If so, the Uptime Institute encourages you to apply for the Green Enterprise IT (GEIT) Awards. The Institute grants these awards to data center owners, operators and vendors for projects, ideas and products that significantly improve energy productivity and resource use in IT, data centers and beyond. Learn more
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
So how did they perform? Our customers and the CRC League Table
Here at 1E, we’ve been looking at the newly published 2010-2011 CRC Performance League Table. We wanted to see how organizations are getting on with CRC reporting, but more importantly, with reducing their carbon footprints. We’re pleased to say that we work with 93 of the top [...]
Monday, 14 November 2011
Ensuring shutdown of PCs is still the easiest energy reduction procedure
At Banking Tech.com, there’s an interesting article up about how the “little things add up” when applied to Green IT. To a few, Green IT still seems like an unobtainable but noteworthy objective, but its really not as hard to obtain as it sounds. It’s the little things in [...]
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Exclusive: Chief execs confirm sustainability projects are smashing expectations
Survey of global C-level executives reveals that nearly three quarters of green business projects perform better than expected
By James Murray
Nearly three quarters of corporate sustainability projects exceed managers' expectations, according to a major new international survey of 247 C-level executives to be released later today.
The survey, which was undertaken by consultancy Accenture, revealed that 72 per cent of executives in the UK, US and China believe that the benefits of sustainability initiatives exceed expectations, while only four per cent found that they fell short of initial targets.
Almost half of respondents said that sustainability projects had helped to enhance stakeholders' trust in their firm, 42 per cent said that they had resulted in lower costs, and 41 per cent said that they had bolstered their brand equity.
Speaking to BusinessGreen, Bruno Berthon, managing director at Accenture Sustainability Services, said that the developing nature of the economic, social and regulatory factors driving investment in corporate sustainability meant there was a good chance that green business will continue to outstrip managers' expectations.
"All the factors driving this are developing fast," he observed. "For example, if you invested in an energy efficiency project two years ago, the rising price of energy means the benefits could be double what you expected."
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Carbon Trust calls for energy efficiency partnerships - 17 May 2011 - News from BusinessGreen
Body looks to expand advisory capabilities and leverage private capital following successful deal with Siemens
By Will Nichols
The Carbon Trust has given an insight into its future operations by calling for partners to extend the reach of its energy efficiency and low carbon advisory role.
The Trust stated in an advert in today's Financial Times that it is looking to build on its work helping companies reduce their carbon impact, and asked for organisations to submit expressions of interest to "be considered for commercial partnerships or to enter into alliances or arrangements with the Carbon Trust or one of its subsidiaries".
he Trust has always been involved in attracting private capital into the sector, but has stepped up its efforts of late. The organisation will provide the expertise for a £550m green financing initiative launched earlier this year with Siemens to help companies cover the upfront costs of installing energy efficiency measures.
Last year's Comprehensive Spending Review promised 40 per cent cuts to the Carbon Trust's budget from this financial year, and it was thought that the organisation would step up its private sector work to cover the shortfall.
However, Claire Hierons, head of business development for the Carbon Trust's delivery programmes, told BusinessGreen that today's call was about providing a wider range of advisory services.
"Budgetary cuts mean you can do fewer things, but it's possible that perpetuating the partnerships means we can do more," she said.
Hierons added that the Carbon Trust was looking to follow on from the Siemens deal with a partnership on a similar scale, potentially as early as this year.
"The Siemens deal gave us an opportunity to say: 'Look, this works.' We want to build on that success," she said. "It would be nice to be working on [the energy efficiency partnership] over this financial year - the agenda's moving so quickly."
Hierons explained that businesses are increasingly in need of advice with the advent of the Green Deal over the next year and a renewed focus on lowering operating costs after the economic downturn.
"What we've seen is maybe 'climate change' starts being called 'energy efficiency' and 'saving carbon' starts being called 'saving money'. What you need to do is pretty much the same whether you're saving carbon or money," she said.
By Will Nichols
The Carbon Trust has given an insight into its future operations by calling for partners to extend the reach of its energy efficiency and low carbon advisory role.
The Trust stated in an advert in today's Financial Times that it is looking to build on its work helping companies reduce their carbon impact, and asked for organisations to submit expressions of interest to "be considered for commercial partnerships or to enter into alliances or arrangements with the Carbon Trust or one of its subsidiaries".
he Trust has always been involved in attracting private capital into the sector, but has stepped up its efforts of late. The organisation will provide the expertise for a £550m green financing initiative launched earlier this year with Siemens to help companies cover the upfront costs of installing energy efficiency measures.
