Survey the green-tech landscape

Organizational leaders have absorbed the buzz surrounding green tech. Yet the allure of environmental stewardship alone isn't inspiring the majority of companies adopting greener practices. Rather, those all-important greenbacks -- in the form of lower energy bills, ROI, and tax breaks -- are driving many companies toward more eco-responsible, waste-reducing, sustainable IT initiatives.

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Such are the key findings of InfoWorld's Green Computer Research Report. The survey, conducted by IDG Research Group, polled 358 IT professionals -- representing companies ranging from SMB to enterprise -- on technology solutions and practices that can reduce waste and associated costs by conserving energy and other resources. Technologies that fall into this "lean-tech" category include more energy-efficient PCs and servers, thin clients, and power-management products, as well as server and storage consolidation strategies and more efficient datacenter and server-room cooling.

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Nearly three-quarters of the survey's respondents expressed at least some familiarity with green computing, which also encompasses technologies and strategies geared at reducing an organization's impact on the environment, such as the amount of harmful gasses it produces, the presence of toxic substances in wares bought or sold, and the quantity of reusable materials that end up in landfills. Here, green computing might include employing alternative energy, recycling PCs and purchasing refurbished ones, and implementing tools such as telepresence to reduce travel.

Going green to save green

Nearly 7 in 10 respondents have started down the green road, with 24 percent currently using or pilot-testing green computing solutions and 45 percent more in the planning stage of at least one initiative. Of the 17 percent who have no plans to implement a green solution in the next 12 months, 26 percent don't see an ROI in adopting green computing, 15 percent report that it is not in the budget, and another 15 percent state that their companies' energy costs are not high enough to justify the investment.