Sign up now to have "Greener IT Update" delivered fresh to your inbox every other week!

May 14, 2008 The State of the Art in Sustainable IT SLM Home | Green IT News & Ideas | Connections | Events | About

Green IT Budgets: Measure First, Ask Questions Later According to a recent survey by networking giant Cisco, nearly a third of CIOs expect a budget boost for their departments in the coming year as companies target greener, more energy-efficient operations. Of the 30% who anticipate more funding this year, a quarter say they could see a bump of as much as 24%. Before you get too excited about spending this potential windfall, however, remember the old adage "You can't manage what you can't measure." Don't invest in a single piece of new equipment without establishing a baseline for current energy consumption. Use this benchmark to: Prioritize effectively. Avoid guessing on what to green first by referencing concrete statistics on energy consumption per IT equipment and facility asset within your data center. As the IT director at an $11 billion health insurer puts it to me, "Know how much power each datacenter asset consumes – you might be surprised what your top-ten list looks like." Set smart green goals. With an accurate picture of your current datacenter energy consumption per IT and facility asset, you can ensure that your energy efficiency goals are realistic - and that your department will meet expectations. Quantify the benefits of your greening efforts. You can't establish that progress is being made if you don't know where you've been. Once green IT upgrades are implemented, compare your new energy consumption data to your baseline, highlighting both environmental and economic savings. "A recently passed bill authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to analyze the growth of energy consumption in datacenters. The European Union has established a directive to drive a 20% reduction in energy use by 2020. And Australia requires all companies using more than 150,000-MW per hour of electricity per year to prepare an assessment and action plan." But don't take my word for it - that's a direct quote from IBM, which released a free energy-benchmarking tool for datacenters last week. ~Doug Washburn, SLM Advisor What do you think? Post Your Comment Here! Also This Week... Digital Realty Trust Customers Get the Skinny on Datacenter Efficiency Datacenter operator Digital Realty Trust is set to provide its customers with "detailed and actionable information" on whether and how much their IT facilities are contributing to corporate environmental goals. Read more... Miercom Launches Green Certification Program for IT Equipment Miercom, an independent network product tester and consultancy, has unveiled a green certification program for IT equipment to help datacenter managers make smarter purchasing choices. Read more... New Report Outlines Three Ways to Double Datacenter Efficiency by 2012 Datacenters are not only a fast-growing contributor to global warming but also a drain on corporate profitability, according to a new study, which outlines three strategies for doubling datacenter energy efficiency by 2012. Read more... IBM Offers Free Energy Benchmarking Tool for Datacenters IBM has launched a free, web-based benchmarking tool that allows IT managers to measure their datacenter energy-efficiency score against other organizations worldwide. Read more... CIOs Predict Budget Increases for Green IT Nearly a third of CIOs say they expect a budget boost for their departments in the coming year as companies target greener, more energy-efficient operations, according to a new survey by YouGov for Cisco, the networking giant. Read more... Report: Green IT Initiatives Stalling Out Due to Lack of Standards Companies' green IT efforts are slowing down as senior managers bemoan the lack of clear industry standards for green datacenters, according to a new survey from Digital Realty Trust. Read more... New Hitachi Datacenter Touts Latest Energy-Efficient Technologies Hitachi Data Systems has broken ground on a new datacenter designed to showcase the company's latest innovations in energy-efficient IT. Read more... More Green IT News & Tools... We want to hear from you! Post your comments or questions below any SLM news story and we'll feature the best of them here. (Note: You must be a registered SLM user to post. Not yet signed up? Click here!) Forward to a Friend! Who's Coming to SB'08? The rolls are growing every day! Socialize and network with fellow attendees actively engaged in building sustainability into market-leading brands including Avery Dennison, Armstrong World Industries, Porter Novelli, Proctor & Gamble, SC Johnson, The North Face, UPS, Waggener Edstrom, and more. Download the conference agenda here (PDF), and register today! Solution Providers Green IT Unplugged – A Primer for Sustainable IT Best Practices While the strategies and tactics to reduce the eco-impact of IT are still being defined, it is essential for those involved in the process be able to speak directly to the issues at hand. This white paper is designed to provide an understanding of IT's environmental impact from procurement through operation and disposal. By Matt Heinz, Verdiem Download now (Word)... How to Estimate Energy Efficiency as Part of a Server Upgrade You can't figure out whether you're saving energy with new servers if you don't know how much energy you're using in the first place. Here are some suggestions for making the necessary estimates. (eWeek) Read more... Top Headlines from Other SLM Channels Renault, Nissan Set to Invest $1 Billion in Electric Cars Dell Bows to Bloggers on Green-Packaging Demands New Carbon Tracker Helps Businesses Quantify Travel Footprint New Water-Vending Machine Acts Like a Brita India, Brazil Home to Greenest Consumers; U.S. Ranks Last Nike, Stonyfield Farm, IBM Post Top Grades on Climate Scorecard New Pepsi Bottles Use 20% Less Plastic CVS Boosts Supply-Chain Mileage Efficiency 11% Motorola Leans on Suppliers to Get Greener Pioneering Apparel Company Says "Goodbye for Nau" Find Peers and Partners If you haven’t already joined the fastest growing online sustainable business community, create a profile now and start connecting. Advertise on SLM! Become a Sustainable Life Media advertiser or sponsor and reach thousands of business leaders looking for product or service solutions to help them build their sustainability story. Click here to learn more. Have a story you want told? Send it to us!

Sustainable Life Media is home for business professionals looking to build new value and competitive advantage by innovating more sustainable processes, practices and products. We bring you top stories related to the what, who and how of environmental and social innovation, and help you connect with thought leaders, peers, partners and solutions providers that can help you quickly reach your goals. This work is licensed under a CreativeCommons License. Copyright Sustainable Life Media Inc. 2008

Terms of Use | Privacy | Unsubscribe | Contact | How We Can Help | Partners