A focus on environmental awareness this week has put new emphasis on the need for leaders and staff alike to incorporate sustainability measures.
Both Green Office Week (GOW) and Earth Day take place this week, and encourage greater understanding of environmental issues and how they can be tackled.
GOW, a UK initiative run in SA by Dictum Publishers, takes place from 18 to 21 April, to coincide with Earth Day on 22 April. It is aimed at increasing awareness among office workers and empowering them to save water and electricity; reduce waste and pollution; and make green purchasing choices.
Ana-Maria Valente, director at Dictum Publishers, says the idea is to make environmental topics accessible to people in an everyday office environment, so it seems less daunting.
“There's a huge movement worldwide to make people more eco-conscious because resources are being depleted, but there seems to be no major movement from the corporate world yet, so we looked at breaking it down into smaller chunks.
“It's about bringing it down to Joe and Mary, and showing them they also have a role.”
Each day focuses on a specific issue, such as water, paper and energy, and businesses are encouraged to make changes at an organisational and individual level.
manufacture more efficient, to the transport of goods. In everything you do, think sustainability.”
Companies will have to adapt to new ways of functioning as environmental pressures mount, says Valente, who adds that IT companies have the edge in this regard. “Paper companies, for example, have had to relearn the way they do things, and the same goes for technology companies, which are used to constantly changing and adapting.”
IT group Altron has been supporting GOW through a campaign to educate staff about ways they can save water and energy, waste less, and reduce their travel carbon footprint.
“With our environmental agenda growing each day, Altron believes that every little bit helps. We believe each person's effort, no matter how big or small, makes a difference,” the company says.
It also hopes to extend awareness beyond this week, so staff can implement changes throughout the year.
Green edge
Tim James, director at sustainableIT, warns companies which haven't started looking at their environmental impacts that this will become a critical competitive factor. “As we move towards a low carbon economy, the cost of carbon is becoming increasingly important.
“Future international trade tariffs and taxation associated with carbon intensity dictates that companies need to understand their carbon and environmental impact now to assess the business risk in these future regimes,” he explains.
“Managing and reducing carbon in one's business will be critical in maintaining competitiveness in a low carbon future.”
Apart from encouraging awareness and behavioural change, James notes that changes to IT infrastructure and functioning can make significant difference. “Power management allows companies to utilise their infrastructure in the most efficient manner by placing devices into a lower power state when not in use.”
He also advises companies to automate power downs at the end of the day, and wake-up just before staff come in, to maximise savings while maintaining staff productivity.
“Companies must focus on the triple bottom line - people, profit and planet. Without planet, the other two pillars are meaningless, and with climate change now starting to be felt in many parts of the world, how you run your business relative to the environment is more important than ever before.”
Steve van der Berg, branch manager at CA Southern Africa, points out that local companies face increasing external pressures, with consecutive electricity price hikes of 25%. “There's increasing pressure on the bottom line, so the sooner you get to a position where you're measuring and managing your environmental impact, the better you can manage profit.”
He adds that investors are taking companies which implement and manage green IT more seriously, and that companies in SA are increasingly waking up to this trend. “Start measuring things like power and water consumption right now, so you can begin managing them, and the bottom line.”
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