Feds, states, and locals (in addition to private sector) are all talking about Green IT. Unlike other fast-burning trends in the IT market though, green IT brings together technological, social and economical factors to establish itself as a best practice rather than a fad.

In an effort to share these best practices at the local level, the National Association of Counties (NACo) has launched a Green Government Database that collects information on all things green including green programs, policies, plans, and staff descriptions. The creation of the database has been driven by the groundswell of interest and action in going green from local governments. Locals to a large extent have been adopting green practices independently of any federal or state guidance.

This again exemplifies the nature of the green movement; it is really about individual awareness of energy and ecological concerns. Fortunately for the IT industry, this socially driven shift is coupled with potential economic savings thus increasing adoption by governments with tight budgets. Great cost savings are achievable in the energy usage of the hundreds of thousands of desktops in federal, state, and local offices with simple power management tools. Speaking of desktops, organizations are asking themselves if a thin client environment will satisfy the end user needs while sipping energy in comparison to desktops. Agencies are also scrambling to streamline data centers, where usage of server virtualization software in combination with new higher performance servers and cooling technology can decrease hardware, energy and real estate costs by 80% or more.

The key for those wishing to help the public sector in adopting green best practices is to adopt these practices with their own organizations, live the changes and share the benefits with their public sector partners.