Green computing is likely to dominate CIO agendas in 2008 - but where as 2007 was the year of theory and postulation, next year will see leading-edge technology leaders creating far-reaching strategies that help the business cut carbon emissions.

Mark Raskino, research vice president and Gartner fellow, presents the analyst's estimates and suggests IT directors looking to cut carbon emissions should use technology to target three areas - lifecycle management, monitoring policies and societal behaviour:

"Gartner calculates that business IT and telecommunications contribute about two per cent of carbon emissions worldwide. That might not sound like much, but it is about the same as global aviation and if left unchecked it will grow faster.

"It is also a conservative number for IT which excludes consumer electronics devices, like set-top boxes. Broadly speaking there are three areas where IT leaders can help. First, reduce the direct impact of IT operations by setting specific targets for electrical efficiency improvement and equipment lifecycle management.

Second, propose ways IT and communications systems could help to better monitor, measure, manage, curtail and control polluting business processes.

Finally, for those who are truly visionaries in long-term industry and public policy, consider IT as a possible way to re-shape societal behaviour to meet environmental goals. For example, do we really need planners to permit more large out-of-town shopping complexes now that e-commerce is so well established?"

With Raskino suggesting emissions have the potential to grow faster, such visionary targets should be seen less as far-sighted ideals and more as the basic principles of good IT management.

Euan Davis, principal analyst at Forrester Research, says latest estimates calculate that energy consumption globally from IT accounts for between two and four per cent of carbon emissions - and in the UK between 10 per cent and 12 per cent. He says that IT definitely has a role to play if the UK government has any chance of hitting its ambitious climate change goals:

"CIOs must work to reduce the environmental impact of computing right through the business from back-office data centres to the corporate desktop. Carbon audits, reconfiguring data centres, deploying equipment with power consumption sensors, upgrading power supplies all help but only scratch the surface of what needs to be done.

Long-term goals around server and infrastructure virtualisation, data centre outsourcing, thin client computing, tough supplier benchmarking and even building incentive schemes that reward IT for low energy consumption, should appear on the CIO agenda.

The UK government has a role to play and should give closer consideration to actions currently in play by a number of US states and public utilities that offer fiscal incentives such as tax credits and energy-efficient product rebates."

IT directors, then, will need to attack the big resource-sapping areas: data centres, desktop computing and power supplies. As this blog has already identified, certain technology leaders are already taking steps to address such areas (JP Rangaswami says green computing drives BT).

Are you in line with JP's targets - which includes reducing BT's emissions by 60 per cent between 1996 and 2006 - or do you have a longer road to travel? If the journey seems more circuitous, 2008 will be the year to give your green computing strategy more direction.