Articles about social media, mobile and the cloud may fill pages of tech news each day, but many people (and even organizations) never consider how the applications and devices they use impact the environment. Our constantly connected world is powered by enormous amounts of energy and resources. Concern over the impact of growing levels consumption within IT has spawned a green movement within the industry.

Over the weekend, The New York Times published a controversial article that arguably painted IT as one massive power hungry, polluting behemoth that has few cares and even less effort about correcting its naughty ways. It’s the New York Times. They spent a year researching. It has to be right. Well, not exactly.

Many IT firms are making strides to reduce their energy consumption. However, there is still lots of work left to be done. Which firms are still drinking up the most juice and pushing out the most pollution? That depends on who you are asking, and your perspective. Greenpeace released its report, “How Clean is Your Cloud” in April (full chart below).

The report scored 14 big names in IT based on estimated coal use. Apple, HP and IBM had the highest levels of coal use. The EPA also publishes greenhouse gas emissions, but few of the companies reviewed by Greenpeace reported data in 2010. Several additional studies by local municipalities and states exist, but few studies show the environmental impact of IT at a company level globally. Further, almost no data exists that shows what percentage of pollution and power consumption is due to technology within companies that don’t provide technology as their primary product.

Fortunately, many options exist for companies that are concerned about their IT related IT footprint, that don’t require relocating their data centers to cooler climate like Facebook. Strategies like cloud computing, virtualization and consolidation of devices, recycling equipment and employing alternative energy are now common in organizations of all sizes.