Difficult as it may seem, PSC's Rucker and Tratz-Ryan are in agreement that green computing requires a move towards a green supply chain. "It's not enough to say you're responsible only for the carbon you produce," Rucker says. "If I use transportation or [an outsourced] data center that is wasteful, then I'm adding additional carbon to the environment. I don't want that."

"Vendors need to have a long-term view of the approach in positioning their products," Tratz-Ryan added.

End-users, on the other hand, have a role to play in triggering the move towards a green supply chain. According to Ron Blitstein, managing director at IMprove Technology advisors, efforts like that of PSC help green the supply chain. "The key is properly evaluating claims about sustainability," he remarks, adding that this can be achieved by evaluating vendor claims using data from reports of various environmental groups that hold these providers accountable for their sustainable practices.

In the same manner, companies need to do an introspective check-up of their infrastructure before embarking on the green path, according to IDC. "As green IT adoption has just started, many organizations do not have effective measurement of the sustainability of their ICT systems, so this should also be focused on," Alberto suggests.

Emerson Network Power, for instance, provides measurement tools for users that enable them to measure the efficiency of their current infrastructure. "It allows them to model different investments and how these impact their OPEX, system availability, and energy consumption," she explains.