Last year's Comprehensive Spending Review promised 40 per cent cuts to the Carbon Trust's budget from this financial year, and it was thought that the organisation would step up its private sector work to cover the shortfall.
However, Claire Hierons, head of business development for the Carbon Trust's delivery programmes, told BusinessGreen that today's call was about providing a wider range of advisory services.
"Budgetary cuts mean you can do fewer things, but it's possible that perpetuating the partnerships means we can do more," she said.
Hierons added that the Carbon Trust was looking to follow on from the Siemens deal with a partnership on a similar scale, potentially as early as this year.
"The Siemens deal gave us an opportunity to say: 'Look, this works.' We want to build on that success," she said. "It would be nice to be working on [the energy efficiency partnership] over this financial year - the agenda's moving so quickly."
Hierons explained that businesses are increasingly in need of advice with the advent of the Green Deal over the next year and a renewed focus on lowering operating costs after the economic downturn.
"What we've seen is maybe 'climate change' starts being called 'energy efficiency' and 'saving carbon' starts being called 'saving money'. What you need to do is pretty much the same whether you're saving carbon or money," she said.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Defra sets out options for company carbon reporting
Defra sets out options for company carbon reporting: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
The Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) today set out options on how to improve carbon reporting among businesses, including making it a legal requirement. The four options, three of which propose mandatory reporting and one voluntary, are being put forward in a consultation launched by Defra today in order to reach a decision on how to improve greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting by companies. The 2008 Climate Change Act requires the Government to make GHG reporting mandatory by April 2012, or explain to Parliament why it is not. Defra aims to reach a final decision by the autumn and said it was launching today’s consultation in order to ensure it does not put "unnecessary burdens" on businesses.
"Our aim is to increase the number of companies which actively manage and report their emissions, so we want to hear from businesses how they think we will achieve more widespread and consistent reporting," said Environment Minister Lord Henley.
The regulatory options are all aimed at large companies and would require firms to report their GHG emissions in their directors’ report, in line with the 2006 Companies Act. This requires directors to report on environmental matters in their annual reports and accounts.
Options proposed
The third option would make it a legal requirement for companies that consumed a certain level of electricity to report on their emissions. Under this option, Defra is proposing companies should have to report following the same qualifying criteria as the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme, a mandatory UK-wide scheme that targets emissions from large public and private sector organisations. Under the CRC, organisations who are supplied with more than 6,000 megawatt hours of qualifying electricity must register as participants.
The fourth option proposes maintaining a voluntary system, but enhancing it. A report released last week by the Environment Agency showed that more companies were reporting their GHG emissions, but the quality was varied and in some cases was too basic.
A Defra spokesperson today confirmed that smaller companies were not being included in any of the mandatory options so as not to increase unnecessary red tape. However, he said that some larger companies were calling for mandatory reporting. "The feedback we have received is that some larger companies want to create a level playing field."
Defra research has shown that reporting emissions has helped companies improve their environmental footprint, as well as improve their image and made them more attractive to investors.
The consultation closes on July 5 2011 and can be found at www.defra.gov.uk.
Greenwise Staff
11th May 2011
The Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) today set out options on how to improve carbon reporting among businesses, including making it a legal requirement.
"Our aim is to increase the number of companies which actively manage and report their emissions, so we want to hear from businesses how they think we will achieve more widespread and consistent reporting," said Environment Minister Lord Henley.
The regulatory options are all aimed at large companies and would require firms to report their GHG emissions in their directors’ report, in line with the 2006 Companies Act. This requires directors to report on environmental matters in their annual reports and accounts.
Options proposed
Under option one, all quoted companies would be mandated to report on their GHG emissions,.
Option two would make it a regulartory requirement under the Companies Act for all large companies. The Companies Act defines large companies in terms of their number of employees, gross assets and turnover.
The third option would make it a legal requirement for companies that consumed a certain level of electricity to report on their emissions. Under this option, Defra is proposing companies should have to report following the same qualifying criteria as the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme, a mandatory UK-wide scheme that targets emissions from large public and private sector organisations. Under the CRC, organisations who are supplied with more than 6,000 megawatt hours of qualifying electricity must register as participants.
The fourth option proposes maintaining a voluntary system, but enhancing it. A report released last week by the Environment Agency showed that more companies were reporting their GHG emissions, but the quality was varied and in some cases was too basic.
Under new voluntary proposals, Defra said reporting could be improved either through the Government increasing awareness of the benefits of reporting. Other options it put forward were increasing support and collaboration for reporting organisations, such as the Carbon Disclosure Project, developing sector specific voluntary agreements, or creating bilateral agreements between Government and companies.
