Research claims 75 percent of CIOs consider green computing an important part of their IT strategy and 15 percent say it's a top priority

Green is the new black for chief information officers as environmental issues shoot to the top of the IT agenda.

Three-quarters of chief information officers surveyed have said eco-friendly computing is an important part of their IT strategy, with a further 15 percent saying it is their top priority, according to a report by analyst Datamonitor.

One in five of the 245 chief information officers surveyed said their firm has incorporated a green IT agenda into their business strategy, with a further third set to do so within the next two years.

Turning green increasingly makes sense to businesses faced with shrinking budgets, sprawling infrastructure footprints and increased waste-disposal regulations, the report states.

Vamshi Mokshagundam, technology analyst at Datamonitor, said green IT offers significant cost savings, increased flexibility and regulatory compliance.

Mokshagundam said: "Green IT is now being driven as much by an element of business strategy as by a sense of corporate social responsibility. It is only recently that companies have begun incorporating green IT in their core business strategy."

The report, 2008 Trends to Watch: Green IT, predicts use of virtualisation, IT recycling schemes, software as a service and low-carbon technologies will continue to grow.

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