Clean energy for a greener future
The fifth edition of the 'Cool IT Leaderboard' report, prepared by Greenpeace India, ranks 21 IT companies according to their clean energy leadership potential, willingness to embrace clean energy solutions and potential to influence energy decisions.
Cool IT Leaderboard, 2011
Published by: Greenpeace India
Pitching global Information Technology (IT) companies against each other to find who comes out top in the fight to stop climate change, the fifth edition of the Leaderboard compares the firms on their IT Climate Solutions, IT Energy Impact and Political Advocacy.
Greenpeace launched the Cool IT Challenge in 2009 to call on IT companies to power technological solutions needed to fight climate change.
The leaderboard evaluates top IT companies on their efforts to provide economy-wide climate solutions, reduce emissions from their own operations, and lobby for science -based climate and energy policies.
Just as the power of the internet has revolutionised our communication by allowing users to provide content such as video, music and text material, generating new producers, journalists and authors, IT energy-related "smart" solutions have the ability to put consumers in command of their electricity use and pave the way for dramatic improvements in energy efficiency and use of renewable energy.
In the fifth edition, Google, Cisco and Dell stand out for sourcing over 20% renewable energy globally for each company's infrastructure.
Ericsson and Fujitsu stand out once again in the solutions criteria for providing detailed case studies of how their unique technology is creating pathways towards significant emission reductions.
Softbank has set a new bar in advocacy leadership with strong statements and efforts to move Japan away from dirty energy dependence post-Fukushima.
The IT sector is uniquely positioned to help the world shift to a prosperous clean energy economy, and the Cool IT Challenge is urging IT companies to put forth innovation, mitigate their own carbon footprint, and advocate for significant policy changes in the mutual interest of business and the climate.
