Astute managers have long since learned cutting carbon emissions means creating a leaner, greener, more efficient operation. In the early days we saw simple, yet effective education messages like: "Think twice before you print out emails," and "Switch off your computer when you go home at night." Later came more sophisticated measures like Energy Star (See: Definitions in Green Computing).
Well-informed companies are now likely to have entire departments devoted to cutting electricity consumption, and carbon emissions. Information technology systems can account for up to 30% of a company's electricity bills, so some companies start their improvements with a reality check. They review their utility bills, carry out an energy walk, and calculate their carbon footprint.
The Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit organization specializing in advice for businesses. In a best practice partnership with the British computing society the trust has developed a simulation software tool to help companies understand energy use within data centers. A British computing society spokesperson said, "The scale of the problem is worrying. Forecasts based on the current growth of data and associated IT infrastructure translate into a picture of unsustainable power consumption in the long term and power supply capacity issues in the short term. It is crucial that we make effective tools available to enable companies to identify the right steps to take to reduce energy use and carbon."
