Go green

It`s been said before, but new research bears it out  green is here to stay. Saving the planet has become a corporate priority, and the ICT sector has no choice but to buy in to environmentally friendly practices.

And companies aren`t just going green to cut costs. In contrast with earlier years, when cost was the major issue, it seems companies now have a genuine concern about their environmental impact. What`s more, their customers are increasingly worried about environmental impact, and buying patterns are starting to swing in favour of overtly green products and services.

Gartner has predicted that by 2010, green IT will become one of the top five IT management concerns for over half of public organisations in developed markets.

Symantec found in a recent study that businesses now see green IT as essential. Symantec`s 2009 Green IT Report found senior business and IT executives have "significant interest" in green IT strategies and solutions, attributed to both cost reduction and environmental responsibility. Earlier, cost savings were the only real green IT driver.

GLOBAL WILLINGNESS

The report found 97% of respondents are at least discussing a green IT strategy, while 45% have already implemented green IT initiatives. IT decision-makers are increasingly justifying green IT solutions by more than cost and IT efficiency benefits. Respondents cited key drivers as reducing electricity consumption (90%), reducing cooling costs (87%), and corporate pressure to be "green" (86%).

IT executives report a significant increase in green IT budgets, with 73% expecting an increase in green IT budgets over the next 12 months. The typical respondent reported spending $21 million to $27 million on data centre electricity.

At the same time, IT executives are is willing to pay a premium for energy efficient products. Two-thirds of respondents said they would pay at least 10% more, while 41% are willing to pay at least 20% more for energy efficient IT.

This willingness to cough up for more energy-efficient products is also illustrated in a survey by Rackspace Hosting, which established that 55% of respondents are willing to pay a premium to work with a "green" vendor, and that 50% are totally committed to environmental initiatives. Just 2% consider themselves totally green.

"An interesting aspect that emerged from the survey was that many of the IT cost-cutting initiatives pursued by companies have inherently produced green benefits," said Rackspace spokesperson for South Africa, Geoff Dowell.

A good example of this was the fact that 31% of the respondents reported having undertaken consolidation of their data centres, and viewed this as an exercise in both cost cutting and boosting of their green ratings. Only 21% had put their green initiatives on hold due to the economic downturn.

GOBBLING POWER

In the IT environment, data centres are a major power consumer.

Suresh Nair, MD of NetApp, ASEAN, notes the data centre, with its escalating demand for power, cooling, and space, is increasingly seen as one of the major culprits, generating an estimated 170 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, or 0.3% of the global total. He says this will only get worse, and a recent McKinsey report predicted that data centre emissions will overtake those of the world`s airlines by 2020. "Not to mention that data centres now account for 25% of the IT budget, with energy bills growing at 16% a year - so, as someone famous undoubtedly said, "Something`s got to give!"

NetApp says some data centres have been able to save tremendous amounts of floor space by utilising virtualisation technology. Clever but simple strategies to reduce the power needed for cooling equipment could include changing the traditional method of cooling, with raised flooring and forcing cold air up through the racks, to new data centre cooling options such as dropping a curtain of cold air down the front of the machines. This is then drawn into the machines and exits from the back as hot air, which naturally rises to the ceiling, where it is vented to the outside. To prevent one machine`s exhaust from heating another machine, the layout places the racks front-to-front and back-to-back, in an arrangement called "hot aisle/cold aisle".

Robert Brandt, APC product specialist at Drive Control Corporation (DCC), says: "The reality is companies today face a proverbial performance and energy crunch. Research authorities Gartner and IDC comment that power and cooling remain to be one of the main data centre challenges, and in light of a worldwide move towards greener computing, these challenges need to be addressed."

He says achieving more performance without increasing power consumption depends on factors like better design, to make better use of cooling, and constant power monitoring.

Gartner reports that PCs and associated peripherals contribute approximately 31% of worldwide ICT energy use.

Stephen Kleynhans, research VP at Gartner, points out that basic power management features are available for free on most PCs and in client operating systems, while third-party power management tools are widely available.

