Financial concerns still take precedence over environmental ones for business decision-makers choosing IT equipment, a new survey has found.

The study by management software provider firm 1E asked 100 UK enterprises for the major factors that dictated their IT procurement decisions, reports itpro.co.uk.

Cost issues figured most highly, with 60 per cent of companies citing this as a primary issue. While 35 per cent picked security concerns as most important, just three per cent rated environmental concerns as the key factor in their IT purchases.

According to 1E chief executive Sumir Karayi, businesses should do more to factor environmental issues into their IT decisions, and should consider the US corporate model much more closely.

"Cost should always be relevant," he said. "But in reality, being green is not in conflict with cost... technology itself won't change the world, but it can offer a significant emissions savings."

"In the US, there's a significant shift to going green. In the UK, we're just not seeing it," added Mr Karayi.

The survey did find that two-thirds of those questioned were now looking at improvements to their environmental policies before new government regulations on office emissions come into practice.

According to recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent)