How does our IT department "go green?"

Hi John, Although this is may be an unashamed plug for j2/eFax, large corporations can out-source their total fax capabilities to us saving large amounts of dollars and man hours. No hardware or software required at the client end as it is all done via e-mail. This means large organizations can rid themselves of multiple fax servers, fax machines and software. All of these are switched on 24/7-365 as it is the nature of the beast.
It suits the SME market as well as the large global corporates as we can support users globally on one system with your existing fax numbers or new local geographical numbers, some clients with 30,000 - 50,000 users ! No electricity, paper or toner and faxes ready to go straight into document handling/storage solutions. The added bonus is a back up copy is stored on your e-mail servers, in-bound and out-bound so for compliance, you really do have a copy of all faxes !
Surely 12 million users cannot be wrong !

Hi John,

One great tool is the Eco Energy Saving Button. The Eco button goes into your USB drive, and at a simple push of a button saves energy while away from your computer. Your computer will automatically go into a special "eco-mode" that saves more energy than normal sleep mode. At the touch of any button, the computer instantly returns to where you left off and displays a splash screen showing both money and carbon savings.
If you are interested in more info on this product please let me know. Good Luck!
Michelle Carvalho

John,

Start by taking a look at PC Power Management. I work for 1E, who is the market leader in this space with over 4M users. 1E has saved our customers over $360M in energy costs by powering down PC's when not in use. A company can expect to save between $25 and $50 per PC. We have also just launched a product called NightWatchman Server Edition aimed at the $25B a year spent running servers that are no longer doing anything productive. An organization with 1000 servers can save about $1M over 4 years. These solutions provide reporting on the reduction in your carbon footprint as well. Take a look at www.1e.com.

Thanks,
Wally Pilcher

10 Ways to Go Green at Work

Greener homes are in the spotlight these days, but what about the other places where many of us spend huge chunks of our time--our offices? Some simple changes of habit can save energy and resources at work, and these small steps can be multiplied by persuading the powers-that-be at your workplace to adopt environmentally friendly (and often cost-effective) policies.

1. Be bright about light
Artificial lighting accounts for 44 percent of the electricity use in office buildings.

Make it a habit to turn off the lights when you're leaving any room for 15 minutes or more and utilize natural light when you can.

Make it a policy to buy Energy Star-rated lightbulbs and fixtures, which use at least two-thirds less energy than regular lighting, and install timers or motion sensors that automatically shut off lights when they're not needed.

2. Maximize computer efficiency
Computers in the business sector unnecessarily waste $1 billion worth of electricity a year.

Make it a habit to turn off your computer—and the power strip it's plugged into—when you leave for the day. Otherwise, you're still burning energy even if you're not burning the midnight oil. (Check with your IT department to make sure the computer doesn't need to be on to run backups or other maintenance.) During the day, setting your computer to go to sleep automatically during short breaks can cut energy use by 70 percent. Remember, screen savers don't save energy.

Make it a policy to invest in energy-saving computers, monitors, and printers and make sure that old equipment is properly recycled. Look for a recycler that has pledged not to export hazardous e-waste and to follow other safety guidelines. Old computers that still work, and are less than five years old, can be donated to organizations that will refurbish them and find them new homes. (You may even get a tax deduction.)

3. Print smarter
The average U.S. office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copy paper a year.

Make it a habit to print on both sides or use the back side of old documents for faxes, scrap paper, or drafts. Avoid color printing and print in draft mode whenever feasible.

Make it a policy to buy chlorine-free paper with a higher percentage of post-consumer recycled content. Also consider switching to a lighter stock of paper or alternatives made from bamboo, hemp, organic cotton, or kenaf. Recycle toner and ink cartridges and buy remanufactured ones. According to Office Depot, each remanufactured toner cartridge "keeps approximately 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills...and conserves about a half gallon of oil."

4. Go paperless when possible

Make it a habit to think before you print: could this be read or stored online instead? When you receive unwanted catalogs, newsletters, magazines, or junk mail, request to be removed from the mailing list before you recycle the item.

