January 2009

Finance sector feels pressure to reduce carbon footprint

71 of finance companies feel pressure to reduce energy consumption
72 plan to reduce carbon footprint in the next 18 months
62 of IT managers do not know how much power their data centre draws
Only 38 enforce shutting down computers at night

The majority of finance sector organisations are feeling pressure to reduce their carbon footprints, according to a survey of IT managers commissioned by IT solutions distributor Zycko. 71 feel pressure to cut down on their energy usage and 72 plan to reduce their carbon footprint within the next 18 months.

The independent research, conducted by Vanson Bourne, provides a detailed overview of the green IT challenges currently faced by UK financial services organisations and identifies major hurdles on the way to reducing their carbon emissions. Almost two thirds 62 of IT managers in financial services organisations do not even know how much power their data centre draws, and less than half 38 currently enforce shutting down of computers at night and on weekends. More encouragingly, 67 have implemented remote working and video conferencing facilities to reduce the need for staff to travel.

Lack of IT resources and cost were the biggest barriers to becoming green, cited by 72 of respondents, followed by lack of knowledge about available options 14 and the fact that it is not a priority also 14 .

Zycko s Group Sales Director, David Galton-Fenzi, commented: The finance sector employs over a million people, and its commitment to reducing carbon emissions is certainly a positive sign. Along with the media, suppliers play a key role in educating IT managers on environmental issues affecting business and they therefore need to work together with the industry to help them identify and address inefficiencies.

Contrary to popular belief, this does not require an army of staff and hefty IT budget. Often, the solution lies not in building more data centres, or even in expanding current sites, but rather in utilising existing space more efficiently. Already available solutions enable servers to be powered on and off, heat and cooling to be monitored, and power delivery to be examined and adjusted. Of course the benefits of implementing such systems are both financial and environmental.