Conservation
‘On the Rise’ in Federal Green IT Survey
While many government executives may not be all that familiar with the
“green” vernacular, most are forging ahead by
recycling
equipment, reducing power use through conservation and by adhering to
“green” requirements in their primary tech-related
acquisitions, according to the results of a recent online survey by the
1105 Government Information Group.
Awareness of the work being done within government, including the
issuance of an Executive Order, to efforts by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to develop green standards such as Energy Star
and EPEAT weren’t widely recognized among those surveyed.
Among the primary drivers behind ‘going green,’ the
survey’s respondents indicated they were most concerned about
the
need to conserve energy, comply with federal regulations, as well as
the need to avoid costs.
Are
you considering buying any of the following products, solutions or
services in the next 12 months to meet green
IT requirements
or reduce environmental impact? (check
all that apply).
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More than half of respondents (58%) reported that they are addressing
environmental issues through their usage and procurement processes.
Indeed, several executives who responded to the survey mentioned that
they have started to consider ‘energy efficiency’
as a key
component of IT procurements. The top initiatives mentioned were
recycling of equipment
and power conservation efforts. One survey respondent said,
“we
are installing metering and trying to determine just how much we use,
and where we can save on electricity.”
Many cited specific computer recycling endeavors. And one respondent
even mentioned passing on used equipment to needy communities. Several
of the executives surveyed described their power saving initiatives,
both in current use and in procurement requirements, such as powering
down all equipment every night, examining power usage data and
improving efficiency of servers and hardware, especially computer
monitors. “We’re investigating virtualization, and
are
powering down equipment and lighting when not in use,” said
one
survey respondent.
Green Survey Results
 In the February
online survey of
268 government executives created and conducted by the 1105 Government
information Group’s Research division, 50% of respondents
indicated an awareness of the concept of green IT. Of those who were aware of the concept only 36% were familiar with the
Presidential Executive Order 13423. This
Executive Order signed by President Bush in January 2007, requires
agencies to acquire EPEAT-registered
electronic products for at least 95 percent of electronic product
acquisitions, unless there is no EPEAT standard
for the product. The Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool
(EPEAT) is a set of performance criteria developed by the IEEE to help
buyers compare and select computer products based on their
environmental attributes. No matter whether they recognized “green”
terminology or even the federal mandates that formally require their
compliance, many online survey respondents reported that they have
already begun to take action when it comes to energy conservation:
- About 1/2 use environmentally
sound practices to dispose of electronic equipment;
- About 1/3 report they require
acquisitions to meet EPEAT and/or Energy Star requirements;
- Another 1/3 said they work to
extend the useful life of agency electronic equipment.
Separately, a majority of respondents reported familiarity with the
government’s Energy Star program. But roughly only a quarter
of those surveyed recognized the industry’s Climate Savers
Computing Initiative (CSCI). (To learn more about CSCI, see below.)
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According to the survey, only a small percentage of respondents said
their organizations are developing “green” planning
documents and holding training sessions related to environmental
conservation issues. And because the GSA is requiring Energy Star
compliance on it’s primary contract vehicles, survey
respondents
said they will follow GSA’s guidance to ensure their
compliance.
The top products planned for purchase by survey respondents included
Energy Star-rated products, energy efficient desktops and higher
efficiency servers. Interestingly, systems integrators placed
marginally more emphasis on servers, virtualization and cooling
technologies as methods to use for building green IT.
If your
organization is taking steps to address environmental issues as they
relate to the use and procurement of information technology, what does
this include? (check all that apply)
So far, less than 20% of respondents reported that their organizations
have measurable goals/outcomes with regard to green IT initiatives. Of
those with goals in place, those established so far include:
- A 3% reduction in energy use;
- 100% recycling of electronic waste;
- A strict minimum percentage of green
technology will be required in purchasing/procurement contracts;
- A 25% reduction in heat/cooling
consumption.
- A 20% power reduction the data center in
the next year; and
- Recycling of up to 100% of systems.
When it comes to actual “environmentally conscious”
purchasing, survey respondents appear to be proceeding cautiously with
regard to green IT. Not all respondents were able to specify
green products they plan to purchase. The most
often-mentioned
solutions included Energy Star-rated products (mentioned by 47% of
respondents), energy efficient desktops, higher efficiency servers,
storage devices and virtualization solutions (mentioned by 29% of
respondents).
And because only about 1/5th of respondents have measurable goals in
place to evaluate the effectiveness of their progress in green IT, this
is an area that likely needs to evolve as green IT requirements become
more commonplace. Most industry observers anticipate further regulatory
guidance to help federal agencies and departments will be forthcoming
in the near future.
Members of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative commit to reducing
energy consumption from a majority of their computing equipment by:
- Pledging to purchase high-efficiency
computer equipment;
- Optimizing existing computers to use
power management capabilities, such as hibernation and sleep modes; and
- Ensuring in subsequent years they
purchase computing equipment with increasing levels of efficiency.
