Green IT - a Luxury or a Necessity for Local Government?

As the recession bites and budgets tighten across the public sector will green initiatives be put on the back boiler? Or will green goals be embedded as a key aid to efficiency?

(Vocus) November 29, 2008 -- Ninety eight percent of Local Area Agreements (LAA) contain commitments for tackling climate change and its impacts. However the findings of new research (http://www.ukauthority.com/green/tabid/73/Default.aspx) suggest that this growing interest within local government to become 'green' is yet to be mirrored in the establishment of internal goals, wider organisational operations and performance management. Respondents recognise that there is more that can be achieved to help reach these ecological long term goals; and the link with efficiency savings through 'going green' was clear in many minds.

The aim of this research, conducted by LGITU magazine (http://www.ukauthority.com/LGITU/tabid/59/Default.aspx) and supported by SAS (http://www.sas.com/offices/europe/uk/), Sun Microsystems (http://uk.sun.com/), CIMA (http://www.cimaglobal.com/cps/rde/xchg/live/root.xsl/index.htm) and Socitm (http://www.socitm.gov.uk/socitm/), was to investigate how green IT fits within today's wider policy agenda and budgetary constraints, how councils are preparing to measure and monitor their green contribution and prove their success. It also looked at whether local government can match central government's goal for 'carbon neutral Information and Communication Technology (ICT) within four years'.

•    359 officers from 219 local authorities participated in the research programme representing nearly half (47%) of the UK's 468 local authorities.

According to the survey (http://www.ukauthority.com/green/tabid/73/Default.aspx), 96% of respondents say that green issues are important to their wider organisational agenda, with 87% seeing technology as a key enabler of sustainability, council-wide. Only 4%, however, are confident today that their council's ICT estate would be carbon neutral within four years, matching the target of central government.

Encouragingly, almost 70% of councils recognise that quantifiable targets and performance reporting are key enablers of success and a similar proportion say they currently have green targets embedded within overall corporate targets. However, almost 70% admit to not having a clear understanding of the green impact of their current working practices and only 30% have embedded green targets within specific IT department targets.

The main drivers for pursuing green initiatives appeared to be based on local pressures. 72% identify the need to play a part in conserving the local environment and over 60% recognise there is a responsibility on the council to lead local environmental action. 60% of respondents also recognise the cost savings and efficiencies from 'going green'. In contrast, 93% identify lack of resources and budget as the largest barrier to their green initiatives.

Analysis of the survey concludes that although a high rate of 'green consciousness' has been achieved we are seeing only the beginning of a 'green revolution' in local councils. Furthermore, within a short time of the research being completed, some councils reported that the developing financial crisis had already made green "a luxury item that can no longer be afforded". This indicates that most councils have yet to fully commit to an holistic approach; using green IT as an opportunity to deliver efficiency and further transform local government's operations, service delivery and stakeholder engagement.

Said LGITU editor, Helen Olsen, "There is an unstoppable green tide washing over the public sector, but in the current economic climate it is essential that the underlying link between 'green' and 'Gershon' is recognised and that efficiency is built into green initiatives. An organisation that both greens its ICT and uses technology to enable green ways of working will be in a win:win situation in terms of delivering environmental sustainability and at the same time reducing costs in transformed service delivery."

Dave Waltho, Head of Government Affairs at SAS UK, commented: "It is encouraging that most councils have not only identified 'becoming green' but also 'championing green' as key strategic issues. Initially, many are rightly focusing on 'greening IT' to get some quick 'green and lean' wins, such as using virtualisation to reduce the power, cooling and space requirements of data centres."

He added: "However, most councils have yet to adopt a systematic approach to embedding 'green' within wider corporate goals and performance monitoring across economic, environmental and social goals. This suggests that once the low hanging fruit has been gleaned, local authorities will find it difficult to plan and prioritise 'green' initiatives and will struggle to credibly report progress to their stakeholders - which is essential for spreading 'green IT' awareness within the organisation."

