Greetings from the 2008 Insurance & Technology Summit, where a busy first day began with a session entitled "The Odd Couple: Agility and Insurance." The session's second presenter, Highmark director of data center infrastructure Mark Wood, used a portion of his presentation to discuss green initiatives.

It was a topic I was glad to see addressed at the summit. Just a few months ago, "Going Green" seemed to be a priority for nearly every organization -- both those inside and outside the insurance industry. Lately though, I think it'd be an understatement to say that green initiatives have taken a back seat as companies navigate the choppy waters of economic crisis.In my opinion though, the two issues can co-exist quite peacefully. With budgets tight, CIOs and other leaders are going to have to do a better job of justifying technology investment projects to executive leadership teams.

Knowing the kind of benefits that they can bring to a business, green initiatives might be among the easiest to justify. In addition to improving a company's public image (many green initiatives are actually driven by insurers' marketing teams), green projects can often help reduce costs in a very direct, very tangible way.

For example, Highmark's Wood (who also spoke at length about saving on energy costs) says that many carriers are still using massive amounts of paper. "We're not just killing trees anymore, we're killing forests," Wood said during his presentation. "It's really not very green."

That fact alone could be a driver behind investing in a paperless green initiative, but there's a whole other piece to it. Most of the times that an insurer prints something, it has to mail something as well. Those costs add up.

"We spent over $32 million dollars in postage," Wood said of Highmark. "Now we're down to $29 million, so we're making some efforts there." I wouldn't be surprised if those savings increased as Highmark's green initiatives mature.

My point is that, in the current economic environment, instincts might tell to hold off on green initiatives. In reality though, this might be the time to invest in them further. While corporate responsibility is an important driver here, it's not the only one. Companies in every industry are looking to cut costs by curtailing company travel or, more drastically, cutting jobs, etc. Highmark, meanwhile, has saved $4 million dollars simply by taking a more green approach to how they consume paper. I don't know of any insurer that wouldn't be interested in doing the same.I think it'd be an understatement to say that green initiatives have taken a back seat as companies navigate the choppy waters of economic crisis.