Under the terms of the CSCI’s EPA partnership, Energy Star
becomes the baseline technical recommendation now and in the future.
The Initiative recommends that consumers and enterprises planning to
purchase new PCs choose systems that meet or exceed the latest Energy
Star specifications, and use computer power management on existing and
new systems.
CSCI will continue working to define and promote ‘best
practices’ for computing efficiency, and will provide
technical
input into future Energy Star specifications. The EPA will provide
power management tools and resources for Climate Savers Computing
members and will offer technical assistance to help Climate Savers
Computing enterprise members implement power management.
The two organizations will also engage in joint marketing programs and
recruitment efforts, and the CSCI will participate in, and support the
EPA’s Energy Star Low Carbon IT Campaign.
Much Ink,
Little Action Noted in Other Green IT Surveys
As of Spring 2008, it’s clear IT professionals both in the
public
and private sectors are interested in conserving energy in the data
center if for no other reason than to help reduce energy costs,
however, few organizations so far have formal action plans in place to
achieve greener IT operations.
The Gartner Group published a green IT report this Spring, advising
organizations of all kinds to move forward with green IT initiatives,
especially those that lead to power savings, which can have a near-term
impact on bottom line operational results. In the report entitled,
Cutting Back on Green PC Initiatives Leads to False Economies, analyst
Stephen Kleynhans
recommends four ways for organizations to realize nearly immediate
green IT cost savings. First, organizations should look for
eco-friendly labels on new computers to enjoy power consumption savings
of 20 percent or more, according to the report. Activating low power
state settings for computing fleets also costs nothing, but can yield
big savings. Recycling old equipment could produce revenue to offset
the capital expense of new equipment. Finally, Gartner recommends
implementing programs that drive resource reductions in other areas,
such as travel and commuting because, “efficient (IT) users
tend
to be green users.” 1
Meanwhile, an online survey of more than 150 IT professionals, created
by the Business
Performance Management Forum and BlueArc Corp., in April included the
following findings:
- While almost 75 percent of respondents
said green computing is at least somewhat of a priority, 41 percent
have specific
green plans and 42 percent have set no or moderate goals.
- Most of the IT professionals surveyed
feel
green IT can be beneficial for the budget, with 20 percent thinking
their organizations could save $100,000 or more a year and six percent
saying they could save as much as $10 million a year.
- Energy efficiency has been given more
priority, with 60 percent of organizations surveyed taking
energyefficiency into account when purchasing new equipment.
The report entitled, Lean
& Green – Reducing Energy Drain for IT Business Gain,
sponsored by the Business Performance
Management Forum and BlueArc Corp., includes a white paper, Taming the
Data Center Colossus, which provides information on green
data center
issues.
CSCI Partners with EPA to Spur
Green(er) Government Computing
Last month, the Climate Savers
Computing Initiative announced a partnership with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program
to accelerate the adoption of energy-saving technology and practices. The CSCI is a nonprofit group of eco-conscious consumers, businesses
and conservation organizations dedicated to reducing the energy
consumption of computers. More than 175 companies and organizations
have joined since its launch in June 2007, which is led by Dell, EDS,
Google, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Pacific Gas & Electric
and World Wildlife Fund. Sponsors include AMD, Delta Electronics, eBay,
Fujitsu, Hitachi, Lite-On, Marvell Semiconductor, NEC, Sun and
Supermicro. Over the next three years, the two organizations will collaborate on
technical specifications and work together to promote the adoption of
energy-efficient PCs and servers and the use of power management to
enterprises and consumers. The partnership “unites Energy
Star and industry in an effort to rally the technology industry to reduce
computer energy consumption and fight climate change,” said
Bob Meyers, principal deputy assistant administrator for EPA's Office
of Air & Radiation. Energy Star was introduced by the EPA in 1992 as a voluntary
market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through
increased energy efficiency. Today, Energy Star offers businesses and
consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help
protect the environment for future generations. “The Energy Star brand is the most universally recognized
symbol of energy saving products around the world,” said Mark
Bramfitt, Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s representative
on the Climate Savers Computing board of directors. “By
recommending systems that have earned the Energy Star, the Climate
Savers Computing Initiative is making it easier for our members to identify and choose energy-efficient
systems, a critical step toward our goal of reducing computer power consumption
by 50 percent by 2010.”
Mission: Possible
By 2010, CSCI seeks to reduce global CO2 emissions from the operation
of computers by 54 million tons per year, equivalent to the annual
output of 11 million cars or 10–20 coal-fired power plants.
This effort is expected to lead to a 50% reduction in power consumption
by computers by 2010, and committed participants could collectively
save $5.5 billion in energy costs. |
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1 Cutting Back on Green PC
Initiatives Leads to False Economies, by Stephen Kleynhans, March 10,
2008. |
