Retail rocked by carbon concern

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Retail rocked by carbon concern.

71% of retail companies feel pressure to reduce energy consumption
57% plan to reduce their carbon footprint in the next 18 months
75% do not know how much power their data centre draws
93% have some green IT measures in place

A survey of IT managers in retail companies, commissioned by distributor Zycko, has revealed that 71% of data centre managers in this sector feel under pressure to reduce energy usage in their data centres, and 57% plan to reduce their carbon footprint in the next 18 months. However, three quarters admitted they had no idea to how much power their data centres actually use.

The independent research, conducted on behalf of Zycko by Vanson Bourne, provided a detailed overview of the green IT challenges currently faced by the retail sector, and identified some of the hurdles on the way to reducing their carbon emissions. While 93% claimed to have some measures in place, only 54% encourage employees to work remotely to reduce transport costs, and only 57% enforce shutting down of computers at night and on weekends.

Cost was the biggest barrier to improving companies' green credentials, cited by 32% of respondents, while 25% claimed that it simply isn't enough of a priority.

David Galton-Fenzi, Zycko's Group Sales Director, comments: "The retail sector employs almost three million people and contributes a whopping 260bn to our GDP. It is clearly a major economic player and a commitment to reducing carbon emissions is therefore significant. In most cases implementing greener IT measures inevitably results in cost savings too, and with climate change and the credit crunch dominating the news agenda, the case for addressing this issue has never been more compelling.

"The research also revealed that suppliers and the media are key when it comes to educating IT managers on environmental issues, and we therefore need to work together to develop and implement the best solutions."