And let's face it, if you don't take action voluntarily, you are bound to be dragged to it kicking and screaming sooner or later — and later is likely to come at far greater cost. Already in Europe and to a lesser extent in the US, corporations are being subject to a host of environmental regulation and the brutally critical appraisal of an increasingly anxious public. Whatever the results of the upcoming federal election, Australian businesses are unlikely for long to remain free of demands that they drastically reduce their carbon footprint. Nor should they be allowed to, as long as their data centres suck power like humongous vacuum cleaners and their discarded electronics spew toxic metals and other pollutants into the environment.

Does this sound like an exaggeration? It isn't. In 2005, total data centre electricity consumption in the US, including servers, cooling and auxiliary equipment, was approximately 45 billion kWh, consuming as much as all colour televisions in the county and using as much power as the entire state of Mississippi, according to a recent survey by AMD. That is the total output of five 1000-megawatt coal power plants. And that usage is soaring exponentially, with the power usage of data centres having doubled between 2000 and 2005.

In the next three years, individuals and organizations worldwide will replace more than one billion computers. The average mobile phone in the US is replaced after just 18 months, and more than 75 percent of all computers ever sold remain stockpiled in our closets, garages, office storage rooms and warehouses. "After years of helping global organizations manage the recycling/disposal/remarketing of retired IT assets, the days of companies turning a blind eye to proper IT asset disposal are over," says Chris Adam, NextPhase director of IT asset management solutions.

Consumers Will Decide

The article "Competitive Advantage on a Warming Planet" in the March issue of Harvard Business Review points out that whatever your industry the numerous risks associated with global warming are affecting your business, from tough emission-reduction legislation through to a damaging backlash from consumers concerned about the environment to weather-related damage to physical assets.

"Consumers are increasingly taking your environmental record into account when they make purchasing decisions. And investors are already discounting share prices of firms poorly positioned to compete in a carbon constrained world," authors Jonathan Lash and Fred Wellington say.

However, they add that the risks of climate change also offer new sources of competitive advantage for companies prepared to measure their firm's contribution to global warming, assess their climate-related risks and opportunities then reinvent their business — before rivals do — to mitigate those risks and seize the opportunities.

Environmentalist and former US vice president Al Gore recently implored an audience of Silicon Valley executives and technologists to use their collective knowledge and resources to promote green technology that causes less pollution and can reverse the effects of climate change. "The world faces an unprecedented challenge and Silicon Valley can make an unprecedented contribution to meeting that challenge," Gore told them. "You can chart a course and change the future of civilization."