A Defra spokesperson today confirmed that smaller companies were not being included in any of the mandatory options so as not to increase unnecessary red tape. However, he said that some larger companies were calling for mandatory reporting. "The feedback we have received is that some larger companies want to create a level playing field."
Defra research has shown that reporting emissions has helped companies improve their environmental footprint, as well as improve their image and made them more attractive to investors.
The consultation closes on July 5 2011 and can be found at www.defra.gov.uk.
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Monday, 16 May 2011
Carbon Trust Standard launches online assessment tool for certification | The Green IT Review
Carbon Trust Standard launches online assessment tool for certification | The Green IT Review: "The UK’s Carbon Trust has launched an online assessment tool to make it easier for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to achieve Carbon Trust Standard certification. SMEs using the tool have, on average, cut their energy costs by £2,000 per year, and their carbon footprints by 13 tonnes CO2e.
The Carbon Trust Standard online application process is available for companies who are not already covered under the government's CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. They must have an annual energy spend of no more than £50,000 with only, 'simple' UK-based emission sources, i.e. utilities, owned/leased vehicles, on-site fuel consumption.
Companies completing the assessment need to input information about their organisation and its carbon footprint (including details of energy consumption) and answer a series of questions about carbon management policies and procedures, providing evidence to support responses. When done, the application is submitted for initial review and, after the final submission, companies are told whether they have achieved certification.
The Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit company supporting the move to a low carbon economy. The organisation claims that SMEs can save £400m a year and over 2.5 million tonnes of C02e through carbon footprint reduction and certification.
Sounds like a good idea. While the certification is a nice-to-have, just getting SMEs to start looking at the process of carbon management could have a significant impact.
According to the Carbon Trust there are 4.8 million SMEs in the UK accounting for 45% of UK business energy expenditure. Collectively, the smaller organisations that fall outside of existing legislation - the CRC, the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and Climate Change Agreements (CCA) - account for a quarter of all non-domestic emissions.
The more aware smaller companies are of their energy costs the more they’re likely to take some action to reduce power usage. It’s an opportunity for green IT solutions, such as carbon and energy management software, to help them do it better.
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
The Carbon Trust Standard online application process is available for companies who are not already covered under the government's CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. They must have an annual energy spend of no more than £50,000 with only, 'simple' UK-based emission sources, i.e. utilities, owned/leased vehicles, on-site fuel consumption.
Companies completing the assessment need to input information about their organisation and its carbon footprint (including details of energy consumption) and answer a series of questions about carbon management policies and procedures, providing evidence to support responses. When done, the application is submitted for initial review and, after the final submission, companies are told whether they have achieved certification.
The Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit company supporting the move to a low carbon economy. The organisation claims that SMEs can save £400m a year and over 2.5 million tonnes of C02e through carbon footprint reduction and certification.
Sounds like a good idea. While the certification is a nice-to-have, just getting SMEs to start looking at the process of carbon management could have a significant impact.
According to the Carbon Trust there are 4.8 million SMEs in the UK accounting for 45% of UK business energy expenditure. Collectively, the smaller organisations that fall outside of existing legislation - the CRC, the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and Climate Change Agreements (CCA) - account for a quarter of all non-domestic emissions.
The more aware smaller companies are of their energy costs the more they’re likely to take some action to reduce power usage. It’s an opportunity for green IT solutions, such as carbon and energy management software, to help them do it better.
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
UK government finally approves the carbon budget through to 2027
According to the Observer newspaper yesterday and subsequent reports this morning, the UK government has agreed to abide by the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change for its fourth carbon budget, which takes us through to 2027.
The independent Committee was set up by the Climate Change legislation, which requires Parliament to set carbon budgets for the maximum emissions in a series of five year periods through to 2050. The Committee on Climate Change is required to recommend the level of these budgets, and a proposal must then be put before Parliament.
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Europe’s Energy Efficiency Economy | 1E Blogs
Europe’s Energy Efficiency Economy | 1E Blogs: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
After a series of events in Brussels in April, is Europe now ready to commit to energy efficiency for 2020?
The EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) organized over 700 events across Europe to show, promote, discuss and celebrate energy efficiency and renewable energy. There were a number of events held in Brussels attracting 30,000 attendees, including a 3-day policy conference organized by the European Commission where they announced the next steps to deploy smart grids throughout Europe.
The Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) and the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) co-hosted the Energy Efficiency Global 2011 as an official EUSEW side-event. The Energy Efficiency Global Forum (EE Global), now in its fourth year, is a launching pad for ideas that change the energy landscape, bringing together high-level officials from government, business and NGOs.
