Going Green to Save Green

Nearly 7 in 10 respondents have started down the green road, with 24 percent currently using or pilot-testing green computing solutions and 45 percent more in the planning stage of at least one initiative. Of the 17 percent who have no plans to implement a green solution in the next 12 months, 26 percent don't see an ROI in adopting green computing, 15 percent report that it is not in the budget, and another 15 percent state that their companies' energy costs are not high enough to justify the investment.

Environmental considerations are certainly stirring a lot of interest in going green. In fact, 86 percent of survey respondents said green computing is at least somewhat important to protecting the environment. Among those respondents who report that they are embracing green computing, however, the underlying motive appears to be protecting the bottom line more so than protecting Mother Nature: Almost three-quarters, 74 percent, of companies adopting green computing are doing so to reduce energy costs. Half are adopting such practices to extend useful life of hardware. Meanwhile, 31 percent are doing it to reduce harmful emissions attributed to global warming and health problems.

In regard to power bills, few companies, 24 percent, reported that their energy costs have increased over the past 12 months; 60 percent don't anticipate those costs will increase over the next three to five years. Still, as noted above, three-quarters are adopting green IT practices to lower power bills.

Energy costs alone aren't at the forefront of many a business leader's mind; there's also concern about future supply. Around two-thirds of the respondents agreed that the nation is facing an imminent power shortage and that energy saving measures must be taken to ensure future business growth.
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What is Global Action Plan?

Global Action Plan is the product of Trewin Restorick, previously a recycling co-ordinator and then head of marketing at Friends of the Earth. He left and founded Global Action Plan (GAP) in 1993. GAP looks to build teamwork among groups of people who increase the sustainability of their activities in an environmental sense.

In 2003 it described itself thus: "Global Action Plan is an independent national charity that provides practical guidance to support sustainable development through a mix of facilitated behaviour change programmes based on measurable achievements and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles through web and paper-based publications." It has a quite impressive track record and has grown to employ 50 members of staff.

GAP is a registered charity, number 102648. It defines its purpose as: "To promote the protection and improvement of the natural environment by increasing public knowledge and understanding of human behaviour which is not harmful to man and other living species and to planetary ecology."

The latest GAP project is the Environmental IT Leadership TEAM (EITLT), which aims to build a green group of IT businesses and have it produce reports on greener IT practices and so exert pressure on government and vendors to bring about greener IT.

As a marketeer, Restorick is adept at tactics that raise awareness and also raise the profile of his charity; for it does not exist on voluntary contributions from individuals. No, it depends on and solicits funding from, organisations, both public sector and private. For example, landfill tax credit.
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Closer Look at HP's Carbon Footprint Challenge

The IT industry is currently under a lot of pressure to reduce its carbon footprint, and with its carbon footprint challenge, HP is one computer firm that's trying to go 'green from the inside'. Not only by making its employees greener by getting them to switch lights off and recycle more, but by transforming its facilities into a solar-powered paradise.

Here's an image taken on-site at San Diago, California, showing the epic solar rooftop they've just installed, that will be up to 1 Megawatt capacity. This puts it at roughly 63% of the Google system recently installed. The panels will cover 10 percent of the energy used by the facility and save HP $750,000 in power costs over 15 years. For such a big old computer firm, that energy saving is pretty impressive. Remember this next time you embark on the often confusing task of buying a new PC, but see also our recent post on what other computer giants are doing about global warming.
Src: http://www.hippyshopper.com/2007/12/a_closer_look_a.html
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Why must IT go green?

Green IT is not about compliance or coercion. It is about efficiency, says Stewart Baines. And that should make it more sustainable than any kowtowing to corporate social responsibility.

IT has been on an unsustainable path for years. Gigantic centralised data centres cannot get sufficient juice from the electricity network; millions of computers burn up processor power performing background processes while their users are in the pub; forests of emails, memos and presentations are needlessly printed off and never read.

If these factors alone are not reason enough to sign up to green IT, there are countless more. Many UK and EU regulations and campaigns demand greener businesses: the ethical disposal of equipment under the WEEE directive, transparency on companies' carbon footprint, and ultimately a cap-and-trade system for carbon credits set to be introduced in 2010.

Staff are increasingly green aware and want to see their company contributing to the solution, rather than exacerbating the problem.

