How to get your green IT cred

Computerworld - The push is on for companies to go green, and IT professionals will likely feel the pressure to deliver. Although most ITers don't have specialized eco-skills, there are ways to develop this knowledge, and to parlay what you already know.

Businesses often see IT as a natural pick to lead their sustainability efforts, says Simon Mingay, the lead green IT analyst with Gartner Inc. IT touches every area of an organization, with data already collected -- or available to be mined -- about green opportunities and other information needed to make smart decisions, he says.

Meanwhile, many businesses don't have environmental specialists on staff. Taken together, this is an opportunity for IT to take the lead.

This will require some in IT to acquire expertise in additional areas. "These are new skill sets that extend the traditional domain of the IT professional," says Eme Onuoha, director of sustainability for Xerox Canada Ltd.

Be warned, though: There are few green-IT certification programs and degrees. What's being toutd as the nation's first green IT college-level program, a two-year associate's degree, was co-developed by IBM. It begins in December, and is being offered both online and at the Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Neb.

With few exceptions, "a lot of this is learning is on the fly. There is no standard curriculum," says Adrian J. Bowles, vice president with Datamonitor Group of London and founder of SIG411 LLC, a green consultancy. That means you'll be learning this on your own -- often at the same time your bosses are asking you to deliver some green results.

We asked several enterprise IT leaders, and here are four new skill sets that they listed as valuable to know. Learn one or more if you want to be the green go-to person at your company.

   

Facilities design and management

Organizations of all stripes are trying to create more sustainable work environments, with some aiming for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. As such, IT professionals are being asked to help create a green footprint.

"That's not something we've traditionally done before as IT professionals," says Brad Gammons, vice president of global energy and utilities for IBM. IT professionals will have to think about how their decisions impact sustainable design and, in turn, how the building's design impacts the IT infrastructure.

"It has a lot of impact on the type of devices you use, where you locate people and how you design work spaces. You have to look at how you cluster computers, bodies and servers," Gammons explains.

IT will also need a better understanding of the complex infrastructure used to maintain smart buildings, where IT monitors all sorts of infrastructure related to the physical space, from security and access control to the heating and ventilation systems, says Clay G. Nesler, vice president of global energy and sustainability at Johnson Controls Inc., in Milwaukee. The company provides energy-related products and services for buildings.