The word “green” is popping up more and more frequently in almost every industry, and Information Technology (IT) is no exception. This is not surprising as computing equipment uses an enormous amount of energy.
The energy used by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment doubled between 2000 and 2005 and today accounts for roughly 2% of global CO2 emissions. Furthermore, should current trends continue, ICT will be responsible for 45% of domestic electricity consumption by 2020. The world’s data centers – the centralized collections of computers which companies use to store and process information – use more electricity than Mexico, a country of more than 100 million people, says Jon Koomey. And these figures are all steadily increasing. But that’s not where the problems end: disposing of old computer equipment – desktops, monitors, printers and printer cartridges – also creates a major headache. What the heck do you do with all that old equipment? Even seemingly innocuous things such as searching with Google can have an environmental impact.
In short, the IT industry has become a major source of environmental pollution.
Both governments and companies are waking up to the fact that they need to make IT greener. There are three main motivators for this which are (in no particular order): environmental concerns, cost concerns and PR concerns.
Faced with a need to reduce emissions in order to comply with international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the European Union’s new climate deal, governments are looking for ways to stem increasing energy consumption in all sectors of industry, including IT. Consequently, the European Union recently introduced a Code of Conduct which aims to improve the energy efficiency of data centers and the Environmental Protection Agency is considering implementing a similar scheme in the US.
For companies, going green is about improving the bottom line. Data centers can have tens – or even hundreds – of thousands of computers and an electricity bill that runs to tens – or even hundreds - of thousands of dollars per month and making those computers more energy efficient can lead to substantial cost reductions. It has been estimated that compliance with the European Union’s Code of Conduct could save UK data centers $200 million over a six year period. For smaller companies, the potential for cost reductions may not be as substantial, but it is nonetheless still enough to catch the attention of management.
Going green is also great PR. At a time when consumers are becoming increasingly environmentally-aware, being able to demonstrate green credentials can make the difference between winning and losing a contract or a sale. Some companies are now going as far as requiring that suppliers and business partners have some form of green policy in place.
Green really has become the new mean. Even utility companies have recognized the need to make IT greener. While it may seem odd for a company to encourage customers to use less of its product, that’s exactly what some utilities are now doing. Pacific Gas and Electric, for example, offers financial incentives to companies which use certain technologies in order to make their IT operations more energy efficient. Why are they doing this? “We have a variety of reasons for running our energy efficiency programs,” says Mark Bramfitt, Principal Program Manager at PG&E. “There is certainly an underlying financial case for everyone concerned. But perhaps most importantly, the programs are the cornerstone of our broader mission of supporting environmental quality in the communities we serve.”