Companies’ ICT operations could be scrutinised in the future by environmental campaigners in the same way that the airline industry currently is, according to a new British Computer Society (BCS) book.

Mark O’Neill, the author behind Green IT for Sustainable Business Practice: An ISEB Foundation Guide, warns IT managers and their firms they could be the next target of environmental campaigners.

He says: “How long will it be before we see activists demonstrating outside data centres or company headquarters about the carbon emissions produced by a company? In some organisations, over 50% of the IT budget is spent on energy consumption associated with their ICT function.”

He adds: “CIOs should really be investigating what carbon emissions their organisation is producing, and also be up-to-date with what legislation may affect them, such as the UK’s Climate Change Act 2008. They should be setting themselves targets for lowering their organisation’s carbon footprint.”

Green IT for Sustainable Business Practice explains the concept of green IT to IT managers and CIOs. The book covers subjects such as the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive and how to make an organisation more energy efficient by using technology systems like virtualisation, software-as-a-service ( SaaS), and how to manage more energy efficient infrastructure.

The book also investigates how business-orientated initiatives such as tele and video conferencing can help to reduce an organisation’s overall carbon footprint, as well as other non-technical factors surrounding green IT, such as the legal obligations to the organisation.

Green IT for Sustainable Business Practice: An ISEB Foundation Guide costs £24.95.