32 Green Veneer or Green Revolution? “Budget pressures mean that 'Green IT' is not really a priority in procurement. We are implementing things under the 'Green' banner, eg Power Down, but the real reason for doing this is to save costs.”
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There are more pressing priorities than green: “There are far more pressing issues to tackle and we have neither the will, funds or resources to deal with additional requirements, especially when they are so ill defined.
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Unitary reorganisation will affect green issues: “We are becoming a Unitary authority with five DCs & BCs joining the county council. How green issues will figure once the Unitary is working is unknown, but I would assume it will be one of the many considerations.”
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Green is over hyped: There are benefits in some aspects such as power saving, but much of the 'green agenda' is over hyped, lacks credibility, and is promoted by those with a vested interest. Anything that is done is either a knee‐jerk reaction or a box ticking exercise.” “Lots of hype and misinformation which tends to cloud real issues and benefits. There is an inability to look at the overall impact, especially with external influences – a tendency to jump on latest bandwagon. See the LCD monitor situation for an example.”
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Green is not understood: “It is not understood by decision makers (our Head of ICT does, but can't seem to get adequate support as ICT itself is not valued).”
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Green hasn’t reached IT: “Whilst we have significant 'green' policies & practices at a corporate level, the impact of the IT infrastructure has not been significantly considered yet!”
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Green actions are restricted by suppliers: “Whatever we try to do within the Authority is restricted by the developments being made by our suppliers.”
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Technology is not always green: “This statement is almost an oxymoron, it is very easy to be non‐green with technology.”
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Green burden: “The measurement of 'greenness' is yet another unwelcome additional layer of cost and complexity, when virtually everything that drives efficiency will already feed into a reduction in carbon footprint. Direct measurement and targets for anything will always lead to an immediate distortion of how the business is run. It becomes even more important that Chief Officers and politicians have bought into a sustainable strategy for the delivery of sustainable solutions. The total lack of strategy in many public organisations means that solutions that meet green targets are NOT being enabled in the most efficient way. This requires governance over business transformation AND strategic IT.”
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Green needs sponsorship: “Members need to prioritise green issues and the rest will follow.” “Seems to be left to individuals or department, not an overall strategy that all follow willingly ‐ ie try to get people to switch off PCs at night!”
© Informed Publications Ltd, November 2008