Once legislation is put in place (and even in the interim period) the increase in green focus will lead to a spate of outsourcings. End users will outsource in order to gain access to more efficient datacentre technology and make the most of economies of scale not available to individual organisations (this is why companies outsource now, of course). The end user will also outsource because of the reduction in risk due to the speeding up of compliance with incoming regulations.

And with the focus on green increased, end users will look to suppliers’ green credentials when deciding who to outsource to. Suppliers are eventually going to have to meet a Green Benchmark (GB), alternatively known as a sustainability benchmark. From your GB, an end user can establish a baseline on which suppliers can improve their green performance.