India's spending on green IT and sustainability initiatives to reach $34 billion

India’s spending on green IT and sustainability initiatives will reach $34 billion in 2014 a 14.1 percent increase from $29.2 billion that was spent in 2013, according to Gartner.

In the Gartner report ‘Hype Cycle for Green IT and Sustainability in India, 2014,’ analysts said Indian organisations are moving beyond corporate social responsibility as a philanthropic activity, via integration with their core business operations. Eventually, organisational commitment and government regulations will drive adoption of green and sustainable technology and practices in India.

[caption id=“attachment_76930” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. Thinkstock[/caption]

Global environment changes are increasingly challenging Indian businesses to look beyond financial performance and integrate environmental and social concerns into their strategic outlook. Indian companies are slowly but steadily moving beyond corporate social responsibility as a philanthropic activity, and integrating green and sustainability-related initiatives into their core business operations.

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“Most Indian companies have at least one green initiative motivated by the prospect of lower operating costs. The sectors with a significant impact on environment such as oil and gas, mining, and other manufacturing related industries clearly lead others in this area alongside the increased use of renewable energy,” said Ganesh Ramamoorthy, research vice president at Gartner.

“The IT sector where energy and water costs account for a significant portion of the operating costs is not far behind. Sectors like telecom and TV, and banking and finance lag behind. In terms of actions to address climate change issues, not many companies have a clear focus.”

Awareness among Indian organisations in sustainability, green technology and climate change issues is growing, although there is still a lot to be achieved. There is a need to reduce operational costs, adhere to regulations and mandatory disclosures, and to cater to a growing demand from investors, customers, partners, and consumers for reports on the risks related to climate change, as well as the opportunities and organisational climate policy efforts. In environment, social and governance (ESG) areas, the adoption of green technologies and sustainable practices will continue to grow in the future.

Gartner has included three new technologies to this year’s Hype Cycle and profiled 36 technologies this year. The new technologies added to this year’s Hype Cycle include smart city frameworks, facilities energy management and green data centres.

“The biggest movers in this year’s Hype Cycle include solar energy technology. This has moved ahead by five positions into the Slope of Enlightenment as more state governments join the solar energy bandwagon with specific policies and incentives to attract investments, and as new projects are commissioned. This is followed by corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting tools, sustainability business operations and consulting services, and distributed power generation,” said Ramamoorthy.