25 November 2007 | Luca Del Buono

 

IBM released in November the results of a global survey of nearly 1,400 small and midsized businesses identifying energy costs as the biggest cost increase for them over the past two years, surpassing healthcare, payroll, rent and equipment.

As energy costs increase, 58 per cent of SMBs around the world are expressing concern about the environment and 44 per cent have put environmental policies in place.

The survey, which interviewed businesses with between 50 and 500 employees in eight countries, indicates that most businesses expressed concern for the environment and were taking steps to reduce energy costs.

But US businesses were somewhat less likely than their non-US counterparts to be making energy reducing decisions based on those environmental concerns. US businesses were also less likely to know how much their IT systems contributed to their overall energy costs.

Regardless of the motivation, a majority of small businesses worldwide have begun to make at least basic changes, such as using more energy efficient lighting and turning off non-essential equipment after hours.

But they have tended to shy away from more onerous decisions, such as moving into a green building, using hybrid vehicles or installing solar panels, with one exception: IT.

According to the IBM survey, 55 per cent of SMBs interviewed were taking active steps toward reducing the energy consumption of their information technology, including purchasing more energy efficient technology, consolidating servers or evaluating server usage and performance.

"Despite the different reasons for small and midsized businesses to reduce their energy consumption, what's important is that businesses are taking action," said Steve Solazzo, general manager of IBM's Global Midmarket Business.

"The alignment of business interests and environmental interests underscores this important point: green business has become good business."

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