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NASCIO Brief Emphasizes Critical State CIO Involvement in Green IT Initiatives

"By advocating for green practices through the use of IT, and by helping to shape policies that will lead to these practices, state CIOs can have a tangible influence on lessening their state's environmental impact."

Photo: Dugan Petty, Oregon's CIO and chair of NASCIO's Green IT Working Group

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) announced the release of its new issue brief "Green IT in Enterprise Practices: The Essential Role of the State CIO."

This brief highlights the ways in which state CIOs can become involved in shaping and promoting green IT practices and policies. By looking at enterprise hardware through its lifecycle of acquisition, utilization and disposal, addressing energy efficiency in state offices and data centers, and by enabling green practices through the utilization of IT, state CIOs can play a key role in reducing their state's carbon footprint.

"State CIOs have an opportunity to become transformational leaders in green IT initiatives," said Oregon CIO Dugan Petty, chair of NASCIO's Green IT Working Group. "By advocating for green practices through the use of IT, and by helping to shape policies that will lead to these practices, state CIOs can have a tangible influence on lessening their state's environmental impact."

Incorporating a number of examples of successful green IT initiatives in state enterprise practices today, this brief examines many ways in which states are managing their IT hardware as well as utilizing technology to reduce their carbon footprint. With the states taking the lead in many aspects of green efforts nationwide, state CIOs have an opportunity to move the green benefits of an initiative to the forefront of strategic thinking and project planning.

NASCIO is the premier network and resource for state CIOs and an effective advocate for technology policies at all levels of government. State members are senior officials from any of the three branches of state government who have executive-level and statewide responsibility for information resource management. Representatives from federal, municipal, and international governments and other state officials participate in the organization as associate members. Private-sector firms and non-profit organizations may join as corporate members.