Monday, 20 December 2010
Plant trees while you surf - Ecosia - The green search engine
Great idea, 80% of revenue generated via sponsored advertising is donated to the WWF forest conservation programme. I can't help but think if it were powered by Google rather than Bing and Yahoo the donated revenue would be double what it is today (£107,825K). Come on Google, get involved!
10 Greentech Predictions for 2011
Yep, it’s that time of year again: get ready for the flurry of end-of-the-year market prediction posts. While last year, I laid out what I thought would be the 5 Biggest Hurdles for Greentech in 2010, this year Jeff St. John makes 9 predictions (plus 1 that I add in) about what the greentech sector will look like in 2011. Read more....
Monday, 1 November 2010
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Energy Hungry Zombie & Ghost Servers
Zombie and Ghost servers are a real threat to organizations everywhere – they consume energy and resources that could be used more effectively to drive business. Zombie servers masquerade as useful and ghost servers are typically just forgotten. 1E helps organizations measure and remove IT inefficiencies like zombie and ghost servers reducing unnecessary energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
The IT sector has reduced equipment emissions by 32m tonnes worldwide since 2007
A recent study has concluded that the IT sector has reduced annual CO2 emissions associated with IT equipment by more than 32 million metric tons worldwide since 2007.
The report, which is here, was conducted by Natural Logic to assess the progress of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative’s (CSCI). The organisation was set up in 2007 and is led by CSC, Dell, Google Inc., HP, Intel, Microsoft and the World Wildlife Fund, but now has a total of 645 members. It’s aim is to reduce the environmental impact of IT equipment through energy efficiency, with a goal of reducing annual CO2 emissions from the IT sector by 54 million metric tons by June 2011.
The research shows that annual CO2 emissions from IT equipment have decreased by 32 million to 36 million metric tons worldwide since 2007 and is on target to achieve the CSCI’s reduction goal by the end of its 2010 fiscal year in June 2011. The report puts the success down to the CSCI’s efforts to promote the adoption of power management, new IT efficiency standards and the use of higher-efficiency computing equipment.
The CSCI has said that in the future it will expand its focus to include commercial and home networking equipment, helped by new board members Cisco, Emerson Network Power and Juniper Networks. The organisation will set new energy efficiency criteria for networking technologies and network devices will be included in the organisation’s environmental targets, with the goal of reducing annual CO2 emissions by an additional 38 million metric tons by 2015.
There’s an interesting comment in the conclusion that in fact the use of PC power management has been much lower than the organisation estimated when it set its goals; “CSCI’s original estimate was based on an assumption that the use of power management features on desktops and notebooks would be in the range of 90% by the end of the 2010 program year, but the latest research shows it is only around 10% (22% at the most)”. So it looks like there will be a particular effort by these companies to push power management in the coming months.
© The Green IT Review (www.thegreenitreport.com)
Thursday, 26 August 2010
“Power IT Down Day” scheduled for Friday, August 27th, 2010 – How 1E takes a good idea even further
Promoted by partners such as Intel, HP, and Citrix, “Power IT Down Day” is scheduled for Friday, August 27th, 2010. Per the web site, powering your computer down for a single day can help save tens of thousands of costly kilowatt hours.
Powering down a computer for a single day is a great way to promote a concept that is clearly important, and it’s an ongoing, worldwide issue that 1E (Green IT solutions provider) addresses in a more complete manner. The data 1E discovered in their 2009 PC Energy Report is staggering: “... if all the world’s 1 billion PC’s were powered down for just one night – it would save enough energy to light up New York City’s Empire State Building – inside and out – for more than 30 years.” 1E has pioneered the technology to make IT more efficient by providing tools to “power down” every day of the year instead of just one. Consider the significant impact that can be realized by implementing the “power down” concept all year long! Read more about these solution here; NightWatchman, NightWatchman Server Edition, and WakeUp.
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
mobile phone charged by pedal-power
The latest green gadget; charge your phone while cycling with the ‘Bicycle Charger Kit’ from Nokia. 
The phone mount is rubberised to minimise vibrations and the holder comes with a transparent bag to protect it from the elements. It’s compatible with all Nokia phones that have a 2mm charging interface. The charger kicks in when the bicycle reaches 6 km/h and stops when your speed reaches 50 km/h. The total charging time varies, but Nokia gives the example that with 20 minutes of cycling at 10 km/h you can power up a Nokia 1202 for 1 hour of talk time or 74 hours of standby time.