Make it a policy to post employee manuals and similar materials online, rather than distribute print copies. They're easier to update that way too.

5. Ramp up your recycling

Make it a habit to recycle everything your company collects. Just about any kind of paper you would encounter in an office, including fax paper, envelopes, and junk mail, can be recycled. So can your old cell phone, PDA, or pager.

Make it a policy to place recycling bins in accessible, high-traffic areas and provide clear information about what can and can not be recycled.

6. Close the loop

Make it a policy to purchase office supplies and furniture made from recycled materials.

7. Watch what (and how) you eat

Make it a habit to bring your own mug and dishware for those meals you eat at the office.

Make it a policy to provide reusable dishes, silverware, and glasses. Switch to Fair Trade and organic coffee and tea, and buy as much organic and local food as possible for parties and other events. Provide filtered drinking water to reduce bottled-water waste.

8. Rethink your travel

Make it a habit to take the train, bus, or subway when feasible instead of a rental car when traveling on business. If you have to rent a car, some rental agencies now offer hybrids and other high-mileage vehicles.

Make it a policy to invest in videoconferencing and other technological solutions that can reduce the amount of employee travel.

9. Reconsider your commute

Make it a habit to carpool, bike, or take transit to work, and/or telecommute when possible. If you need to drive occasionally, consider joining a car-sharing service like Zipcar and Flexcar instead of owning your own wheels.

Make it a policy to encourage telecommuting (a nice perk that's also good for the planet!) and make it easy for employees to take alternative modes of transportation by subsidizing commuter checks, offering bike parking, or organizing a carpool board.

10. Create a healthy office environment

Make it a habit to use nontoxic cleaning products. Brighten up your cubicle with plants, which absorb indoor pollution.

Make it a policy to buy furniture, carpeting, and paint that are free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and won't off-gas toxic chemicals.

John

Saving on the electricity bill is the motivation of most looking to adopt Green IT, getting ready for environmental legislation and an inability of Utilities to provide more electricity are others. I think there are several areas to look at. For instance you can:

Merge IT and Facilities Management Budgets – seeing energy and ITC costs in one budget will help you address the environmental issues

Consolidate and Virtualise – there are a number of different themes to look at including server, storage and application consolidation. The software will cost you more, but the result should increase overall server and storage utilisation and save on energy usage

Address Energy Efficiency – many organisations can save money simply by learning to switch off equipment when not in use. Look up your hardware suppliers’ energy efficiency ratings before making a purchasing decision

Expand Recycling – in many countries hardware suppliers are legally required to take back old, unwanted equipment. You might want to consider donating it to schools or hospitals instead, but be careful to think about the ethical issues of off-loading. If you have a large data centre, think about how to recycle the heat generated by building a swimming pool next door!

Use Alternative Energy – if you’re really up for Green IT, think about how you can use wind, wave, hydro, or geothermal energy

Try Carbon Auditing – we may all be forced to go through a carbon audit in future. Get ready by looking up the Carbon Trust, which will help you calculate your emissions and set goals to reduce them

I'm an independent ITC researcher, looking at Green IT and other issues. For some more detailed answers to your question, have a look at my blog at
http://martinhingley.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/itc-and-copenhagen-part2/

Best of luck and let me know what you decide to do first.
Martin

An area most IT staff forget is FAX. Typically an area that is not monitored, fax related expenses can surmount to many thousands of dollars in telecom costs, supplies (paper, ink & toner) and service calls. An area we excel is showing customers the hidden costs behind traditional fax machine using our ROI calculator (http://www.sagem-interstar.com/tools/roi/calculator_e.htm) . Even though moving to a fax server solution incurs up front licensing fees, the ROI is typically a year for most companies. Today's fax server can be virtualized, leverage existing VoIP equipment (T.38) and integrated with smart multifuncational devices (MFD). In the end the user experience is not affected, productivity is increases and there are hard dollars that are associated to the move.