Why IT has to Go Green

As the amount of C02 that Britain’s data centres emit is more than the total annual CO2 emissions of Norwich and Oxford, it is time the IT industry took responsibility for their actions. In comparison to the widely criticised aviation industry, which accounts for 2% of the world’s total C02 carbon emissions, IT accounts for 4%.

Despite these negative figures, it is encouraging to hear in The Carbon Trust and YouGov report into employees’ attitudes to carbon reduction, 70 % said they wanted to cut their carbon emissions but wanted more guidance and empowerment.

With reports indicating that advertising on the Internet is going to take over from television later this year, being environmentally aware has never been more important. As an online provider of IT vacancies, The IT Job Board, www.theitjobboard.co.uk believes in the future of IT through responsible work practise. Below are tips on how to Go Green in your office and make a difference:

Recycling

Each year an estimated 1 million tonnes of electrical equipment is discarded by commercial groups in the UK. As electronic goods are becoming increasingly short lived and more often than not recycled, this is becoming a growing problem. According to Gartner, despite global economic slowdown, PC sales globally grew 13 % in 2007 to 270 million computers, the vast majority of which will end up in landfill or gathering dust in garages.

Below are some tips for helping you become greener:

• 30-40% of the 40 million inkjet and toner cartridges sold in the UK are remanufactured or recycled, however 12-14,000 tonnes still ends up in landfill. Inkjet cartridges can be refilled and most toner cartridges can be remanufactured.
• Check with your local council recycling office to see if commercial recyclables are accepted at public recycling drop-off centres.
• Before throwing your PC’s away, research commercial organisations that buy and sell business computer systems, either as complete systems, or for refurbishment, or as spares for maintenance purposes.
• There are also a number of community computer reuse projects in the UK, which facilitate the movement of redundant computers from businesses to the community.

Energy

It is vital that we reduce the amount of energy we consume, both in order to cut down on associated pollution and conserve the world’s natural resources and habitats.

• Cutting business emissions is vital given that industry, business and the public sector contribute 19% of the UK’s total carbon emissions
• Encourage staff to switch off lights, computers, photocopiers and other electrical equipment when they leave the office or not in the room.
• Enable energy-saving features on all computers and copiers.
• The use of screen savers often consumes more energy.

Many IT departments have problems as their ability to measure and monitor energy consumption is limited in most cases at the moment. Nevertheless, this should not discourage you in doing everything you can to tackle this issue of going green in you office.