In early 2008, 'green computing' and the idea that companies were going to need to implement new measures to improve their green credentials was one of the hot topics in IT.

You might have been forgiven for thinking that environmental concern would be among the first casualties of the credit crunch and the resulting recession.

However, it appears that more and more IT vendors are latching onto the idea of green computing as a means of promoting their products and services, with more purchasers seeing it as a means of saving money.

The chance to advertise your services as ‘green' is certainly useful from a PR point of view. The recent publicity surrounding Earth Hour, where lights on commercial buildings and landmarks were turned off around the world, showed that climate change is still in the spotlight.

And recent comments from the European Commission which announced that it regards information technology as the ‘instrument we need to get the energy crisis solved' suggest that the prospect of increased regulation has not gone away.

These factors are certainly acting as an incentive for change but, as with all environmental solutions, vendors have had to acknowledge that in the commercial world cash is king, and unless an investment can be shown to provide a real commercial benefit it will always be difficult for a business to justify.

Fortunately, green computing has been able to promote itself as a way of reducing business costs and, by persuading purchasers to consider their investment as a means of saving energy costs over time, the concept is becoming increasingly associated with financial savings and economic efficiency. 

Of course,  green computing is essentially a bundling together of other developments within the IT sector and, as the commercial case for each of these ideas has needed to be strong in order for them to catch on in the first place, it is not surprising that they are holding their own.

But this is not a deceptive attempt at ‘green-washing' for the IT sector. Green computing initiatives do provide genuine benefits, both in terms of cost cutting and in reducing CO2 emissions.

The following ideas, tools and measures are now generally accepted to fall within the umbrella of green computing. It is clear that, whilst they are not necessarily ideas that are green for green's sake, they do have real environmental benefits, which vendors are sensibly looking to promote.

However, whilst there may be aspects of these ideas that are attractive to a purchaser, it should not be forgotten that there are also commercial and legal risks that need to be considered before an investment is made.

EPEAT

The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) maintained by the Green Electronics Council (GEC) is a searchable database of computer hardware that meets a strict set of environmental criteria. Depending on how many criteria they meet they are rated bronze, silver or gold.

22% of computers shipped worldwide in 2007 (around 109m) were registered with EPEAT, a figure the GEC says will:

• reduce use of primary materials by 75.5 million metric tons
• reduce use of toxic materials including mercury by 3,220 metric tons
• avoid disposal of 124,000 metric tonnes of hazardous waste
• save 42.2 billion kWh of electricity
• eliminate 174m metric tons of air emissions and almost 365,000 metric tonnes of water pollutant emissions
• reduce 3.31m  metric tons of carbon equivalent greenhouse gas emissions

It is also estimated that purchasers of EPEAT products in 2007 will save almost US $4bn over the life of that equipment, primarily from reductions in energy use.

EPEAT can be used as a starting point for establishing the environmental credentials of a product and it might help to tip the scales when weighing options, but it cannot be relied upon as a guarantee that any particular equipment will meet a purchaser's individual criteria.

Care will still need to be taken to ensure that a detailed specification is developed and that, when finalised, appropriate warranties are in place in the terms and conditions of purchase.

Material recycling

It is estimated that development of hardware takes up 75% of a PCs lifecycle energy before the equipment is even turned on for the first time. Recycling computer equipment not only keeps harmful materials such as lead and mercury out of landfills, but also helps to reduce costs and energy consumption relating to manufacture.

Since the implementation of the WEEE Directive (Waste electrical and electronic equipment), companies have had to think more about how their equipment is disposed of. However, it is important that when focusing their attention on WEEE compliance, companies do not take their eyes off maintaining appropriate security measures.

The EU estimates that 54% eWaste produced across the Union is shipped to sub-standard treatment facilities inside or outside the EU, while the remaining 13% goes to landfill. It also claims that the illegal shipping of eWaste for handling in non-EU countries remains widespread.

Most hardware will contain some sensitive or personal data, and steps need to be taken to ensure that it is properly cleaned. In order to ensure there are no grounds for recourse, careful due diligence needs to be undertaken to ensure that the company taking responsibility for the equipment is properly accredited, and that its services are sufficiently secure before the systems are taken away.

Virtualisation

Virtualisation enables the abstraction of computer resources so that two or more computer systems can run on one set of hardware. This capability enables organisations to realise significant benefits including:

• reducing the number of servers required to support computing needs
• reducing hardware support costs
• reducing hardware costs for disaster recovery
• reducing data centre power and cooling costs

International Data Corporation research in 2008 claimed 90% of European companies that have adopted virtualisation have done so in order to cut data centre costs. The main way in which such costs are reduced is by lowering energy consumption.

By reducing the number of servers, companies immediately reduce the energy consumed by fans, pumps and other cooling components used in their data centres, all of which can impact significantly on CO2 emissions.

However, whilst virtualisation has been shown to provide significant cost savings once it is up and running, implementation can be a major hurdle, and invariably requires input from a number of arms of the business. Managing this process properly is crucial if the full benefits are to be derived.

Power management

According to the Carbon Trust ‘effective management of equipment can reduce energy consumption by up to 70%'.

There is a huge potential for cost savings, here, and all that is required is the installation of software that puts equipment into standby mode after a prescribed period of inactivity or during periods when the office is not open, such as evenings or weekends.

According to the US Environment Protection Agency, the number of monitors with power management enabled grew from about 20% 1998, to almost 90% in 2006. In the meantime, power management on PCs was thought to be at around four per cent in 2006.

Any improvement could yield huge dividends. It is estimated that activating power management on just 25% of PCs would cut computers' annual electricity use by enough to power four million homes for a year.

There are a number of free tools available, together with a range of pay-per seat options. However, before implementation, it is important to make sure that any solution is compatible with a company's existing system and appropriate licence and commissioning terms may need to be negotiated.

Telecommuting

Teleconferencing technologies are often implemented in green computing initiatives. As well as a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions related to travel, such measures can also improve the quality of life for workers, and have the potential to lower overheads.

However, despite improved quality and reliability, substitution from travel to videoconferencing is happening relatively slowly. Purchasers remain concerned about effectiveness of the technology and possible security issues.

It is therefore essential that any company buying into this technology is confident that it knows what they are getting, and that any risks can be negated by securing suitable warranties and indemnities.

Conclusion

In the past, the perception has been that being green requires you to pay a premium. However, companies have begun to acknowledge that whilst they may have to pay a slightly higher sticker price for a green product, its energy efficiency, longer life and other green-oriented benefits often more than make up for the front end cost.

A Chinese proverb, often used by environmentalists, states "One generation plants a tree; the next sits in its shade."

In the past, many companies have questioned whether the time was right to make the initial investment in green computing, but as the possibility for long-term savings becomes more and more apparent, purchasers have begun to take the plunge, giving others the confidence to follow suit.

However, this does not mean companies should throw caution to the wind, and care needs to be taken to ensure that when investing in green computing, whether to save money or to help save the planet, measures are put in place to ensure purchasers have the necessary contractual protection.