Their mission:"to engage with, and educate individuals and corporations on the environmental footprint of technology, and assist them in reducing the related greenhouse gas emissions produced by technology."

The Foundation for IT Sustainability (FFITS) is a non-profit organization, that provides a certification and labeling program oriented towards organizations that have taken the initiative towards properly implementing environmental, sustainable practices. They do this through recognizing the efforts of the company, educating consumers about the company's actions, and by providing awareness and on-going support.

In today's society consumers are starting to look not only at the nature of the product or service they are purchasing and how it meets their environmental requirements, but also the organization's own operations. Are companies truly being sustainable or are they purely engaging in greenwashing?

Personally, I think what they're doing is wonderful. Sustainability is becoming a major trend amongst organizations and it should be addressed to a greater extent.

I agree that companies should be rewarded for sustainable practises. After all, just as the kids in the video suggest—the lives of their future grandchildren are largely impacted by the choices made by today’s IT business world. So the organizations that are truly choosing to make a difference deserve to be recognized for their efforts.

And education is equally important in order for companies to continue making improvements to their business models. They need to be educated in order to train employees about best practises and also in order to share this knowledge with consumers, suppliers and partners.

Offering recognition is also another way to raise awareness. By certifying organizations for Green accomplishments, it encourages other companies to seek ways to compete in the Green IT environment. I think having that label of approval could go a long way in improving an organization’s marketing position, ensuring reputable management to customers, motivating employees, as well as driving opportunities for learning and innovation.

Thanks for highlighing this - FFITS appears to be an interesting and well-intentioned organization.

That said - maybe I'm just too deep into the issue, but I'm hopeful that we've moved past the "call attention to the problem" stage, and into the "define the parameters of the solution" stage. At a meeting last week with representatives from University of Toronto, a major IT vendor, a leading reseller, and one of Canada's top banks, we looked at ways of expanding/intensifying discussions spanning both "green IT" (making IT operations more power/carbon efficient) and "greening with IT" (making business operations more carbon-efficient through use of IT - for example, with virtual travel, improved building control systems, integration of renewables, etc.).

Ultimately, sustainable IT - like other sustainability issues - needs a combination of heightened awareness and real operational guidance. It appears that FFITS will (like Greenpeace) help with the first issue...but there's still much work to be done on the second!