Summary:

The objective of 'Green ICT' is to reduce the overall environmental impact of all aspects of 'information and communication technologies' at your business. The importance of ICT to modern businesses has meant that globally the environmental impact of burgeoning numbers of desktops, laptops, peripherals, communication devices and data servers is increasing quickly.

When considering green ICT it is important look at the full life cycle of a piece of equipment: from design and production through to use and final disposal. As ICT equipment uses electricity often the dominant environmental impact comes in the form of carbon emissions from use – so buying efficient equipment and promoting efficient use by staff is an important first step. As such, green ICT is a good candidate for inclusion in a broader green procurement policy .

But it's not all bad: it is important to recognise the potential for ICT to deliver environmental benefits in other parts of your business – for example reducing business travel emissions through video-conferencing. The system has to be user-friendly and accessible though.

Here are some key areas for investigation by your IT staff:

• Energy-efficiency of equipment – set minimum standards for procurement
• Educate users – ICT energy use is linked to user behaviour
• Power management – ensure power down outside of office hours or when not in use
• Data centre design – server cooling can be a major energy requirement
• Server virtualization – reduces numbers of servers required and so energy demands drop
• Responsible disposal and recycling

Further resources:

• The Green Grid – a global consortium of IT professionals seeking to improve efficiency
• Defra – 'Quick wins' for buying green computer