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Hampshire County Council has made a good start when it comes to sustainability and the environment, says Jos Creese, head of IT
 Everyone knows that IT can make a positive contribution to environmental sustainability - reducing travel, enabling flexible working, intelligent heating and energy systems in buildings, and so on. At the same time, the negative impact of the IT industry is increasing - currently accounting for two per cent of global carbon emissions.
Couple this with the soaring costs of energy, the likelihood of greater environmental regulation and the growing cost of raw materials, ‘green IT’ is set to become a preoccupation for business.
Above EU average
The UK’s overall track record is not good. The average carbon footprint of someone living in the UK is nearly 15 per cent higher than the EU average, and typically the manufacturing, marketing, disposal and re-use of IT equipment have been based on cost, not environmental factors. We have become a throw away society in terms of new technology ‘must haves’.
Manufacturers are, however, responding to a change in public perception and most are now advocating their ‘green’ credentials, especially around energy efficient technologies. Still the whole lifespan cost of technology is rarely considered from manufacturing to disposal.
The Government is set to take a lead around ‘green IT’ in setting targets, regulation and providing examples of new ways of working. It has to, given we spend over £14billions per annum on IT nationally.
Top of agenda
Hampshire County Council has made a good start. Sustainability and the environment are high on the political agenda. The refurbishment of our Headquarters building will deliver a 60 per cent reduction in carbon footprint (from a 100kg to 40kg per square metre). Nearly two thirds of otherwise wasted energy in the new data centre will be recycled to heat the building in the colder months.
We have policies to switch of PCs when not in use, saving an estimated £100k per annum. ‘Thin Client’ computing is not only more efficient in support and more secure in management, but it is hugely beneficial in terms of the environment in manufacture, running and disposal. Thin Client technology saves the County Council nearly 1.37gw hours pa, that’s enough to power nearly 180 homes in Hampshire. It also saved us an estimated 22,500 miles of travel to fix problems across Hampshire last year.
To ensure a co-ordinated approach to a wide array of Green initiatives, we have set-up a ‘Green IT Task Force’, linked to the wider sustainability priorities of the County Council. This will focus on key areas from procurement through to data centre and desktop management, identifying measurable improvements that can demonstrate the lead that Hampshire County Council is taking on this important topic.
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