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August 13, 2008 The State of the Art in Sustainable IT SLM Home | Green IT News & Ideas | Connections | Events | About

Green IT Strategy: Where's the Low-Hanging Fruit? Despite best intentions, recent research finds that only a tenth of U.K. firms that do have a green IT strategy in place are actually acting on their own recommendations. What's the hold up? Many IT managers point to cost of implementation. At the same time, it's tough to argue with the potential long-term savings of energy-efficient computing. (Keeping closer track of IT energy costs would probably help make the case here.) The truth is, a fancy green strategy does not necessarily translate into a concrete action plan, as many IT managers are discovering. Here are two things you can do today to kickstart your journey toward greener, leaner operations: First measure, then manage. While green IT extends far beyond energy efficiency, reducing IT's energy consumption does offer tangible environmental and economic benefits. To get started, we at Forrester recommend that you measure your green IT baseline – an annual estimate of the energy consumption, CO2 emissions and financial costs of operating IT. By exposing the energy "hogs" within and outside of the datacenter, you’ll be able to prioritize what greening projects will offer the most bang for the buck. Determine whether or not you're in compliance. Depending on your location, proper disposal and recycling of IT assets may be required. If you are not in compliance, now is the time to start. And here's a tip to save time and money: Use your vendors, since they're required to help. If you operate in Europe, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) imposes the responsibility for the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment on the manufacturers (a.k.a. your hardware vendors). IT managers who fail to live up to their green promises can – and should - be called on the carpet by their superiors. A strategy is worthless to the enterprise if it's never allowed to get off the ground. ~Doug Washburn, SLM Advisor What do you think? Post Your Comment Here! Also This Week... Small Business Waking Up to Greener Computing With small and medium-size enterprises buying PCs and servers in record numbers, green (read: energy efficient) computing is starting to look a whole lot more attractive within the sector, a new report finds. Read more... New Service Helps IT Shops Earn Rebates for Energy Efficiency Data storage firms now have help verifying the energy savings of their products, making them eligible for energy-efficiency rebates. Read more... IBM Plans $360 Million Green Datacenter in N.C. IBM is trying out a new state-of-the-art datacenter design aimed at souping up computing capability while minimizing energy use and eco-impact. Read more... AT&T Helps Develop Best Practices for Datacenter Efficiency Telecom giant AT&T has joined a pair of major initiatives aimed at improving energy-efficiency best practices at corporate datacenters. Read more... BofA Invests in New Technology to Cut Energy Costs, Emissions 50% Bank of America isn't just investing in tech services firm Field Diagnostic Services - it's putting the company's energy-management software to the test at bank locations throughout the U.S. Read more... Dell Unveils Greenest PC to Date Dell has launched what the company is calling its "most environmentally responsible consumer PC" yet - a desktop whose CPU takes up 80% less space and uses 70% less energy than comparable models. Read more... Cost Called Biggest Barrier to Green IT Despite overwhelming support for green IT initiatives, more than half of IT managers say the costs of implementation are still too high, according to a new report. Read more... Double-Sided Receipts Help Sainsbury's Save Paper, Energy Sainsbury's expects to save more than 500,000 rolls of receipt paper this year thanks to new printers that use both sides of the roll. Read more... More Green IT News & Tools... We want to hear from you! Post your comments or questions below any SLM news story and we'll feature the best of them here. (Note: You must be a registered SLM user to post. Not yet signed up? Click here!) Forward to a Friend! Anatomy of a Sustainable IT Strategy CIOs are always looking for the initiative that's going to put them on par with the rest of the senior leadership team. Sustainability can be that initiative - assuming you take a top-line approach. By Anne Bruce Read more... Solution Providers How to Craft a Green IT Action Plan Many IT departments want to undertake green IT initiatives, but don't know where to start. This guide shows how to build a green IT action plan by setting realistic goals and choosing projects that IT can perform autonomously. (Info-Tech) Download now (PDF)... Find Peers and Partners If you haven’t already joined the fastest growing online sustainable business community, create a profile now and start connecting. Advertise on SLM! Become a Sustainable Life Media advertiser or sponsor and reach thousands of business leaders looking for product or service solutions to help them build their sustainability story. Click here to learn more.

Sustainable Life Media is home for business professionals looking to build new value and competitive advantage by innovating more sustainable processes, practices and products. We bring you top stories related to the what, who and how of environmental and social innovation, and help you connect with thought leaders, peers, partners and solutions providers that can help you quickly reach your goals. This work is licensed under a CreativeCommons License. Copyright Sustainable Life Media Inc. 2008

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