Abstract

Organizations are increasingly being scrutinized and pressured by Government regulators and legitimate environmental watchdogs to align their business with environmental sustainability practices. Specifically, the advent of agreements like the Kyoto Protocol has meant that organizations are now motivated more than ever to monitor their carbon emissions. This focus of carbon emissions has now moved into the area of IT infrastructure and governance where it is believed reductions of energy emissions can be made. However, managing IT infrastructure concerning Green IT requires a strong commitment from the higher echelons of corporate leadership, namely senior IT management. This commitment is not driven by government legislation, yet to become mandatory in Australia, but by attitudes of top IT management towards environmental issues. Therefore, as an initial part of a larger project, this paper illustrates four cases, depicting various organizations, to explore the main economic, socio-political, and institutional influences that motivate top management attitudes towards the implementation of an environmental Green IT policy. The findings of this research suggests that ultimately attitudes will only be transformed into action when a sound cost model exists that highlights the relationship between potential cost savings and the Green IT initiative, supplemented by articulately designed long-term awareness programs surrounding the issue.

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