According to Greenstone, depleting product margins and greater market competition will force ICT resellers to adapt to new trends in client demands and to rethink how value added services can be delivered to greater effect.
The three point plan suggests that companies first start to measure, report and reduce carbon emissions generated by ICT. The service providers need to have a full understanding of their operational carbon emissions and those of their offerings. It is also critical that they are able to communicate these in an effective manner.
According to the company, ICT can help abate far more emissions in a company than their own production and use generates. The reduction of ICT emissions will become a key agenda item for CIOs in the near future. Resellers need to have a green portfolio of products and services supporting these projects for their clients.
Before an organization can make any investment decision about the right green technology choice for the company, they need to measure and understand their carbon emission base line. Service providers need to enable their clients to measure their existing ICT carbon footprint so they can demonstrate the impact of their offerings in terms of carbon and costs.
The CRC Energy Efficiency Program is a mandatory carbon reduction scheme, targeting large commercial and public sector organizations using more than 6,000MWh of electricity per annum. ICT resellers may fall into the CRC scheme if they run data centers or outsourced services such as help desks, network management or even logistics facilities, Greenstone said.
ICT resellers who fall within the CRC scheme need to ensure that they are in a position to report their carbon emissions to the Environment Agency from April 2010. Companies need to have an accurate and transparent measurement process as there are significant fines for inaccuracy and failure to report.
One other feature of the CRC scheme is that the participants’ relative performance in terms of emission reduction will be made public and, inevitably, media and environmental groups will draw attention to the worst performers in the league table. Failing to tackle carbon emissions could prove expensive in reputational, as well as financial terms, the company added.
Ram Ramachander, CEO of Greenstone Carbon Management, said: ”Green ICT represents a great opportunity to deliver cost savings, carbon reduction and increased profitability.
”Resellers therefore need to get on top of the green IT agenda and by maximizing on the opportunities and minimizing risks both for themselves and their clients.”
