A survey by hosting firm Iomart found that 72% of the 3,000 IT managers questioned felt they were being misled by manufacturers over the environmental benefits of certain technologies.

Despite this, 90% said the environment was “important” to their operations, while two-thirds said they did not think manufacturers supplied enough “green products”.

The majority see green initiatives as benefiting the bottom line: 66% said “going green” would cut costs.

However, taking the lead for being friendlier to the environment is seen as largely the responsibility of suppliers. A staggering 95% of IT managers said they had never seen their organisation’s electricity bill.

“There seems to be a real contradiction within the IT industry,” says Iomart CEO Angus MacSween. “Most IT managers and directors say they are concerned about the environment but very few have taken the time to formulate a green policy.”

MacSween highlighted the potential cost savings of many so-called “green” initiatives: “The advance of things like virtualisation allow more to be done with less, so it’s incumbent on all of us involved in the industry to put new technology to best use so we can benefit from the environmental, not to mention the financial, rewards.”