"People like to work for companies they can be proud of, so being seen as a socially responsible organisation is certainly a factor in attracting and retaining top talent," says Alec Bruce, eco-solutions champion, Hitachi Data Systems UK.

"We hear from CIOs who have green IT programmes, that their staff gain a sense of empowerment from a green IT project."
The office, which has not felt the pinch on supply, also has energy issues.

Many small suppliers must comply with their large customers' own green policies. And investors are demanding to know more about long-term plans to transform their investment into a beacon for green excellence.

And perhaps most of all, energy is no longer like water - nor for that matter is water. Retail gas prices increased by 25 per cent in 2006 and volatility in the Middle East from the proposed sanctions on Iran and the conflict on the Turkish-Iraq border have helped nudge oil close to $100 a barrel.

A carbon levy on utility bills in the UK adds further to the rise in fuel costs. The long term trend for oil, gas, electricity and petrol costs is up, up, up.

Energy no longer trivial
The impact on IT is that the energy a computer consumes is no longer trivial. In the data centre, where supply rather than price is the issue, energy has mattered for some time.

"The National Grid is reaching breaking point. The electricity company EDF has warned it is no longer able to increase supply to data centres and requires formal notification of any plans to expand or create new centres," says David Elwen, a director of IT consultancy DMW Group.

Elwen continues: "There is a clear need to reduce the electricity requirement, which in turn will cut electricity bills."

The office, which has not felt the pinch on supply, also has energy issues. IBM estimates that IT is responsible for as much as 40 per cent of an office's entire electricity use. How much of this can be saved by turning PCs off at night and ensuring devices are not left in standby when not in use? The average office can be just as inefficient and power-hungry as a creaking 20th century server farm.

The industry in the past has measured its progress by faster processors, bigger hard drives and ever smarter smart phones, oblivious to their energy consumption. Now the vendor community has the green bug: everything, from desktop PCs to mobile base stations, professes to be green.

This is undoubtedly a good thing, and vendors should be applauded for tackling the energy thirstiness without ramping up prices. If energy-efficient PCs are the same price as inefficient machines, it is a no-brainer.

The rising energy costs compared with the general downward trend of hardware would suggest that organisations should shorten the refresh cycle. Last year, analyst house IDC reported for every dollar spent on IT hardware, 50 cents are spent on powering them: in three years, energy will account for 75 per cent. When factoring in cooling as well, power costs exceed purchase costs.

"CFOs are really focusing on operating costs," says Tony Rooke, UK environmental programme manager for services firm LogicaCMG. "They are prepared to invest in capital expenditure if it brings those operating expenditure costs down. The energy prices have gone up so much they will consider accelerating refresh rates if it gives them a better performance."

Green computer does not compute
However, there is a problem with directly equating the need to reduce energy costs and energy consumption with green IT, which, according to some, may not exist.

"There is no such thing as green IT. The equipment can't be green. It's the way that you use it," says Chris Gabriel, head of solutions at systems integrator Logicalis.

"You may think you are buying a green server but if you manage it inefficiently, it's not as green as my old server that's properly optimised. If I bought the greenest fridge and stick an organic lemon in it for five years, it's not efficient," adds Gabriel.

Colm Feighoney, a green IT consultant with IBM Global Services, says there are some simple things organisations could do with the standard operating environment that could really help.

"Pretty screen savers may only consume a few watts, but if you have 100,000 desktops, replacing them with a blank screen could give you million pounds a year savings from reduced energy use," says Feighoney.

Many IT managers are becoming cynical about green labelling with promises that each new server will reduce energy bills. Every vendor message these days screams that its hardware, peripherals, network equipment and even software is green.

But they are not inherently green if they are used inappropriately. If a PC is left on overnight, can you blame Dell? If a server is only 50 per cent optimised can you blame Sun?

Old equipment may consume more energy than newer versions, but a rip and replace campaign will not necessarily deliver the carbon reduction targets that government, shareholders, employees and the earth demands. This is because although each device may be more efficient, we're also asking it to do more and in many cases with the same inefficient processes as before.

"Obviously green IT needs to focus on efficiency; or rather efficient computing delivers green benefits. Being green is a return on being more efficient," adds Logicalis' Gabriel.

Kate Craig-Wood, managing director of web hosting company Memset, says being environmentally responsible generally means being more energy efficient, which directly benefits the bottom line.

