Administrators can give their company a headstart over the competition by adopting green policies.
Mark Blowers, senior research analyst at UK-based analyst firm Butler Group, said cost savings of 10 to 20 percent could be achieved by going green.
Designing software to consume less processor cycles and using hardware that does not require a power-hungry AC-DC conversion should be standard practice, according to the report by analyst firm Butler Group.
The Butler Group report also encouraged companies to drive down the waste of paper and ink when printing, increase recycling rates and use more recyclable equipment. It also recommended reducing the reliance on products manufactured using toxic chemicals, switching off unused equipment, reducing underused servers and increasing the use of fresh-air cooling.
The report, Sustainable IT provision: Meeting the challenge of corporate, social, and environmental responsibility, argues that companies need to do more than buy into the "green claims" of many vendors.
Blowers told ZDNet.com.au sister site silicon.com that sustainable practice goes hand in hand with good asset management.
Blowers said: "Sustainability should be built in as a consideration when setting up IT systems in the same way that something such as cost is."
"There are significant savings to be made; even through simple things such as switching PCs off, companies can achieve something like 10 to 20 percent savings, and it will go a long way towards meeting the entire company's sustainability objective," Blowers added.
