QA and BCS help to set the standard for Green IT: Best practice in environmentally responsible computing

With the current pressure on IT budgets, investing in Green IT might seem like an unnecessary extravagance. But a new Green IT qualification (Foundation Level) from the BCS in conjunction with QA not only helps organisations understand how to begin to protect our environment but also helps to save money, meet legislation and prevent bad publicity.

Leading training company QA and international awarding body BCS have jointly developed one of the first Green IT Qualifications, and the first set of examinations have just been completed. The qualification is designed to establish a common language and approach with which organisations can address the growing need to both reduce their carbon footprint and save money – in a structured way that is part of an overall approach to professional best practice.

According to Jeff Payne, QA’s Director of Professional Best Practice, organisations are facing a ‘perfect storm’, where the forces of legislation, ecology, economics and publicity collide. “It’s all too easy to see Green IT as being just about the environment,” says Payne, “but that’s just one aspect. Organisations need to also significantly reduce their running costs, be ready to meet carbon emission and energy reduction targets and fend off the bad publicity and shareholder backlash that comes from not being environmentally responsible.”

When you combine those motivations, the case for Green IT training to develop knowledge and common understanding is more than compelling – although economics is often the strongest motivator: a recent survey by IDC showed that 68% of executives rated energy efficiency as a key motivator when thinking about Green IT, while just over half cited cost savings as behind their drive to Green IT.

“There are lots of ways Green IT can help to cut costs,” says Payne. “For example, according to VMware, adopting virtualisation can cut energy consumption by up to 80%. Which company wouldn’t want to enjoy those kinds of savings? But Green IT isn’t just about cash – it’s about best practice; doing it right. That’s why we had the vision and then helped to create the new training and Green IT Qualification.”

Currently, the programme and qualification are being piloted exclusively by QA in the UK and Ireland, but it is accredited by the BCS as an ISEB qualification and is expected to be widely adopted. QA will help to drive the market towards adopting structured best practice in environmental computing. Examination pass rates were strong from the first programme, and further training courses are running in the next few months.

Michiel van der Voort, BCS International Director says: “Organisations need to know how to comply with ever tightening legislation, how they can create significant cost-efficiencies, and how to balance the internal and external economic drivers they face. We’re confident that individuals who complete this qualification will be able to develop a strategy that will bring significant benefit to their business.”

As well as helping to create this qualification, QA is also active in engaging with the Green IT community – for instance, its Green IT LinkedIn group provides a place for those interested in Green IT to share information.

Payne believes that perceptions about Green IT are changing. “Companies are realising that Green IT is no longer optional,” he concludes. “It’s becoming unacceptable not to be environmentally responsible – because of running costs, legal exposure and potential bad publicity.”