This would be an ideal piece of kit for long distance, camping, cyclists. Or for using your GPS for navigation which invariably drains the battery quite quickly. More info is available here.
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Are you Ready for Mandatory Carbon Footprinting?
Phil Wilcock from 1E writes: A new survey finds that only 25% of businesses here in the UK are measuring their Carbon Footprints. While that may not set alarm bells ringing in most other parts of the world, here in the UK it's a little more serious as it's only six weeks before the deadline for the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, a cap-and-trade program for large private and public organizations that are not covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. This means organizations such as Universities, supermarkets and city councils.
The CRC will apply to around 5,000 large organizations that use more than 6,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually. The UK's Environment Agency said last week that just 1,229 organizations had signed up to meet the Sept. 30 deadline. Those that take early action through various certifications, such as the Carbon Trust Standard, can earn a higher ranking on the CRC league table, which will eventually be made public so that poorer performing companies can be 'named and shamed'.
According to the report, most companies are now resigned to the fact that Carbon Footprinting (and paying for the emission of excess carbon) is going to become law sooner rather than later.
“The debate about whether or not carbon footprinting and payment will become mandatory for business appears to be over as far as finance heads are concerned," Harry Morrison, general manager of the Carbon Trust Standard Co., which conducted the survey, said in a statement. "Yet only a minority have taken action so far and these early movers have a clear advantage. Building carbon management into the DNA of the business now not only ensures preparedness for future compliance requirements but also brings immediate cost and efficiency benefits and competitive edge."
In another interesting report, it seems that even those companies that are recording sustainability stats aren't doing it so efficiently.
In a recent a US survey by iReuse Companies were polled to find out which sustainability metrics were being tracked, which were most important and how data was being managed. Responses came from a variety of people within these companies, but overall one of the main conclusions is that while managing and reporting electricity use is seen as critical, the systems used to record such data are usually quite basic. The report finds that Excel-based systems are most often used, but many are looking for solutions that are easier to use and more sophisticated in the interpretation of the data.
Luckily for them, both NightWatchman and NightWatchman Server Edition have sophisticated reporting engines which can be used to feed into a company-wide sustainability report. Here at 1E we believe that Carbon Management is just as important as financial management and should be firmly embedded in your company at all levels. With more and more legislation coming down the road in order to force companies to account for their energy use, now is the time to be looking to both report on and reduce your Carbon Footprint. With 1E's current Energy Management software and great free resources such as the Carbon Management Center from GreenBiz.com to get you started, help is at hand.
Monday, 16 August 2010
Use 30% less ink with Century Gothic Font
The University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, has changed its default font for Outlook across campus to Century Gothic. It seems that Century Gothic uses 30% less ink than Arial, the most commonly used default font. Ink costs the university around $10,000 a gallon, with toner cartridges and drums not far behind, and accounts for 60% of the cost of the printed page, so it’s potentially a significant saving across a university campus.
In this case changing the default option is an effective way of nudging people towards greener behaviour. There’s no force involved - the University made it clear that users can change back to a different default font if you wish. The university is also encourage everyone to switch to Century Gothic as their default font in Entourage for Macintosh, Word, and Excel.
If you want to go even further, there are specially designed green fonts. With Ecofont, for example, users can work with their usual font but for printing use its ink-saving variant. The green font has additional holes to reduce ink use with, apparently, no impact on legibility. Ecofont claims that its font is even more economical than Century Gothic. Preton has a solution that deletes unnecessary pixels from all aspects of a print job as well as providing the capability to eliminate unneeded text or graphics from print jobs and providing analysis of print usage and savings.
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Whitepaper - Empowering Energy Efficiency in Federal Data Centers
This white paper discusses the Federal data center consolidation initiative and describes areas where greater energy efficiency and carbon reductions can be achieved using a number of quick wins. Don't be fooled by the title - this paper is not only relevant to Federal Data Centers, there's lots of great, usable info for anyone out there who is interested in Data Center energy savings, and more specifically how 1E's NightWatchman Server Edition can help.
Just to whet your appetite, some of the topics covered in this paper are:
IT Asset Utilization
Consolidation and Power Management
NightWatchman Server Edition - Quick Wins
Read the full document here:http://www.docstoc.com/docs/46793305/Empowering-Energy-Efficiency-in-Federal-Data-Centers
Thursday, 25 March 2010
New white paper: Tools to assist with the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme
Commencing April 2010 the CRC energy efficiency scheme is a cap and trade scheme for public and private sector organisations consuming more than 6000mwh of electricity a year. Compliance carries an administrative and financial burden; this burden can be reduced with the use of intelligent tools such as PC and Server power management. Download here.
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