Going Green: A Call for Action for Information Management

Author: Karen Wilson, Director & Lead Analyst

With the current attention on global climate change, there is heightened environmental awareness in the organizations where information management (IM) functions reside. This focused awareness in the higher education, government, and corporate arenas provides opportunities for IM functions to explore implementing green practices. This report looks at what IM functions can do to “go green” while at the same time contributing to their organizations’ bottom line through the reduction of energy costs. The report contains:

- Analysis of the trends toward “greening” in the higher education, corporate, and government sectors;
- Three case studies of IM functions taking action in their organizations to create green environments and practices (National Institutes of Health Library, Library of Congress, and US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8 Headquarters);
- A checklist for green action in the areas of energy consumption, transportation, buildings, and waste;
- Lists of resources including websites, blogs, and carbon calculators;
- Imperatives for information managers who want to implement green practices in their organizations.