Although I expect, on starting to read this, you will say “I know this” and “I’ve done this”, maybe, just maybe, there will be a few new ideas here to help you improve greening at low or often zero cost.
The justification to go green is well known, not only to reduce the carbon footprint, save power and water (both increasingly limited resources), but also to enhance the feel-good factor, improve reputation, as well as issues like saving the polar bear. Other outcomes of these low/zero cost green changes discussed below often lead to saving money, and in one case to improve security not only for the organisation but also for the staff. For instance, for the cost of a few chocolates, power could be saved and minor changes in another area could result in water usage going down by 30 per cent.
Much has been written about changing data centres and data storage to become more green, but I am going to consider our use of computers as end-users. Many of these ideas can be utilised also at home when using your personal computer to reduce your own costs and improve your carbon footprint.
Changing our attitudes
It has been found that we are much more conscious of saving power and reducing our carbon footprint at home than at work. Over 80 per cent of us turn off our computers and over 90 per cent turn off the lights when not wanted at home compared with about 66 per cent in both cases at work. Staff should be encouraged to adopt the same green attitude at work as at home.
One of the first acts is to establish a senior manager as a green ‘champion’ and then to win-over and engage all staff by encouraging them to come up with their own ideas. One method could be to explain the implications of acting in a more carbon efficient manner, not by using technical terms but by utilising everyday examples, such as these from the Carbon Trust:
- A computer left on 24/7 will cost about £37 in year, whereas by switching it off at night and at weekends, the charge can be reduced to about £10 a year – saving enough energy to make 34,900 cups of coffee
- A PC monitor switched off overnight saves enough energy to microwave six dinners
- Turning off all non-essential equipment in an office for one night could save enough energy to run a small car for one hundred miles.
For lights that are not on automatic timers or motion detectors, stickers could be placed by the switches and everyone encouraged to switch off lights when not needed.
Savings though simple actions
Savings could be made if computers were switched off or put into sleep mode. Software, some freely available, can assist with this. The brightness on monitors could be reduced, with visability compensated by raising the contrast level. One manager, from a local authority walked round the departments after staff had gone home, either putting a chocolate on the desk of those that had turned off their computers, or sending an e-mail to those that had not. When his action was repeated about a month later, he had to buy a lot more chocolates!
Active screen savers should be removed, as the same power is used to run the screens savers as to run a working monitor. Photographs of family, pets and holidays could be encouraged instead. It was reported that HM Revenue & Customs expects reductions of 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and £2 million savings per year by enabling active power management on PCs and laptops.
Sharing printers and other devices and applying time switches to non-networked equipment, e.g. photocopiers, can also result in savings.
It is predicted that there is an approximate 50 per cent increase in storage each year. Therefore everyone should be encouraged to remove unwanted files on a regular basis, possibly by allocating a half day every three months or alternatively the last day before Christmas and New Year break, to remove unwanted draft copies of reports.
Safety, security & savings
The concept of ‘hot rooming’ could be utilised for those times when only a limited number of staff are present, or when staff are working late or over weekends. By using specified areas only, rather than their normal desks and offices, reductions in heating, lighting and air-conditioning can be achieved, also improving the security for the building and the personal security for those working outside normal hours.
The concept of home working or teleworking, even on a casual basis could be investigated, which might, depending on the individual’s personal situation, result in the reduction of their carbon footprint. This could also prove valuable as part of a business continuity plan; if staff could not go to the office due to a flu outbreak or transport problems, they could continue to work from home.
Reducing the waste of consumables and equipment is another key activity. For example, the default setting for printers could be double-sided and we should all ask ourselves if it is really necessary to print. It was reported that the Department of Work and Pensions could save two million sheets of paper per year, reducing pressure on the environment (both trees and water to produce the paper) as well as carbon footprint and cost. The use of partially or wholly recycled products and materials is good, as is requiring information from suppliers on the ‘greenness’ of their products and services, not forgetting the implications of transportation.
Consideration of up-grading rather than purchasing new equipment is useful. It was estimated that the carbon footprint to produce desktop models was more than generated by its usage for a three-year period. The Crown Prosecution Service saves £2.35 million by replacing computers every five years instead of every three years.
Legislation & initiatives
The effect of the WEEE (Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment) legislation must be always taken into consideration. Ensure that an asset register is kept up-to-date, particularly with respect to the disposal of all equipment. You should also make sure that data is properly destroyed when disposing of redundant computers. Contracts could always include ‘new for old’ type clauses.
Unfortunately there are ethical aspects when sending old computers to Third World countries; although the immediate benefit is widely accepted, there is the long-term problem that eventually the equipment itself will have to be disposed of at the end of its life.
A simple action to encourage recycling is to provide easily accessible bins so everyone is able to recycle paper, plastic, batteries, and so on.
Various initiatives have been developed to encourage the reduction of carbon footprint, such as ‘10-10’ which encourages everyone to reduce their carbon footprint by 10 per cent in 2010. There is also the European Union CleanTech initiative that aims by 2020 to achieve savings of 20 per cent of primary energy consumption, reduction of greenhouse emissions and raising the share of renewable energy by 20 per cent. The EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres provides an opportunity for commitment and measurement of reduction of the carbon footprint. BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, has produced an ISEB Intermediate Certificate in EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres which is based on multi-choice questions on understanding how to implement and gain benefits from this code.
The BCS has also now introduced a Green IT Foundation qualification, consisting of multi-choice questions, aimed at end-user departments’ local Green IT experts, teachers, and those that use computers at work or at home. The BCS GreenIT Specialist Group was established to help end users, their departmental managers, home users and SMEs to achieve a more ‘green’ approach, such as by changing their use of computers. The group currently arranges events, mostly free, in different locations and produces short guidance e-leaflets, to assist, at zero or low-cost, improved ‘greenness’ in both the office and home.
Win-win green actions
By looking for win-win actions, departments and organisations can gain the benefit of improving their ‘greenness’ and also provide other advantages. An example of this is the logistics provider. Wincanton plc, that has introduced, in addition to many of the actions already discussed, a variety of low-cost actions that have already solved problems in addition to improving their carbon footprint considerably. Employees were encouraged to car-share, by paying for the MoT of the driver, after the car share has been in operation for three months. The carbon footprint saved by the passengers can be measured, in addition to easing potential car-parking problems.
By purchasing six bicycles, which staff can borrow free for one month, the reduction of their carbon footprint can be measured. Many of the staff then realised the advantage in terms of personal fitness and financial savings of using a bicycle rather than a car. The company has also introduced a system of reducing their water consumption by 30 per cent by the introduction of motion sensors in the male toilets. This provides water flushing only when needed rather than on a regular 24/7 basis. A lesser saving was made by modifications in the ladies toilets. The company is now participating in the EEF & British Gas Energy Challenge, at no cost to the company, which will identify other savings.
By looking for win-win situations such as these, there can be major long-term financial savings, improved staff morale, fitness and safety as well as improving the carbon footprint and ‘greenness’ of departments and their employees both at work and at home.
For more information
E-mail: margaret This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
