To Green or Not to Green: Is Corporate America Implementing Strategies to Protect...

To Green or Not to Green: Is Corporate America Implementing Strategies to Protect the Environment?

A New Harris Interactive Study Looks at "Going Green" Efforts
Through the Eyes of IT Decision Makers
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(Business Wire)--It is almost impossible for one to pick up a newspaper, magazine
or access the Internet without seeing an article concerning the
"greening" of Corporate America. A recent study conducted by Harris
Interactive(R) with more than 300 IT decision makers indicates there
is a plethora of thoughts and activities for "Going Green". While the
majority of companies have implemented "Going Green" strategies with
recycling and proper waste disposal, overall only 41 percent of
corporations have deployed virtualization or server consolidation
strategies to save on energy cost.

What is "Going Green"?

Today, as part of their corporate citizenship, brand equity, and
go to market strategy, some corporations are implementing a "Going
Green" strategy. One definition of "Going Green" is designing,
selling, or funding eco-friendly products and services. For example,
does your company recycle old electronic products to properly dispose
of electronic waste such as lead and mercury?

Innovative "Green Thinking": Why or Why Not?

Attitudes for adopting "Green Thinking" are diverse among the IT
professionals surveyed. About 16 percent might be put in an
"anti-green camp", saying that corporations should be environmentally
friendly only if they can do so and achieve their profitability goals.
However, 71 percent might be described as "pro green", believing that
corporations should go beyond governmental requirements in their
efforts to be environmentally friendly (39%) and that they should be
environmentally friendly even if they have to sacrifice some of their
profitability goals (32%).

Among those IT professionals that either have implemented a going
green strategy or are in a pilot phase, fifty seven percent say "Going
Green" is good for business. Fifty-five percent say that "going green"
reduces their energy costs, thus improving profitability, while 53
percent say that being environmentally friendly is a corporate value.
Only 27 percent say that the decision to implement this strategy is
due to top management, and 21 percent say that the implementation is
due to government regulatory requirements.

On the flipside, for those with that have not implemented a "green
strategy", the reasons for not implementing are varied:

-- Twenty-six percent says that they "fully comply with current
governmental regulations for environmental safety", while 25
percent says that they have other pressing corporate needs;

-- One quarter isn't sure of what actions that they must take to
"Go Green" in the most cost effective way;

-- Twenty percent indicate that they don't have the funds to
implement a "Going Green" strategy;

-- Sixteen percent feel that they are already environmentally
friendly.

How Do They Do It? Actions Taken in "Going Green"

Nevertheless, despite the positive attitude toward "going green"
efforts, the plot thickens when asked about the firms' actual actions
in becoming "a green company" and when focusing on the actions that
are underway. Ultimately, there appears to be a lot more bark than
bite, since most of the action is in recycling programs and very few
firms are doing the heaving lifting that includes adopting alternative
power solutions and designing energy efficient buildings.

Only nine percent say they have a fully implemented plan across
all areas of their respective companies and about 32 percent say they
are in "pilot mode" or have partially implemented something in
departments considered appropriate. Nearly one-quarter (23%) say their
company has no plan at all.

According to Milton Ellis, Vice President and Senior Consultant of
the Harris Interactive Technology Practice, "'Going Green' represents
a win-win opportunity for IT suppliers and users of virtualization
technologies. More people would agree that being kind to our
environment is a good thing. So like motherhood and apple pie,
wouldn't you expect businesses to get behind the 'Going Green'
movement? Seems like a logical thing to do."

-0-
*T
TABLE 1
VIEWS ON CORPORATE COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT
"When considering corporations commitment to the environment, what
statement best describes your view?"
Base: All respondents
Total
-------
%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporations should go beyond governmental requirements in
their efforts to be environmentally friendly 39
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporations should be environmentally friendly even if they
have to sacrifice some of their profitability goals 32
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporations should be environmentally friendly only if they
can do so and achieve their profitability goals 16
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporations should only meet the environmental requirements
set by the governmental agencies within the countries they
operate 6
==============================================================--------
Corporations don't really have to be environmentally friendly,
but if they do it is a good thing 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
No opinion 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*T

