Australian Green IT regulations could arrive this year

Local analyst firm Springboard Research believes the new Australian government might look to draft Green IT legislation before the end of the year.

Recent research from Springboard estimated that the energy from the manufacture, distribution and use of IT equipment generates about 1.5 percent of total Australian carbon dioxide emissions, which is roughly the same amount as that of the airline industry.

However despite tougher laws in Europe, Australia has limited legislations to govern the implementation of Green IT policies.

However, Phil Hassey, country manager for Australia and New Zealand at Springboard Research, believes the arrival of the new Labor government will signal a change.

“The UK and Europe does have the leadership in terms of Green IT legislations. Japan is pretty good too, but Australia simply isn’t. The EU is ahead as they have liberal governments, but after the change of government in Australia, you can expect more [Green IT] regulations in Australia.”

Hassey said the new Labor government will have to wait until July before drafting any new legislations, but he expects they will look to introduce or at least announce new Green IT legislations by the end of the year.

“The new government has already made a whole range of announcements and discussion, but there is not a lot which is specific to Green IT at the moment,” he said. “I expect they will be looking to regulate carbon emissions at first.”

Hassey went on to state that Green IT is still a largely undefined area, with many end-users not strictly having Green IT issues at heart.

“People are investing in Green IT, but for the cost saving. No-one will invest in Green IT if it is going to cost money. Is virtualisation really Green IT if you were going to do it regardless? No, it is a business process. We need to work out what we mean by Green IT,” added Hassey.