The results of a joint study undertaken by IBM and the NZ Business Council of Sustainable Development into New Zealand businesses' perceptions and behaviour around environmental sustainability and the contribution of IT to organisational energy use. The study incorporates a total sample of 2302 business respondents including a sub-group of 200 IT Managers.
- Technology contributes as much Co2 to planet as airline industry(1)
- 65% say NZ must be environmentally sustainable to succeed in global economy
- Australian business 22% more likely to include IT in sustainability strategies than NZ
Auckland, New Zealand - Beyond recycling and energy-efficient light bulbs, two-thirds of New Zealand businesses are struggling to act sustainably, according to the first New Zealand research into 'Green IT' by IBM and the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development.
The IBM-commissioned study explored businesses' perceptions around environmental sustainability and the contribution of IT to organisational energy use. The total sample of 2302 business respondents included a sub-group of 200 IT Managers. The survey data has been used to compare New Zealand businesses’ attitudes to that of their counterparts in Australia and around the world.
"With 30% of NZ companies citing energy as the fastest-growing business cost, businesses of all sizes should be concerned with controlling the power consumption of IT equipment to reduce their overheads and carbon footprint," says Andrew Fox, IBM New Zealand's Systems and Technology Group Manager. "Figures show the IT industry is contributing a staggering 2% of the planets' carbon dioxide - equal to the airline industry."(1)
New Zealand businesses appear to be behind the rest of the world in making IT a key part of their sustainability programmes. Only 39% of New Zealand businesses who had sustainability strategies included IT infrastructure as a key part of their strategies, compared to 61% of Australian organisations surveyed by IBM Australia in 2007.
"The research findings clearly show that New Zealand businesses are not leveraging substantial cost-saving opportunities from existing Green IT solutions available in the New Zealand market," added Fox.
Popular sustainability activities
Of the organisations surveyed, 47% have introduced recycling programmes in the last year, 38% monitor their energy use, and 34% have tried to reduce their environmental impact through energy-efficient lighting. However, only a fifth (21%) of NZ businesses had a formal sustainable development strategy.
NZBCSD Chief Executive Peter Neilson believes that recycling and lighting have been popular because people's awareness and understanding of the concept and environmental benefits is high. "New Zealand businesses have grasped the 'low-hanging fruit', but too few are aware of new computing approaches that offer similarly practical ways to save energy, money and have a greater environmental impact."
Green technologies
Holistic Green IT solutions, such as IBM's 'Cool Blue Portfolio', include green hardware, software and services solutions that provide optimised, low-impact computing for businesses of all sizes.
One of the most environmentally recognised technologies is virtualisation, yet just 15% of IT Managers believe it would reduce emissions from IT infrastructure without compromising IT performance levels.
"Clearly there is a need to provide businesses with more information about how they can attain affordable IT solutions that are cheaper to run and lower their carbon footprint," says Fox.
Furthermore, the most common reason New Zealand IT Managers had for reducing emissions from IT was to reduce costs (45%), while 62% of Australian IT managers sought to reduce IT emissions out of concern for the environment.
"While both environmental and cost benefits are possible, this suggests that local IT departments aren't well aligned with corporate or employee commitments. There is an opportunity for IT departments to contribute to corporate sustainability strategies, rather than just focus on cost containment," says Fox.
The research also suggests that people consider the environment at home but less so at work. 72% of respondents consider the environment when making household purchases but only 48% say environmental considerations impact their procurement and decision making when making business purchases. However, IBM believes environmental impact will soon be a standard procurement criterion across IT and other industries. A key driver for this is the government’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2010 and the mandate this creates for all businesses working with the government sector.
50% of organisations have made some operational changes to reduce their environmental impact or energy costs in the last 12 months, and while 54% of senior managers report that their company has an environmental or sustainable development strategy, only 21% of all respondents are aware that their organisation has such a strategy.
"Increasingly procurement will be based on organisation's sustainability credentials so we need to raise the awareness of business to this trend. These attributes will enable organisations to attract new clients and retain existing ones both domestically and internationally. Getting this right will mean we can play and win in the global economy," says Neilson.
Notes to editors:
Research summary: The environment, business & technology:
- 50% of NZ organisations have made some operational changes to reduce their environmental impact or energy costs in the last 12 months and 24% plan to make changes in the next year.
- The most common actions NZ organisations have taken in the last year were to start recycling programmes (47%), monitor energy use (38%) and buy more energy-efficient lighting (34%).
- Despite rising energy costs and the environmental impact of technology, NZ businesses are behind the rest of the world in making IT a key part of sustainability programmes. Only 39% of NZ businesses with sustainability strategies included IT infrastructure as a key part of that strategy, compared to 61% of Australian organisations.
- Cost savings, not the environment, are driving 'Green IT' in New Zealand. The most common reason for NZ organisations to reduce the emissions from IT is cost reduction (45% of IT Managers), while Australian IT managers are more likely to reduce IT emissions out of concern for the environment (62%).
Organisations' responses to sustainable development:
- 65% of respondents believe businesses must become more environmentally sustainable for NZ to have continued success in the global economy.
- We consider the environment at home, but less so at work. 72% of New Zealanders consider the environment when making household purchases, but only 48% say environmental considerations have an impact when making business purchases.
- Only 28% of businesses say environmental considerations have a moderate or significant impact on their procurement. Government and Manufacturing organisations tend to give greater consideration to the environment.
- NZ Businesses are not communicating their environmental commitments effectively. While 54% of senior managers report that their company has an environmental or sustainable development strategy, only 21% of all respondents (employees and employers) believe their organisation has such a strategy.
- Rising energy costs are the most common cost increase facing New Zealand businesses. For 30% of New Zealand businesses, energy costs have risen faster than any other cost in the past two years. Nearly half (45%) of manufacturers cite energy as their greatest cost increase.
IT Managers' responses to sustainable development:
- Only 55% of people working in the IT industry believe businesses must become more environmentally sustainable for NZ to have continued success in the global economy, compared to 65% of all respondents.
- The most common ways to reduce the environmental impact of IT were to mandate a reduction in energy consumption (33% IT Managers) and ensure the safe disposal of old IT equipment (28% IT Managers).
- 26% of NZ IT managers did not think it was possible to reduce IT emissions without compromising performance. Those who believed it was possible most frequently cited infrastructure consolidation (38% IT Managers) and power management (31% IT Managers) as ways to reduce emissions without compromising performance.
Please click here to see the full research report(doc, 47KB)
Please click here to see IBM New Zealand Green Credentials(doc, 85KB)
other nations, from prior IBM research.
References:
(1) Data source: Green IT: A New Industry Shock Wave, Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, October 2007.
For media assistance, please contact:
Photography and media interviews are available on request.
Jacquelene Hopwell, Communications Specialist, IBM New Zealand
Phone (09) 359 8708 or (021) 288 5826
E-mail jhopwell@nz1.ibm.com
Graeme Colman, Communications Manager, NZBCSD
Phone (09) 525 9727 or (021) 325 377
E-mail graeme.colman@nzbcsd.org.nz