Renewtek was the first IT company to go carbon neutral under the government's greenhouse friendly program earlier this year and has developed a policy on sustainability and the environment.

Other ceritified companies include BP Global, Dulux Aquanamel and Eniro02 paints, and AGL GreenBalance eletricity.

Over 700 businesses and industry bodies took part in the Greenhouse Challenge Plus conference in Canberra in August.

It was organized by the Australian Greenhouse Office which is part of the Department of the Environment and Water Resources.

Companies involved in the Greenhouse Challenge Plus program include Thiess, the Minerals Council of Australia, Lion Nathan Ltd and Yalumba. Springboard Research vice president, Bob Hayward, said computing devices have a significantly large and unrecognized carbon footprint.

For example, an average sized server has the same carbon footprint as a mid-sized 4WD taking 17 litres of fuel to travel 100km.

Springboard estimates that over AUD$837 million per year is spent on powering computers in Australia with the overwhelming majority of this spend wasted on systems thar are in idle mode.