-0-
*T
TABLE 2
CURRENT STATUS OF "GOING GREEN"
"When considering "Going Green", what best describes the current
status of your company?"
Base: All respondents
Total Small Medium Enterprise
Business Business
------------------------------------
% % % %
----------------------------------------------------------------------
No plans at the present time 23 36 23 17
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pilot program in place in limited
areas of the company 17 6 22 21
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Currently in the planning stages 16 13 13 18
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fully deployed in departments
that were considered appropriate
for going green 15 13 20 15
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fully deployed across all areas
of the company 9 24 3 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Implementation will start within
the next 12 months 4 2 8 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*T

-0-
*T
TABLE 3
REASONS FOR NOT GOING GREEN
"You indicated you have not had plans for a "Green Strategy' at the
present time. What statement best describes the reason for your
statement?"
Base: No current going green strategy
Total Small Medium Enterprise
-----------------------------
% % % %
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We fully comply with current
governmental regulations for
environmental safety 26 22 20 31
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We have other pressing corporate needs
(i.e., marketing, sales, profitability,
etc.) 25 24 27 26
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We aren't sure of what actions we must
take to "Go Green" in the most cost
effective way 25 24 11 31
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We just don't have the funds to
implement a "Going Green" strategy at
the present time 20 24 37 10
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We are already environmentally friendly 16 15 11 18
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We want to wait until other have
implemented their programs so that we
can learn best practices from their
experience 5 6 4 5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
None of these 9 11 2 10
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*T

-0-
*T
TABLE 4
REASONS FOR GOING GREEN
"What statement best describes your reason for implementing a "Going
Green" strategy? Please select all that apply."
Base: Going green strategy deployed or in pilot phase
Total Small Medium Enterprise
-----------------------------
% % % %
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It is just plain good business 57 60 61 54
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Going Green" reduces our energy cost
thus improving our profitability 55 47 52 61
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Being environmentally friendly is one of
our corporate values 53 71 42 49
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It enhances our company image and brand
with all of our stakeholders 36 18 28 49
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Top management is driving the decision 27 22 14 34
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Governmental regulatory requirements 21 7 29 24
----------------------------------------------------------------------
None of these 2 4 2 *
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Multiple response question
* Less than 0.5%
*T

-0-
*T
TABLE 5
ACTIONS TAKEN IN GOING GREEN IMPLEMENTATION
"You indicated your company has a pilot program or has implemented a
"Going Green" strategy. What actions have your company taken in
implementing your "Going Green" strategy? Please select all that
apply."
Base: Going green strategy deployed or in pilot phase
Total Small Medium Enterprise
-----------------------------
% % % %
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Proper disposal or recycle program for
old computers, CRTs, and electronic
equipment 85 87 82 85
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Replace older CRT monitors with lower
power LCD monitors 82 78 77 85
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Recycle program for old print cartridges 86 84 80 85
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Separate disposal containers for paper,
plastic, and metals for recycling 70 82 58 68
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Replaced incandescent lighting with more
energy efficient fluorescent lighting 66 73 71 61
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bins for proper disposal of dead
batteries 48 51 42 49
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Server and storage virtualization for
data centers to reduce power
consumption 41 20 26 56
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Automatic lighting controls to dim or
turn out lights in rooms not in use 37 13 34 49
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Redesigned, enhanced or replaced HVSC
systems with more energy efficient
units 35 29 31 39
----------------------------------------------------------------------
New building constructed conforms to
Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) 23 11 23 29
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Installed solar panels on building 12 2 9 17
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*T

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by
Harris Interactive between November 7 and 20, 2007, among 308 IT
decision makers (i.e., those who are responsible for technology
product and service purchase decisions for their company).The data
have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. businesses
based on company size.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability
sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most
often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error,
coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated
with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting
and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words
"margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated
are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities
for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These
are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this
ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who
have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. Because the
sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in
the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of
theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the largest and fastest-growing
market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative
research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more
confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements
in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris
Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for
pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what
it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the
Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide
through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a
global network of independent market research firms. More information
about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to
participate in online surveys, register at www.harrispollonline.com.

Harris Interactive Inc. 1/08

Harris Interactive
Tracey McNerney, 585-214-7756

Copyright Business Wire 2008