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Advancing Green IT Values

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PCQ Bureau
New Update

Environment friendly corporate actions are gaining momentum across businesses

around the globe. Alternative fuel and power sources are becoming more available

and more affordable, even as organizations are committed to minimize their

environmental impact whenever and wherever possible.

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In such an atmosphere, CIOs have a unique opportunity to strengthen their

companies' green efforts through a variety of measures. After all, one of the

biggest expenditures for a company is IT assets, and those IT assets consume a

great deal of power.

Direct Hit!

Applies To: CIOs



USP: Building an environment friendly IT setup


Primary Link: None


Google Keyword: Green IT

What's more, disposing off these assets requires careful consideration to

ensure that they do not poison landfills. The IT industry is one of the biggest

producers of carbon, emissions, and waste, so good corporate responsibility

calls for CIOs and their organizations to take steps to minimize their

environmental footprint.

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Where to start



The good news is that there are many paths to becoming a more earth-friendly

company. CIOs can start by putting pressure on vendors to use less toxic

substances in their PCs, storage, servers, and other devices in order to dispose

the devices properly. Clearly, vendors respond to their customers and customer

requests, one quarter can make their way onto a vendor's product roadmap not

long thereafter.

Similarly, organizations can leverage third-party reclamation firms to aid in

the company's disposal strategy. In many cases, the reclamation company does not

even charge for such a service because it is able to make a profit on the

silver, gold, and other valuable elements it recovers before disposing off

batteries, monitors, and other IT components.

Computer recycling in the form of donations can also be very beneficial, not

just for the company and the environment but for communities as well. Many

school systems have computer and peripheral equipment donation programs to which

businesses can give their surplus laptops, desktop systems, and associated

components and accessories. These devices, in turn, are placed in area schools

for the benefit of elementary education. Donating surplus equipment is a

mutually beneficial activity that can increase, improve, and enhance education

while shrinking an organization's environmental footprint.

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Another potential piece of low-hanging fruit in a corporation's strategy to

reduce its environmental impact involves IT asset management. End user systems

can be configured to use settings that reduce the power consumption of that

device by default-perhaps the hard drive shuts down after a period of inactivity

or the monitor goes dark. These settings can become part of the standard image

that is placed on all desktops and laptops throughout the company. And, of

course, the user can always opt to override the systems when necessary, but many

users will actually choose green practices when they understand their positive

impact on the environment.

Be cool



Data center is another potential area for proactive energy conservation. In

the data center, it's all about staying cool. A growing number of hardware

providers are now offering energy-saving products that use far less power than

more traditional devices. Some consume less power, others utilize power more

efficiently. Either way, reducing power requirements is an environmentally

responsible thing to do. Then there's the actual air in the data center.

Everyone knows that data centers run best when they're cool. But cool doesn't

always mean air conditioning. When the outside air is cooler than the air

inside, organizations can bring in that cooler air and turn the air conditioners

off.

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What's more, a growing number of organizations are focusing a portion of

their green efforts on data center power itself. Some are opting for leveraging

DC power for a portion of their infrastructure since DC or battery power

generates less heat than traditional AC power.

That's not all. Firms that buy a significant amount of power can evaluate the

option of purchasing power from a renewable energy source such as hydroelectric

providers. Where possible, organizations can also look for cleaner sources of

power, such as nuclear power, to drive their data centers.

Final say



The bottomline is, good corporate responsibility must include environmental

strategies and initiatives aimed at doing as much as possible to protect and

save the planet for future generation.



Environmental responsibility also makes good business sense, since reducing
power demands results in concrete savings. What's more, customers demand it,

which makes taking the green path an effective tactic for retaining customer

loyalty and trust.

Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, Symantec India & SAARC

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