CIOs Going Green
Concerns over climate change and rising oil prices have made reducing energy consumption and emissions a priority for businesses and governments around the world. On Wall Street, there is a “green” revolution under way, as a growing number of firms implement initiatives to decrease their carbon footprint according to SecuritiesIndustry.com. Citigroup, Wachovia, Barclays and Washington Mutual are among the growing number of financial firms that have already pledged to address climate change in the coming years. Now as the issues relating to measuring, reducing and investing in energy efficiencies become higher priorities in boardrooms across the country, CIOs are under increasing pressure to reduce energy consumption without losing strategic perspective. In fact a recent survey conducted by CIO.com shows that IT executives are slowly…but surely…going green.
“Most organizations could double their energy efficiency by 2012 if they just tried,” says William Forrest, Associate Principal for IT at McKinsey. Industry Experts say green initiatives, particularly data center efficiency, should be a priority for the potential cost savings alone, and CIOs must be held accountable. Executive search firm, A.E. Feldman, has a team of industry veterans already working with a number of firms to identify and place qualified professionals who can design and implement strategies for maximizing energy efficiency. The firm reports that demand is surging for executives with the expertise to address mounting energy concerns.
Addressing Climate Change
Citigroup has pledged $50 billion to address climate change over the next decade. The financial behemoth plans to cut its global emissions by 10% from their 2005 levels by 2011. Citigroup plans to execute its plan through investments, financings and the growth of alternative energy and clean technology among the clients and markets it serves, as well as energy saving, “green” projects within its own operations. Specifically, Citi plans to increase ten-fold, to $10 billion, its commitment to reduce its corporate environmental footprint through its own real estate portfolio, procurement and energy use.
Wachovia has also committed to a 10% reduction in its carbon dioxide emissions by 2010. The bank says it will accomplish this by developing and applying green whole building standards and improving the energy efficiency of its existing portfolio.
Barclays says it is investing in its own energy efficiency. Under its Climate Action Program, Barclays says it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by improving energy efficiency, and make its global operations carbon neutral by 2009 by offsetting the remaining CO2 emissions.
Deborah Horvath, Executive VP and CIO at Washington Mutual, has cut its PC-related greenhouse gas emissions by 60%, saved millions on IT-related electricity costs for its PC fleet, and in one recently completed pilot reduced the legal department’s paper consumption by 15%, according to Computerworld. The report adds that Horvath says WaMu went from emitting 24.5 metric tons of CO2 down to 8.6 metric tons this year - a decrease derived mainly from energy-saving power-management software installed on 44,000 PCs, which powers them down when not in use.
CIOs to be Held Accountable
Right now as measuring, reducing and investing in energy efficiencies become a key priority in a growing number of boardrooms, CIOs are under increasing pressure to reduce energy consumption without losing strategic perspective. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) believes CIOs should be on the frontlines of corporate environmental programs and policies.
Computer Weekly quotes Director at IT specialist financial investment firm CIO Plus (and former CIO), Chris Billmore, as saying, “The recession is the perfect time for CIOs to rewrite budget proposals to take in green issues to win over company boards.” According to Billmore, doing so could sway decisions on budget requests in their favor because boards are increasingly concerned about green issues due to their effect on how firms are perceived by shareholders, customers, staff and prospective employees - all of which affect share price. Billmore adds there are few parts of an organization where CIOs do not have a role to play in “greening” the firm because it is a natural extension to their traditional role, according to Computer Weekly.
IT Going Green
IT execs are, in fact, going green…albeit slowly. A survey of 280 IT executives conducted by CIO.com shows two primary factors driving change: cost-cutting efforts related to energy efficiency and efforts to be more socially responsible, including “green” initiatives dedicated to environmental sustainability.
More than half of the IT executives surveyed (55%), say their organization has at least one corporate social responsibility program that includes “green” initiatives dedicated to environmental sustainability while another 25% are beginning to address the issue.
IT executives cite social responsibility and reducing operational costs as the main catalysts behind the “greening” of their IT operations. The survey also finds that activities organizations are currently undertaking or planning to make their IT operations more environmentally friendly include reducing server power consumption (64%), educating users to turn off equipment at night (57%), configuring desktops not in use to enter sleep mode (49%) and upgrading or reconfiguring cooling infrastructure for improved data center efficiency (44%).
Bottom Line: energy efficiency is now a profitability initiative with shareholder implications. As a result, talent with the expertise in designing and implementing energy-saving initiatives, particularly data center efficiency, have become hot commodities.
