14 DAY TRIAL // A new report made public by Cambium LLP, a company which specializes in offering business consultancy to organizations wishing to improve on their ecological footprint, states that the UK government needs to make major investments in the IT field if it is to meet its carbon reduction standards.
Thus, if this country is to succeed in its plan to cut down on carbon emissions by as much as 34% (when compared to 1990s levels) as early as 2020, then IT assistance is crucial.
Business Green informs us that what the British government needs to invest in as soon as possible is smart grids, better building management and other similar technologies.
From where we stand, we are basically speaking about sustainable development driven and supported by state-of-the-art IT systems.
More precisely, these new technologies to be developed and implemented will need to target three main sectors which are presently responsible for releasing considerable amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere: energy, transport and manufacturing.
Since these industries stand at the core of all developed nations, it is not difficult to guess that, simply by greening them up, the overall negative impact on the environment will be considerably diminished.
The same source reports that, speaking about the results of this investigation into the links between carbon reduction and IT, specialist Ian Burns argued that, “The key grids – energy, water, transport – need to become more efficient, flexible and adaptive if they are to deliver the emission cuts that are required. That cannot be achieved without IT systems.”
Furthermore, “We are seeing more and more companies sign up to sustainability targets at board level, but the need to then invest in the new systems that are necessary is often failing to filter down to the IT department.”
Truth be told, British and even international IT companies also stand to benefit from this country's growing interest in sustainable development.
What we mean is that, according to the same report, about $10 bn (approximately €8,2 bn / ₤6,4 bn) are bound to make their way into the IT market in order for the expected developments to occur.