Sustainable Computing Initiative

[Karl]

Sustainable Computing Initiative To Help Companies Reduce Environmental Impact

Market Watch - October 07, 2008

Redemtech, a leading provider of Technology Change Management, announced today its Sustainable Computing initiative, designed to help large organizations take a more comprehensive and sustainable approach to reducing the environmental impact of information technology systems. This announcement is being made in conjunction with today's release of a new Redemtech-sponsored IDC White Paper, Beyond Power: IT's Roadmap to Sustainable Computing. Redemtech is providing free and exclusive access to the paper at IDC White Paper: IT's Roadmap to Sustainable Computing .

According to United Nations University, it takes 1.8 tons of raw materials and approximately 240 kilograms of fossil fuel to manufacture a PC -- which is about 81 percent of the energy the computer will use. The Basel Action Network (BAN) estimates that up to 80 percent of the e-waste collected for recycling is exported overseas harming workers and the environment. Sustainable Computing emphasizes the value of reducing the demand for new technology by extending equipment lifecycles; reusing assets through redeployment, remarketing or charitable donation; and ensuring responsible recycling.

"While reducing data center energy consumption has been the low-hanging fruit in the pursuit of corporate environmentalism, this goal needs to be accomplished within the context of a more comprehensive approach to green IT," said David Daoud, IDC's lead author of Beyond Power. "We believe the opportunities to reduce costs and environmental footprint through Sustainable Computing practices will ultimately dwarf those available through a program focused only on energy consumption."

Efforts of this initiative include:

-- A self-assessment so organizations can quickly audit lifecycle management practices to identify opportunities to achieve the greatest reductions in environmental impact.

-- Working with the U.S. Government Accounting Office to call attention to practices by some recycling companies that are dumping e-waste overseas.

-- Working with BAN to develop and support higher standards for e-waste recycling.

-- Release of computer lifecycle cost analysis that reveals savings of $325-$650 for every $1,000 in original cost by extending lifecycles to four or five years.

Source: Sustainable Computing Initiative To Help Companies Reduce Environmental Impact - MarketWatch

Related: Data centres not so energy hungry after all - environmentalresearchweb