More than half (55%) of UK workers are not suffering from ‘green fatigue,’ says a new report unveiled by Cisco today. The study also found that 13% say they would not work for an employer without a sustainable business practice policy.

The Cisco Sustainable Business Practice Study found that three-quarters of UK employees consider themselves to be environmentally responsible:

• 78% of workers know whether their employer has a sustainable business practice policy in place, indicating a high level of awareness around this issue. 

• 45% of employees report that their employers have an environmental or sustainable business practice policy in place

• 53% say they are expected to take their own initiative to support sustainable business practices.

Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs,
Chartered Management Institute

“It's encouraging to note that more and more workers are demanding a greater emphasis on sustainable business practices from their employers. There is an increasing responsibility on management to embrace and deliver the new modes of responsible, sustainable working that employees demand. It is becoming clear that businesses which fail to do this will struggle to attract and retain the best staff.”

The role of IT

When asked what initiatives they would be prepared to support at work:

• 48% - responded that they would be willing to use web and video conferencing

• 53% - would be willing to alter their working practices to reduce the need for business travel.

• 74% - larger proportions would be willing to shut down work computers overnight

• 67% - would refrain from printing multiple copies of e-mails and documents

Businesses keen to meet employee demands

The research found that Information Technology (IT) leaders are working to address sustainable business practice issues. Almost two thirds (61%) of IT leaders stated that sustainability is a key issue for them, with 44% of respondents going a step further, indicating that sustainability is now a board-level issue in their organisation.

In the year ahead, 30% of IT leaders report that they anticipate their budgets for technologies aimed at improving sustainable business practice will rise, and 25% expect a rise of as much as 10 to 25%. 43% of IT leaders also say they are willing to pay a premium for goods and services from sustainable suppliers.

IT departments are looking to increase the impact of a range of initiatives to support sustainable business practice efforts, some of which form the base of any sustainability policy, including:

• Recycling - 85%

• Use of low-energy lighting - 60%

• New technologies are also being considered - digital video communications: 40%

• Web 2.0 and instant messaging tools - 15%

David Meads, operational director, Cisco in the UK and Ireland

“Technology has a key role to play in supporting sustainable business practice. Some of the newer, internet-driven technologies we are using not only have an impact on sustainability but also transform the way we work – from enabling virtual, mobile teams to dramatically reducing the need for business travel.”

Public sector IT given responsibility and budgets to promote sustainable agenda

12% of public sector IT leaders report that their departments are the main driver of sustainable business practices. A quarter of public sector IT leaders are expecting budget increases to support sustainable business practice efforts, and 24% of those expect this to be as high as 10 to 25%.

These funds will be directed to a number of areas, with 31% of respondents looking to virtualisation and data centre consolidation technologies to support sustainable business practice, and 23% looking to digital video.

However, 28% of public sector IT leaders do not know whether their organisations place a high priority on sustainable practices, a significantly higher proportion than within the private sector (9%). In addition, a fifth of public sector IT leaders are not aware of their organisation’s sustainability priorities compared to just 2% in the private sector.

Meads comments:

“The government understands the challenge it faces in addressing sustainable business practice in the public sector and is working to increase the awareness of public sector CIOs of the issues at hand. It’s encouraging to see the extent to which budgets and priorities are already being considered by public sector IT leaders.”

“Organisations recognise that we are at a relatively early stage in the journey to sustainable business practice,” continues Meads. “If sustainable business practice is given the priority and resources needed by our business leaders and workers alike, the UK has an opportunity to set an example for the world to follow.”

About the research

The Cisco Sustainable Business Practice Study is based on a YouGov study of 1,200 representative British workers, and on additional research by Vanson Bourne into the opinions of IT leaders of 200 private and public sector organisations of more than 1,000 employees .

About Cisco Systems

Cisco, (NASDAQ: CSCO), is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate.  Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in Europe is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.