Greening Government ICT doesn't go far enough

The Greening Government ICT Strategy, posted in July 2009 claims to have made significant steps to improve the environmental impact of ICT in government. I'm not completely convinced though.

A good summary can be found from KableDIRECT "The chief information officers and chief technology officers have responded well to the first set of targets but they must now be increased," the reports says. "The strategy itself acknowledges there is a need to work with departments and industry to explore and invest in radical green ICT solutions for the ICT problem, but also consider issues relating to the life cycle impact and disposal of old IT hardware."

There are some nice things in there - such as extending the procurement cycle to 4 years and reducing duplication; but there seems limited commitment to renewable energies, re-use of technology, and the adoption or recognition that software has a great impact on hardware choice. If they were really thinking about this they would make each supplier's carbon targets as important as their service levels.

I would like to see West Berkshire Council take the lead here and help define policy that the whole of government seek to follow. Let's make IT value for money and value for the environment. They could easily start with: 5 year procurement cycles; re-use of hardware; procurement of software on environmental grounds; and local employment of staff and contractors.