This column tends to champion the case of the technology leader, suggesting where the UK's big spending chief information officers are both forging ahead and struggling.

But for today, the concerns of the chief information officer (CIO) can wait. For twenty-four hours - or until I post again, at least - the issues of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will dominate.

There are more than 4 million SMEs in the UK, accounting for more than half of the country’s employment and turnover - hardly small fry, then. More importantly, small firms are actually taking a lead on environmentalism.

More than 85 per cent of UK SMEs claim going green will be a part of their business strategy during the next five years, according to research from ISP Eclipse Internet.

Which is more than can be said for some high-spending CIOs. As mentioned recently in this blog (see end of post for link), analyst Gartner estimates the IT industry has a carbon footprint as big as the airline industry and accounts for two per cent of all global carbon emissions.

As was stated in this blog, it is time for CIOs to drop the suspicion and make time for environmentalism. A couple of years of media and consumer pressure have left the CIO with a stark choice: be seen to care about the environment or risk losing business, or even your job.

The Eclipse research shows SMEs are already concentrating their green efforts in a number of areas: recycling (76 per cent); reducing waste (67 per cent); and encouraging staff to turn off equipment when not in use (30 per cent).

Such forward-thinking - with regards to IT usage - by small firms is paying off, with suppliers beginning to target specialist deals at the SME community.

A new report from researcher Datamonitor concludes that although small firms have previously been under-targeted by vendors, large suppliers have noticeably increased their SME coverage in order to gain market share during the last twelve months.

With vendors looking at SMEs to increase market share and small firms taking affirmative action on environmental concerns, CIOs could be well-advised to take a very close look at the actions of their smaller cousins.

Time for CIOs to become more environmentally aware - Act green or lose your job