For businesses across the United States, yesterday’s technology has become tomorrow’s problem. The millions of computers, printers, and other gadgets that are commonplace in any office—and that we steadfastly rely on to conduct business—can become threats when we discard them.

In the United States alone, approximately 2 million tons of e-waste is tossed into landfills, poisoning the air and the land and exposing people to dangerous toxins. In addition, all that hardware—especially data centers that house a company’s information lifeblood—is eating up a lot of energy. In fact, 50 percent of the energy consumed in a data center is used just to cool down the network system.

Along with these practical problems, companies face the challenge of going green and reducing their carbon footprints. This is becoming important as public interest in environmentalism increases and as more organizations want to position themselves as socially responsible businesses.

The technology industry is beginning to recognize and address the environmental
burden of its products—a burden shouldered by its corporate customers. A recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers surveyed tech industry senior executives on their companies’ attitudes and policies on environmentalism. When asked which factors were most important in their companies’ environmental decision making, nearly half of the respondents cited “meeting customer expectations/requirements,” but energy savings and regulatory compliance had an even greater impact on their environmentally focused pursuits.¹

So, can customers expect more green products when a company’s next upgrade cycle rolls around? According to PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree™ Report based on data from Thomson Financial, venture capitalists invested in 2007 almost $2.2 billion in companies that make green tech products. That investment is more than the amount spent on green technology companies in 2006 and 2005 combined.

While such numbers are impressive, a considerable amount of resistance to green tech products still exists. In Forrester Research’s November 2007 report titled In Search of Green Technology Consumers—which covered American attitudes toward green technology—only 12 percent of respondents agree that they would pay extra for consumer electronics that used less energy or came from a company that was environmentally friendly. Forty-one percent said that though they are concerned about the environment, they do not strongly agree that they would pay more for environmentally friendly electronics.

Despite this disconnect, many technology companies have jumped on the green bandwagon. For instance, Sony is creating an e-waste drop-off facility where anyone can recycle unwanted electronics. And many technology companies are collaborating with smaller organizations to develop and promulgate more environmentally friendly processes.

Such initiatives and collaborations are pivotal for making green technology a reality for any business. They reduce energy costs and provide an alternative to junking used hardware.