Companies keen on green but hazy on strategy (5-Sep-07)
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Full article: Companies keen on green but hazy on strategy (5-Sep-07)
A recent survey conducted by Digital Reality Trust found that 55% of large North American companies have developed a green data centre strategy, with 80% out of those implementing strategies that cover not only hardware, but also the facilities design and operations as well.
The survey also revealed that 73% of companies said they weren’t entirely sure what constitutes a green data centre. This can be explained partially by the fact that there are no clear standards on green data centres.
In addition to this, the survey found that only 25% of respondents said that their company required its data centre vendors to have a green strategy. This is likely to be due to people choosing their supplier based on the lowest price or best service.
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Fifty-five percent of large North American companies have established a detailed green datacenter strategy -- despite the fact that 73 percent aren't entirely sure just what constitutes a green datacenter.
These are just a couple of the findings from a survey recently conducted by Digital Realty Trust, which acquires, develops, and manages technology and datacenter-related real estate. The company polled datacenter decision-makers at 105 organizations, with revenues of at least $1 billion and at least 5,000 employees, to assess green datacenter trends.
According to Digital Realty, one of the overall takeaways from the survey is that "green datacenter trends have taken root more quickly and more deeply than previously understood -- perhaps even more so than even energetic proponents of green IT would have guessed themselves."
The company is basing that conclusion, in part, on the fact that 55 percent of respondents said they have mapped out a clear plan for greening up their datacenters. Of that 55 percent, 80 percent said their strategies encompass not only system hardware but the facility design and operations as well. That's not surprising, given the recent attention being given to factors such as the high costs of cooling.
But interestingly, and again, perhaps not surprisingly, 73 percent said they weren't entirely clear just what constitutes a green datacenter. Digital Realty attributes that stat to the fact that there aren't really any clear standards out there. Individual companies as well as consortiums such as The Green Grid have devised some benchmarks and best practices and are working on more, but it's true: There's no textbook definition or blueprints for building a green datacenter.
Notably, though, that hasn't stopped big-name companies such as Sun and IBM from moving forward in "greenovating" their datacenter facilities. Seems to me that there are plenty of tools and technologies out there that companies can embrace to define and build a green -- that is, energy-efficient -- datacenter that best suits their needs.
One last set of findings that I found interesting: "Only 25 percent of respondents said that their company required its datacenter vendors to have a 'green' strategy. And 64 percent said that they would work with partner that did not have a declared green strategy. Further, only 3 in 10 respondents indicated that it was 'very' or 'extremely important' that their datacenter partners delineate their own strategy for green operation."
I guess this isn't too surprising. Whereas some of the big-name vendors out there do hold their partner companies to a high eco-standard -- and even help them along the way -- I suspect leaders at other large companies don't really see value in policing their partners' environmental practices. It's likely more a case of just wanting to use the supplier that offers the lowest prices or the best service -- sort of like stores that buy materials or goods from socially irresponsible companies that employ sweatshops, for example, or food chains that purchase meat from providers that treat their animals inhumanely.
I do realize that morality is subjective and that some people might take issue with my likening a company that abuses its workers to a company that's not as ecologically responsible as it could be. But the fact remains: There's something to be said for choosing to work with partners whose corporate values are in line with your own. Plus, on both an individual level and an organizational level, we have the power to drive positive change with the dollars we spend. We can invest in companies whose practices are making the world a better place, or we can invest in the status quo.
- Source: Info World
