Yes, but the shade of green will vary, says Doug Washburn.

While it's clear that the next generation datacenter will be an energy efficient datacenter, incorporating other green datacenter features — from reduced water usage, to sustainable site planning, to sourcing IT gear manufactured in a more eco-responsible fashion — are not likely to happen at the same pace.

Why? Reduced energy consumption in the datacenter offers tangible and immediate environmental and economic savings, but also goes hand-in-hand with alleviating out of space and out of power concerns — challenges, that for now, trump purely green motivations.

At the recent Next Generation Datacenter Conference in San Francisco, I had the opportunity to discuss the role of "green" in the datacenter by moderating a panel on the topic of "Greening of the Datacenter — Practical Steps That Can Be Implemented Today With Real World Savings." The panel consisted of major industry hitters — including Jack Pouchet of Emerson Power Network, Joe Prisco of IBM, Michael Patterson of Intel, Christian Belady of Microsoft, and John Pflueger of Dell — with all panelists having a stake in enacting green and or energy efficiency strategies within their organizations. Here are some key takeaways from the session:

#1: Breakdown artificial barriers. Don't let artificial barriers or bad habits inhibit you from greening your datacenter — such as "meat locker" temperatures in the cold aisle temperatures, avoiding the use and extent of virtualization, or low server utilization thresholds.

#2: Measure first, green second. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Measure your datacenter's energy consumption before enacting any green or energy efficient projects. One hundred percent accuracy isn't required — walking the floor with a pencil and clipboard can give you a rough estimate that will help you prioritize where to start and then report benefits over time. (FYI, I'll be hosting a teleconference in October to discuss how to do this.)

#3: Green benefits extend beyond energy cost savings. The benefits of the green datacenter extend beyond just saving some coin. If you're experiencing out of space and out of power concerns in the datacenter, consolidation and virtualization can increase available floor space while reducing energy consumption simultaneously. This will help you continue to the meet increasing needs of the business for IT services and defer the costs of building a new datacenter.

#4: The green datacenter is resource efficient, not just energy efficient. Our panelists were quick to point out that green IT extends far beyond just reducing IT energy consumption, and therefore, the green datacenter is more than just an energy efficient datacenter. While most agreed that this is where most firms are starting, datacenters also need to be resource efficient — such as reducing water consumption, incorporating sustainable building practices into new construction, and sourcing IT gear manufactured in a more eco-responsible fashion. Examples of this include Citigroup's water management techniques and Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield's use of recycled building materials.

As a parting thought, the best way to green your datacenter is to make the most out of what you have versus building a new one. With that in mind, don't wait to incorporate green features into your datacenter today. For example, if your goal is to reduce energy consumption, simple steps — from raising the temperate in your cold aisles and installing blocking plates improve air flow, to energy efficient power supplies, and improving utilization with virtualization — can be done today with minimal to no investment.

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Doug Washburn is analyst at Forrester Research, where he advises clients on sustainable business and green IT practices and the role of technology in business. He also hosts SLM's Greener IT Update e-newsletter.

This column has been reprinted courtesy of the Forrester Blog for IT Infrastructure.