It’s Cool to be Green

Green Peace has been working to protect and conserve the environment since 1971. One of its more recent campaigns, the Cool IT Challenge, recently caught my attention. According to their Web site, the information and communications technology sector creates 2 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions. However, its services and products have the potential to cut the world’s greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent.

The self-proclaimed goal of this project is to “turn IT industry leaders into climate advocates and solution providers.” In its May assessment, the site ranked IBM’s CEO Sam Palmisano one of the most environmentally friendly corporation executives, but he received a ranking of only 29 out of 100.

Some of the good things IBM is already doing fall under the umbrella of its Smarter Planet initiative. From food and energy to public safety and healthcare, IBM has many ideas about how companies can make operations more efficient and productive.

One of the best side effects of going green is that it can save you some green as well. Upcoming issues of IBM Systems Magazine focus on environmental sustainability. Stay tuned as we showcase some of IBM’s initiatives and implementations and illustrate how you can make your IT infrastructure greener and save a little money too.