The green movement has captured the imagination of many corporate executives. It seems more of an infatuation right now in many cases.

But there are some tangible examples of green ideas dovetailing with IT practices. Think of data centers, which pretty much have to reduce their carbon and energy footprint as a competitive necessity--which is right in line with green principals. We're already seeing more IT departments get involved in green planning.

One commentator offers an interesting analogy. "Think of sustainability in terms of the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley regulations that developed in the wake of the Enron meltdown. Capturing and reporting information about energy, carbon, and other resources will be a central challenge for all companies; the only variable is the timing based on the regulatory regime that exists in your part of the world."

So ultimately, companies will have to document process and information across the entire enterprise toward sustainability goals. This raises the issue of whether your existing GRC programs can be extended to include green goals and regulations.

For more:
- here's the commentary

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