To better control PC power consumption, Gartner recommends that companies assess and understand their current energy use, create a policy to control future power consumption, set realistic goals for energy efficiency, budget for tools to reinforce the policies, and establish reporting and auditing mechanisms. Gartner adds that while newer PCs may be more energy efficient, it is not particularly environmentally friendly to replace old PCs before they are redundant.

WHO IS DOING WHAT

Power saving has long been a major priority in corporate green IT plans. This may be because it is fairly easy to do, and the returns are measurable. Less measurable are the returns on recycling and factoring green into procurement. However, many IT companies are taking the initiative to incorporate recycling and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes into their green programmes anyway.

Anthony Fitzhenry, CEO of IT infrastructure distributor Axiz, has long promoted green awareness and the need for corporate environmental responsibility. For example, the company announced that its transition to lead-free manufacturing was complete as far back as three years ago.

The giant IBM has a far-reaching Big Green programme in place, stating that energy and climate-related issues are high on its strategic agenda. When it launched, IBM said Project Big Green was a $1 billion investment to dramatically increase the efficiency of IBM products. The company has also produced a free booklet for companies, entitled Green IT for Dummies, and online information to help companies reduce their energy consumption and operate in a more environmentally friendly way.

Acer has a green agenda too, and recently debuted ranges of green laptops and LCD monitors that consume significantly less power. Nic O`Connor, channel manager at Acer South Africa, said: "PCs have become major part of our working and home lives, bringing with them a host of benefits as well as a range of risks to the environment that suppliers and users of the equipment need to manage as best as they can. Waste, pollution, energy efficiency and use of hazardous material are just some of the concerns that we need to address."

O`Connor says Acer is focusing on making its products more environmentally friendly by ensuring they are based on as many components that can be recycled as possible; limiting and eliminating the use of hazardous substances in the manufacturing process; designing its products for power efficiency; and ensuring there is as little waste as possible in the packaging of its products.

Dell`s environmental stewardship programme aims to conserve product energy consumption, reduce or eliminate materials for disposal, prolong product life span and provide effective and convenient equipment recovery solutions. The company says it is constantly seeking ways to make its products more earth friendly.

Fujitsu and Fuji Electric Systems recently announced they have jointly developed technologies for designing eco-friendly data centres. Fujitsu has also produced a range of energy efficient and environmentally friendly laptops, PCs and other hardware.

HP and the e-Waste Association of South Africa are collaborating on an environmentally responsible e-waste management system for South Africa.

Several major cellphone manufacturers are reducing their packaging and turning to recycled materials to manufacture more environmentally friendly handsets.

Accepting that mobile phones and networks "have environmental impacts at every stage of their life cycle - from manufacture and use through to disposal", Vodacom has in place programmes to reduce its environmental impact. Among other things, it goes to great lengths to ensure its base stations are not harmful to the environment. It also has a strategic roadmap to reduce its energy consumption, green its buildings, minimise electronic waste and recycle IT and other handset waste. MTN has initiatives in place to green its offices, reduce its waste and consume less power, among other plans.

Incredible Connection has teamed up with electronic waste disposal company Desco to enable consumers to properly dispose of obsolete electronic devices.

Uniross has partnered with companies like Pick `n Pay to help consumers properly dispose of used batteries. In the first six months of the programme, Pick `n Pay collected over 30 000 used batteries from its shoppers and staff.

And these are just a few of the initiatives in place by corporates. Locally and abroad, companies are enthusiastically investing billions in recycling programmes, office greening, water conservation, alternative energy, power management, paper saving and packaging reduction plans. It all adds up.

Fiona McLean-Banks, Polycom business development manager at distributor Zycko, says: "The idea of becoming `carbon neutral` has become popular within the corporate world. It entails calculating the total carbon emissions for various business activities and offsetting this by planting trees, funding `carbon projects` or buying `carbon credits`.

"Although this is more prevalent in international markets, South African organisations are also becoming increasingly conscious of their `green` status.

"The increasing responsibility being pinned on corporates to reduce their carbon emissions is reason enough for organisations to consider changing their habits when it comes to doing business," she concludes.