IDC Updates Its ICT Sustainability Index: Japan Remains in the Top Position Among the G20 Nations While China and United Kingdom Slip
FRAMINGHAM, MA - April 21, 2011 - The International Data Corporation (IDC) today released its second annual ICT Sustainability Index(TM), which ranks the ability of the G20 nations to reduce their CO(2) emissions through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The ICT Sustainability Index was first released in December 2009 to coincide with the United Nations COP15 meeting in Copenhagen. Economic challenges had a significant influence on the 2011 Index Scores, limiting the impact of ICT investments and slowing the adoption of renewable energy sources over fossil fuels.
The results of the ICT Sustainability Index show that Japan continues to lead the G20 nations with a significant margin over the United States, France, Germany, Brazil and the United Kingdom. Within the top tier of countries, the Index Score for the United States fell slightly, moving it into a three-way tie for the number 2 position with France and Germany, both of which maintained the same Index score as the first release. Similarly, the United Kingdom slipped to the number 3 position, tied with Brazil. China's Index Score dropped by 3 points, largely affected by increased CO(2) emissions as its economy avoided the economic slowdown by meeting its energy demands via fossil fueled power stations. Russia and South Africa were the only countries among the G20 to improve its Index Score over the 2009 results.
"We expected the global recession to have a marked impact on the balance between ICT and economic development, and indeed it showed up, in particular with China," said Vernon Turner senior vice president of IDC's Enterprise Infrastructure, Consumer, and Telecom Research. "However, IDC believes that China's significant investments in sustainability through its 12(th) Five Year Plan will help improve its ranking as it benefits from its renewable energy strategy combined with its intelligent economy plans."
IDC ICT Sustainability Index Results
Country 2009 Index Score 2011 Index Score 2011 Tier Value
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Japan 16 17 Tier 1
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United States 20 21 Tier 2
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France 21 21 Tier 2
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Germany 21 21 Tier 2
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Brazil 21 22 Tier 2
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United Kingdom 21 22 Tier 2
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Italy 23 24 Tier 3
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Canada 24 24 Tier 3
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Mexico 30 30 Tier 4
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South Korea 32 33 Tier 4
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Turkey 32 33 Tier 4
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Australia 33 33 Tier 4
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China 32 35 Tier 5
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Russia 38 37 Tier 5
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India 37 38 Tier 5
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Argentina 38 39 Tier 5
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Saudi Arabia 37 39 Tier 5
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South Africa 41 40 Tier 5
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Indonesia 41 42 Tier 5
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Source: IDC ICT Sustainability Index, April 2011.
The 2011 ICT Sustainability Index was created using data sources that reflect energy creation, consumption, and ICT spending among the G20 nations over the past two years. Events from 2011 were not taken into account in generating this year's Index Scores. Complete Index results are summarized in The Updated G20 ICT Sustainability Index -- Japan Stays On Top (IDC #227897).
The ICT Sustainability Index is part of IDC's holistic Green initiative, designed to help decision makers understand the role of technology in addressing the challenges and opportunities amidst today's energy, environment, and sustainability requirements. Since being launched in 2008, the initiative has produced important research on data center power management and automation, the promotion of green procurement in Asia/Pacific, and document management policies in the enterprise. IDC's Industry Insights companies have also done ground-breaking research on how vertical industries from manufacturing and healthcare to retail and government can use the latest IT tools and services to support a company's overall green initiative.
For more information about IDC's ICT Sustainability Index or IDC's Green initiative, please contact Patrick Gorman at pgorman@idc.com.
About IDC
IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. For more than 47 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com [http://www.idc.com].
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For more information, please contact:
Vernon Turner
vturner@idc.com
508-935-4132
Michael Shirer
press@idc.com
508-935-4200