IT services specialist Logicalis last week became the latest company to join The Green Grid consortium of IT vendors seeking to limit the IT industry's environmental impact and power consumption.

The move takes to 87 the number of companies that have joined the burgeoning group since it was formally launched earlier this year.

Logicalis said that joining the consortium was the latest in a line of green initiatives designed to help customers limit the carbon footprint of their IT equipment. Earlier this year the company launched a subsidised environmental impact training service for IT chiefs and was also recently involved in the launch of the UK's first green IT user group, The Environmental IT Leadership Team.

Tom Kelly, managing director for Logicalis UK said, "We look forward to joining our partners – IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, HP and BT - and other technical experts globally, in helping to create a clear roadmap for data centre efficiency and improved environmental practice."

The announcement comes just weeks after The Green Grid unveiled its plans for the years, pledging to complete a series of studies assessing energy efficiency metrics, develop best practice guidelines on enhancing datacentre energy efficiency, and produce a technology roadmap investigating the effectiveness of potential new energy saving technologies.

With Logicalis operating in the IT services space the latest recruit may also increase pressure on more IT services providers to sign up to the consortium.

While almost all the large hardware vendors have joined the group and committed to enhancing their products' energy efficiency some of the big name IT services and consultancy companies - such as CSC, LogicaCMG, Capgemini and Indian providers such as TCS and Wipro - have been noticeable by their absence.

Richard Barrington, head of public policy at Green Grid board member Sun Microsystems, said that with services companies directly involved in the deployment and operation of IT infrastructures there was a key role for them to play in the consortium.

"The reality is that [IT services companies] often feel they have some special IP, some secret sauce, which sits above the hardware layer that they don’t want to share," he said. "But The Green Grid would definitely welcome their involvement. Its collaborative approach is the right way for the industry to go [with regards to improving energy efficiency]. But has it got all the right members it needs on board yet? Possibly not."