Apple is seen as the greenest IT brand, sharing the lead with HP, Microsoft, IBM, Intel and Sony, reveals an environmentally-focused research study among enterprise technology users.

The survey - conducted by GreenFactor - revealed that 70 per cent of those surveyed said they would be prepared to purchase green products, but only if they were convinced of the positive impact of the decision.

The research was conducted among 3,500 enterprise IT decision makers during the first quarter of 2008 by Strategic Oxygen, GCI Group and Cohn & Wolfe.

Price, company policy, and lack of availability of green products were cited as typical reasons not to invest in greener kit, while enterprise buyers confessed to be searching for green versions of the following products (in order of preference): Laptops; desktops, servers, storage, network hardware.

In nine of 11 countries polled, price was the top barrier. Marketers must focus on better communicating total cost of ownership and overall value to potential buyers.