"The increased awareness of green issues is simply accelerating improvements in efficiency that any responsible CIO should have been implementing in the near future anyway," says Craig-Wood.
Src: http://management.silicon.com
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Green Computing Surveys

Following is the survey done for Green Computing (Ref:http://www.computerworld.com.au)

Attitude Towards Green Computing















Reasons for Adopting Green Services:















Reasons for not Implementing Green Services:















Future Energy Policies:

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New Carbon Zero Scheme from Toshiba: green choice for laptop buyers

Toshiba today launched a new scheme through which its customers can offset the carbon dioxide produced during the manufacture and lifetime use of their laptops. For a small donation of £1.18, Toshiba customers now have the option of making their laptops a ‘Carbon Zero’ purchase through a tree planting scheme at dedicated Toshiba woodland, delivered in partnership with co2balance, Toshiba’s carbon offset partner.

The trees planted as part of the Toshiba Carbon Zero scheme will be native broad-leafed trees, in a new developing woodland called Sand Martin Wood in Cumbria. Trees are an effective, natural means of absorbing carbon dioxide emissions as part of the carbon cycle, with each tree absorbing around one tonne of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide during its lifetime.

Announcing the new scheme, Tom Nickson, Environmental Manager, Toshiba Computer Systems said: “The Carbon Zero scheme is an important one for Toshiba, because we’re allowing our customers to make a positive environmental choice when buying one of our products. This scheme is an important part of Toshiba’s wider commitment to improving the value, eco-efficiency of its products and business processes, as well as reducing emissions of carbon dioxide related to the manufacture and use of its products. The fact the cost to the consumer to offset one of our lap-tops is so low, demonstrates the progress made so far.”

Mark Simpson, Director of co2balance adds: “All the trees are planted on land which we own and which we manage ourselves. This ensures that we have control over the trees, in order to ensure that every one planted can absorb carbon dioxide and help combat climate change. The scheme is also a totally ‘additional’ project, which means that the trees would not otherwise have been planted but for the investment of Toshiba’s customers.”

The scheme follows the Toshiba Corporation’s recent announcement of its Environmental Vision for 2050, a long-term commitment to contribute to a better environment by recognising and responding to environmental issues. In implementing this vision, Toshiba aims to improve the value and eco-efficiency of its products and business processes and to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by the equivalent of 57.6 million tons per year in 2025 compared with 2000. It will also work to enhance its environmental efficiency and raise overall eco-efficiency to a factor of 10 by 2050.

To find out more on Toshiba’s Carbon Zero laptops scheme, visit www.toshiba.co.uk/carbonzero
Src: http://www.product-reviews.net

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Google Going Green in a Big Way

The world's best-known Internet company on Tuesday announced a far-reaching initiative to stimulate the development of solar and other renewable energy sources.

As part of the program, Google Inc. and its nonprofit foundation, Google.org, has earmarked tens of millions of dollars to either spend on research and development or to invest in renewable energy in 2008. In the longer term, it also plans to build solar power plants, invest in more renewable energy companies, and sell or license any energy-related technologies it develops to other companies.

In part, Google wants to find cheaper, more reliable power to run the giant, energy-sucking computer data centers it operates or plans to open in more than 25 locations around the world, including Atlanta, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma and Oregon.

But Google co-founder Larry Page said the company's ambitions extend far beyond its own business.

"Just providing energy for Google is not really enough of a goal," Page said in a conference call with reporters. "We really want to provide energy that's cheap enough that it can replace significant amounts of the energy that (is) used today."

Specifically, Google wants to develop technology to make solar and other energy sources less expensive than coal, which currently produces more than 40 percent of the country's electricity, but using it releases large amounts of climate-warming gases into the atmosphere.

Google officials decline to say just how much power its data centers use to run its vast Internet search site and its other businesses.

But by some estimates, the company spends more than $2 million per month on electricity to power its network of an estimated 450,000 computer servers.

Google has more than just cost-cutting and altruism in mind, however.

Page said the company expects to see returns "on a reasonable time scale" from its energy investments, either in the form of higher stock prices of the companies it invests in, in savings from producing its own power, or from the sale or licensing of solar and other technologies it develops.

Google, of course, isn't the only company that sees greenbacks in going green.

Atlanta media mogul Ted Turner, who has made big investments in solar energy lately, recently called the solar business "the greatest business opportunity in the history of humanity."
Src: http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2007/11/27/Google_1128.html
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