NEW YORK,NY. - February 3, 2009 - As companies around the world prepare for a carbon-constrained economy, business leaders are increasingly employing Green IT strategies in efforts to reduce energy use, cut carbon emissions and mitigate exposure to risks associated with energy price volatility, pending regulatory demands, and increased transparency and reporting requirements driven by shareholder activism.

A new study released today by Deloitte and CFO Research Services highlights the current and emerging interdependencies between IT and enterprise sustainability performance. The study, titled "The Next Wave of Green IT," surveyed 353 senior finance, IT and business unit executives at companies with revenues of $500 million to more than $10 billion throughout Europe, North America and China to explore how large companies around the world view IT's role in the future of enterprise sustainability.

"Green IT is undoubtedly playing an increasingly important role as both a target and enabler of enterprise sustainability," said Lynda Pak, director with Deloitte Consulting LLP and Green IT lead for Deloitte U.S.'s Enterprise Sustainability group. "Beyond the proven benefits of reduced energy use and associated costs, IT is becoming a key mechanism for enterprise-wide sustainability measurement, reporting, compliance and risk management related to regulatory uncertainty and other risk factors. However, there is room for improved communication and collaboration across the enterprise."

When asked if their companies have complete, accurate and timely information on IT’s impact on the environment, 40 percent of IT respondents, 43 percent of business unit respondents and 60 percent of finance respondents reported in the negative.

"There is an information quality gap between IT and finance executives and the organisations that can narrow this gap will be best positioned to leverage IT as a driver and enabler of enterprise sustainability," said John Winstanley, lead partner of Deloitte U.K.'s Green IT consulting practice. "It is no longer only the CIO and IT driving the Green IT initiatives for the enterprise. The buyers and sponsors of Green IT are evolving and, hence, the C-suite needs to be closely aligned so that they can baseline sustainability performance, identify risks and opportunities for improvements and prioritize sustainability investments. As governance infrastructure around corporate responsibility and sustainability continues to evolve, we believe it's critical for the CIO to have a seat at the table."

Additional key findings from the study include:

• More than nine out of 10 companies have made at least incremental - if not aggressive - efforts to reduce their impact on the environment.
• Nearly three in five respondents say their company has at least 5 percent of their IT budget set aside for Green IT projects and more than one-third of companies say they’ve allocated 15 percent or more to Green IT.
• Thirty-two percent of respondents have a formal Green IT program in place, while 34 percent are planning to launch a Green IT program within a year.
• Forty percent of respondents have not established a baseline for IT's environmental performance.
• Two-thirds of respondents say their company has a formal program in place for measuring, monitoring and improving its environmental performance.
• Three-quarters of respondents say a formal review of business impact on the environment has been conducted in the last two years.

"Worldwide, we anticipate an increase in governmental tax credits and other incentives that will help drive increased investment in enterprise sustainability and Green IT," said Winstanley. "However, when more stringent regulatory and reporting requirements around energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are put into place, those incentives may well disappear. Companies should take advantage now or risk missing out on the many new business opportunities that will likely accompany a sustainability-driven market rebound."

A copy of the study can be obtained at: www.deloitte.com/us/nextwavegreenit

About Deloitte

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About The Next Wave of Green IT Study
CFO Research Services (a unit of CFO Publishing Corp.), in collaboration with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu launched a research program to explore senior finance executives’ views on how large companies around the world are changing their IT practices in an effort to save money, improve performance and lessen their impact on the physical environment. Survey respondents consisted of senior finance, IT and business unit executives at companies in Europe, North America and Asia with annual revenues of $500 million to more than $10 million. The recently completed survey yielded 353 responses and in-depth interviews of 23 executives companies around the world.

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Deloitte

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