According to the results of the first annual Green IT survey, IT departments in the UK are guilty of greenwashing with only 20 percent of businesses actually measuring the IT-related energy spend.

Extreme Networks and Data Integration, behind the survey, revealed that analysis of the needs of UK public and private sector organisations show that some 64 percent of respondents cited Green IT as a requirement when purchasing new IT equipment.

However, it also found that only 20 percent of them were actively measuring the IT-related energy spend which is a vital component when determining actual carbon footprint reductions. It would seem, therefore, that many are doing Green IT for the sake of it: greenwashing in other words.

Additional findings included:

• 49% of organisations cited reduced operational costs as the main driver for greening IT operations.
• 43% of businesses cited Green IT as important to their organisations
• 78% of participants say they recycle their IT equipment
• 51% of respondents say they are unsure whether their organisations have sustainability goals for Green IT, suggesting that not all organisations are aware of the benefits and return on investment of their Green IT equipment.

“The fact that 78 percent of organisations recycle their IT equipment suggests that there is a high level of awareness of the WEEE regulations that were introduced at the beginning of 2007" says Extreme Networks’ Regional Director for UK and Ireland, Paul Phillips. "However, it is essential that businesses measure the amount of electricity required for powering and cooling their IT systems. Currently only a fifth of businesses do this, and it is just important to measure the success of Green IT initiatives rather than going green just for the sake of it.”