Managerial attitudes towards green IT: An explorative study of policy drivers

Organisations are increasingly being scrutinised and pressured by Government regulators and legitimate environmental watchdogs to align their business with environmental sustainability practices. Specifically, the advent of agreements like the Kyoto Protocol has meant that organisations are now motivated more than ever to monitor their carbon emissions. This focus of carbon emissions has now moved into the area of IT infrastructure and governance where it is believed reductions of energy emissions can be made. However, managing IT infrastructure concerning Green IT requires a strong commitment from the higher echelons of corporate leadership, namely senior IT management. This commitment is not driven by government legislation, yet to become mandatory in Australia, but by attitudes of top IT management towards environmental issues. Therefore, as an initial part of a larger project, this paper illustrates four cases, depicting various organisations, to explore the main economic, socio-political, and institutional influences that motivate top management attitudes towards the implementation of a Green IT policy. The findings of this research suggests that ultimately attitudes will only be transformed into action when a sound cost model exists that highlights the relationship between potential cost savings and Green IT initiatives, supplemented by articulately designed long-term awareness programs surrounding the issue.