

January 26, 2009
The green advantage
By Geoffrey James

Green IT is about more than saving money.
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The benefits for companies that have initiated green it initiatives has expanded considerably over the past few years.

While at first companies looked at the potential cost savings of instituting ways to save energy, CIOs and C-level executives realized that taking actions to help protect the environment resulted in valuable benefits to the company overall. These companies haven’t just raised their energy efficiencies, they’ve also managed to turn green IT into a key element of their corporate strategy. In doing so, they’ve achieved several competitive advantages.

Competitive Advantage 1:
Improved Employee Productivity
Many employees are skeptical of cost-saving initiatives, particularly when top management foists them on the workforce. Green IT, by contrast, resonates with employees who are concerned about global warming and environmental degradation.
“By deciding to become a leader in green IT, you’re tapping into a deep desire people have to change the world in a positive way,” points out Martin Hingley, chief research officer at the market research firm IDC.

For example, Cadence Design Systems, a $1.6-billion-a-year software developer, has had green initiatives in place for five years and has even hired a “green architect” to help define future phases of its green initiatives. This ongoing focus on green issues has, based on his own observations, had a positive effect on morale and hence on productivity, says Dan Salisbury, the company’s corporate vice president of global IT.
“People feel better working in a company that has a social conscience and is contributing to the betterment of the human race,” he explains.
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