Jim Craig, Public Policy and Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Sun Microsystems Ltd, said, "Gartner estimates that the IT industry has a carbon footprint as big as the airline industry, and accounts for two percent of all global carbon emissions. The IT industry has a duty and a responsibility to provide 'Green' IT to enable customers to save money and meet their environmental targets. There can still be a perception that green is the more expensive option. At Sun, 'eco' has two meanings for our customers - ecological and economical."

Helenne Doody, Sustainability Specialist at CIMA, comments, "Local Authorities have a key role to play in taking the lead on 'going green'. Although it is heartening to see that respondents are placing more importance on environmental issues, this is not necessarily translating into direct action. Organisations need to be more forward-looking and think about how to adapt their strategy to make sustainability part of day-to-day operations. CIMA believes management accountants have a key role to play in this process, providing vital business intelligence to support strategy and influence long-term decision making."

Richard Steel, CIO of the London Borough of Newham and President of Socitm, said: 'We are very pleased to support this initiative, which complements our own work in this area. Last year Socitm Insight published 'Green ICT?: current research into the environmental impact of ICT', covering 'green' practices for the IT department as well as a guidance on how ICT can be used to reduce the organisation's overall environmental impact. Meanwhile Socitm Consulting is developing a new tool - the Greener ICT Maturity Model (GIMM©) with a number of authorities, and advising others on models, metrics, and key performance indicators around Green ICT."

Editors Notes:

About Sun Microsystems

Sun Microsystems develops the technologies that power the global marketplace. Guided by a singular vision - 'The Network is the Computer™' -- Sun drives network participation through shared innovation, community development and open source leadership. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com.

Contact: Cathy Toft, cathy.toft @ sun.com, +44 (0)1252 422045

About CIMA

CIMA (the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) is the only international accountancy body with a sole focus on business. It is a world leading professional institute that offers an internationally recognised qualification in management accountancy, focusing on accounting in business in both the private and public sectors. It is the voice of 164,000 students and members in 161 countries. CIMA is committed to upholding the highest ethical and professional standards of members and students, and to maintaining public confidence in management accountancy. For more information about CIMA, please visit www.cimaglobal.com.

Contact: Katie Scott-Kurti, Katie.Scott-Kurti @ cimaglobal.com, +44 (0) 20 8849 2347

About Socitm

The Society of Information Technology Management is the professional association for ICT managers working in and for the public sector. Members are drawn primarily from local authorities but also from the police and fire services, housing authorities and other locally delivered public services. With nearly 2000 members from around 500 different organisations including 98% of all UK local authorities, Socitm provides a widely respected forum for the promotion, use and development of ICT best practice. It is also playing a leading role in the implementation of the UK's transformation strategy and runs the Local Government CIO Council.

Contact: Vicky Sargent, vicky.sargent @ socitm.gov.uk, +44 (0) 7726 601 139

About LGITU

LGITU (Local Government IT in Use) magazine, the only magazine to focus solely on the use of IT within UK Local Government and the Transformation of Local Service Delivery, is published by Informed Publications Ltd. Read by 22,000 senior officers in the UK's 469 local authorities, LGITU provides an independent forum for the development of the transformational local government vision and the application of technology to the efficiency agenda. IPL also publishes the www.UKauthorITy.com online news service, the Town Hall subscription-only newsletter and the ComCord database.

Contact: Helen Olsen, Helen @ infopub.co.uk, +44 (0)1273 273941

About SAS

SAS is the leader in business analytics (http://www.sas.com/offices/europe/uk/technologies/analytics/index.html) software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence (http://www.sas.com/offices/europe/uk/technologies/bi/index.html) market. With innovative business applications supported by an enterprise intelligence platform (http://www.sas.com/offices/europe/uk/technologies/architecture/index.html), SAS helps 45,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®. www.sas.com

Contact: Mui Luc, Mui.luc @ suk.sas.com, +44 (0)1628 490 396

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