During this afternoon's Great Debate, Gartner Analysts Simon Mingay and Martin Reynolds argued the position that the notion of "green information technology" does matter. The issue, they said, is simple: the lowest risk and lowest cost strategy for enterprises to innovate now and not wait. Putting aside the political and emotional aspects, the issue of green is one of risk management. As the concept grows in the public eye, it will become an economic and reputation issue as well as an environmental one.

Given the IT industry is both a significant contributor to carbon output and other waste products (some 460,000 PCs per day need to be disposed, as well as 550 million cell phones per year), Mingay and Reynolds argued that it is only logical that it take steps to address the problem as well.

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