The IT industry is contributing to a rise in greenhouse gasses that if unchecked, will displace millions of people by 2100 as sea levels rise.

These stark, inconvenient truths were part of the message from Schneider Electric, which used the UN World Environment Day on 5 June to declare a ''war on waste'' against inefficient IT.  The energy management company is promoting a concept it calls EcoStruXure, which aims to help the IT, construction and utility industries promote efficiency and reduce carbon emissions and power consumption.

Chief marketing officer Aaron Davis says the digital revolution requires an energy revolution.  But with changes in behaviour and good system design, Davis argues that IT leaders can use energy intelligently to reduce the 30% of power typically wasted in datacentres.