European firms red-faced over green credentials

More than 8,000 senior decision makers across Europe admit their companies could be doing more to help the environment, according to LM Research survey

Despite constant messages about reducing carbon footprints, more than 40 per cent of European firms rate themselves as poor performers when it comes to being green.

A survey of more than 8,000 IT directors and board-level decision makers across Europe, carried out by LM research and marketing consultancy, and commissioned by Brocade, revealed that 40 per cent of overall respondents would rate their green credentials as ‘not at all good’ or ‘poor’. This figure is magnified in the UK, with 60 per cent of firms rating themselves negatively.

Just 38 per cent of the respondents said they were concerned about their company’s energy use and carbon footprint, with less than 20 per cent saying that they actively seek to buy environmentally friendly IT products. In the UK, the comparable numbers were 37 and 16 percent respectively.

Respondents also acknowledged that energy inefficiency was an issue, believing that their employers spend a significant portion of their overall operational expenditure (OpEx) on energy costs. A total of 44 per cent of respondents said the believed their companies devote up to a quarter of their total OpEx on energy, and over 60 per cent of those questioned agreed that the OpEx spend on energy was too much.

Overall, more than 75 percent of respondents stated that they are as likely to look at reducing energy usage in the office as they are at home, suggesting that the work environment is as important to Europeans business leaders as their domestic lives.

Ulrich Plechschmidt, EMEA vice president at Brocade, said: “It is worrying to see the lack of concern over green credentials, considering the amount of recent industry pressure and media attention that has been given to this subject. From our perspective it is a concern that people have energy worries, and are not taking aggressive steps to buy more efficient, environmentally friendly products. This is one of the simplest steps that companies can take to not only reduce their carbon footprint, but also reduce costs.”