IT Governance Blog on IT governance, risk management, compliance and information security.

The BP oil spill, off the Gulf of Mexico, has been branded the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it’s not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic.

Barack Obama has stressed the need for urgent action to move forward with innovative energy policies that will ensure the end of America’s reliance on fossil fuels and a clean energy future. This Administration has taken unprecedented action to jumpstart the clean energy industry, and the President emphasized the need to match these actions by a comprehensive plan that transitions the United States to a 21st-century clean-energy economy.

To meet these objectives, new ‘Green’ policies will be introduced. Some of these policies could have a significant effect on your IT infrustructure and you need to act now, get ahead of the curve and begin your own Green IT initiatives.
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To mark the International Green IT Awareness Week we are offering digital readers 10% off any eBook in the ITGP range – Simply enter: ITGPDOWNLOAD at the checkout!

You can read about the various Green IT activities we are undertaking to coincide with the International Green IT Awareness Week on our blog.

Below are some of the resources available to help you get the most out of your Green IT initiatives, to help you promote environmentally sustainable IT within your organisation, to increase brand and corporate image and to realise the very real bottom line savings that can be achieved through reduced energy costs:
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It’s Green IT Awareness Week and to coincide with the event we are undertaking the following activities:

• We are publishing the second edition of Gary Hird’s book Green IT in Practice.This book is the latest addition to IT Governance’s specialist online Green IT store, which brings together all the best books for learning about Green IT and the tools needed to apply it in practice.
• For organisations pursuing compliance with ISO14001, the environmental management system, we are offering a range of specialist books and resources, including a labour-saving ISO14001 Documentation Toolkit.
• For organisations pursuing compliance with BS EN 16001, the energy management system, we will be launching a labour-saving BS EN 16001 Toolkit.
• Our Critical Issue for June (which is only available to our email subscribers), will focus on Green IT issues – watch this space…
• In keeping with the ‘Green’ theme, we are offering an added incentive to digital readers by taking 10% off the purchase price of its entire ITGP e-book range with the voucher code: ITGPDOWNLOAD.

Promote environmentally sustainable IT within your organisation…

Learn from the John Lewis Partnership with this best-selling practical book:
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It is becoming progressively more important for all businesses to act (and to be seen to act) in an environmentally responsible manner, both to fulfill their legal and moral obligations, but also to enhance the brand and to improve corporate image. IT has a large part to play in all this.

Make sure you and your IT department are prepared for these impacts. There are various resources on our website to help you understand why and how to make your IT ‘Green’, including:

• A Carbon Footprint Calculator; &
• The following Free PDF Tasters:
  1. The Governance of Green IT (Taster)
  2. Greening the Data Centre (Taster)

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‘Green IT’ is a catch-all phrase for sustainable, eco-friendly products, services, practices and management systems used in the information and communications technology sector.

Greater environmental awareness coupled with pressures from consumers, legislators, and rising fuel costs, is pushing the IT community towards Green IT.

It is becoming progressively more important for all businesses to act (and to be seen to act) in an environmentally responsible manner, both to fulfill their legal and moral obligations, but also to enhance the brand and to improve corporate image. IT has a large part to play in all this.

The Copenhagen influence:
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With the spotlight firmly fixed on the Copenhagen Climate Summit, the argument for reducing carbon emissions has never been more apparent . Negotiations have captured the attention of citizens from countries large and small, stirring much debate and angst as world leaders try to devise a plan to prevent – or at least ease – climate change.

The IT arena will not be excluded from the impact on business that the outcomes of this summit will bring. The necessity to become more ‘Green’ will result in the business case for ‘Green IT’ developing further. Its role in improving IT cost-effectiveness, whilst reducing the organization’s carbon footprint will only get stronger over the years to come.

Make sure you and your IT department are prepared for these impacts.

The Cambridge Network is delivering a series of events in the East of England for the Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network to facilitate knowledge transfer between stakeholders in the electronics industry regarding trends and opportunities which will impact their business.

• Start date/time: 16th December: 3pm
• End date/time: 16th December: 6.30 pm
• Venue: The Umney Theatre, Robinson College, Grange Road, Cambridge, CB3 9AN
• Organiser name: Louise Rushworth
• Organiser tel: 01223 401585

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Greening your IT is always a good idea, not just for the sake of the environment (although this is as good a reason as any), but also to save money and to demonstrate a culture of corporate social responsibility.

Today’s successful organisations combine business improvements with a reduction in environmental impact. ‘Green Shift’ is about changing organisational cultures and individual behaviour to combine environmental, profit and efficiency objectives.

But in the real world it can be a daunting challenge and there will be some difficult questions which need answering such as:

• How do I go about constructing appropriate policies and metrics?
• How do I engage with employees and suppliers? and;
• How can IT begin to enable carbon footprint reduction in the organisation as a whole?

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