CeBIT is set to become one of the region's first carbon neutral ICT events thanks to sponsorship from Software as a Service (SaaS) provider Saasu.

Saasu has signed up as CeBit's Green Standard Carbon Credits sponsor, purchasing climate friendly high value offsets that meet the WWF’s gold standard to cover 2007 metered energy consumption on the assumption that efficiencies will match or exceed growth for the year.

Marc Lehmann, executive chairman of Saasu, said the sponsorship is in line with the company’s own business strategies.

“We are very happy to be involved with CeBIT Australia as the exclusive Green Carbon Credit sponsor because it fits perfectly with our own corporate and strategic philosophies,” he said.

“And we wanted a greater level of involvement anyway, because we had some really
good experiences at CeBIT Australia last year in terms of the customers we picked up at the event. We signed some of our biggest customers through CeBIT in 2007, so our ROI from the event was exceptional,” he added.

Jackie Taranto, managing director of CeBIT Australia organiser Hannover Fairs Australia, said the sponsorship will demonstrate to the expected 35,000 business visitors that the ICT industry can make a difference towards energy efficiency. With Gartner research indicating that the ICT industry accounts for about two percent of global carbon emissions, Taranto said CeBIT is hoping to lead by example.

“We are delighted that Saasu has come on board to help us make CeBIT Australia 2008 a Carbon Neutral event. This is a first step, of course, but we felt it was important to fly a Green flag at the event as a sign that we are on-board in global efforts to combat climate change,” she said.

“The ICT industry has important contributions to make. First, the sector is a big consumer of energy and is now charged with creating more energy efficient ICT solutions and services. Secondly, the ICT industry will play a fundamental role in developing and building solutions across all sectors of the economy to become more planet-friendly,” she added.

CeBIT Australia 2008 runs from May 20-22 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour.