Green IT at the flick of a switch

The IT department's core mission used to be simply to meet a company's computing needs, on time and within budget, with buzzwords such as operational enablement and optimisation topping their agenda. Today, the goalposts have moved, and environmental responsibility has catapulted its way to the top of the chief information officer's agenda.

"Going green" is also on the lips of most boardroom members as they try to promote corporate responsibility. As a result, IT decision makers are under increasing pressure from stakeholders, to deliver IT practices that meet strict green criteria without burning holes in the budget.

The good news is that going green needn't be costly; in fact, it can bring long-term cost savings. Small changes can make a real difference by reducing costs and lowering CO2 emissions. Research by Fujitsu Siemens Corporation and Computacenter has found that switching PCs off overnight will not only cut emissions; it can also save up to £53 in electricity costs per PC every year.

Achieving carbon neutrality for an IT estate may sound complex, but there are three key challenges that IT managers should address: the removal of old and harmful products; complying with today's green IT legislation; and understanding and managing carbon footprints.

The EU's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive, WEEE, is putting pressure on consumers and businesses to dispose of electrical items safely and appropriately. The IT industry and PC users create a heavy environmental footprint, in terms of carbon emissions and landfill usage. Older products in particular need to be disposed of carefully as they can contain harmful substances such as lead and mercury.

IT equipment is often refreshed due to increasing performance expectations. In fact, much can be reused or re-marketed, donated, or even sold on as second-hand equipment, often to companies in developing countries, raising revenue and minimising waste in the process. The caveat here is that organisations need to ensure data has been destroyed and that equipment is not just "dumped" in the receiving country.

IT managers should consider conducting an energy audit of their company's current IT environment, to see where efficiencies can be made and to identify equipment that can be recycled or sold on. By carrying out an IT refresh, companies will be able to reap both financial and environmental rewards.

The manufacture and use of IT products generates significant levels of CO2, so it is important for businesses to understand and reduce the carbon footprint of their IT estates. For example, a typical desktop PC left on for 24 hours a day, 220 days a year is responsible for up to a tonne of CO2 emissions over a three-year period.

In the future, computers that emit low CO2 levels, both in manufacture and operation, will make an important contribution to reducing the potentially harmful effects of climate change. In fact, the carbon-neutral PC of tomorrow will define the sustainable IT environment of the future. In the meantime, though, by encouraging employees to become involved through simple steps such as switching off PCs at night, companies will quickly see bottom-line benefits while reducing their impact on the environment.

Ignorance and apathy of the challenge posed by climate change is no longer a valid option for businesses. Simply put, IT decision makers have a responsibility to make decisions today that will reduce their organisations' carbon footprint tomorrow.