From Think Tank to “Do Tank”

Tags: climate conference, climate impact, CO2 emissions, Green IT Conference, IBM, ICT, ICT equipment, OECD, Think Tank

I’m here again blogging from the OECD Green IT Conference. In the first session the first day, Larry Hirst, Chariman Europe, Midle East & Africa from IBM said he was partaking in several ”Think Tanks” regarding Green IT and said it was now time to focus on ”Do Tanks”. We need action much more than discussions.

Today this was followed up by a defined focus on urgency amongst the speakers and throughout the discussions. We do not have much time to change the climate impact trend. Also, it is clear that ICT is a key factor for the world to be able to reduce CO2 emissions. Nick Rowley, former senior adviser for Prime Minister Tony Blair said:”the urgency is heavily related to behavior change – going from bold intentions to changed behavior has one important key: the use of ICT. It is needed to reach measurable and verified goals in climate reduction.

There is a great focus on using ICT to reduce climate change. The Smart2020 report (www.smart2020.org) shows that by 2020 the proper use of ICT can reduce CO2 emissions by 15%. At the same time it has been stressed that the ICT industry itself must ”clean its own house” by making every effort to reduce its own impact on the climate. You cannot do the one and ignore the other.

One of  the conclusions was the role of public procurement in setting high environmental standards when procuring ICT equipment. Goverment must lead by example, not by words.

Many good ideas have been presented, but one important factor I found missing was the lack of focus on indirect environmental factors of ICT equipment. As I discussed with several of the participants, most were not aware of this factor at all, such as ergonomics, general quality, and designed for future use (not just now).

This conference will hopefully bring on an imprtant message to the Climate Conference in Copenhagen in december 2009.

Erich Must Wessel

Blogger for TCO Development

Helsingör, Denmark

50% pain and 50% opportunity…

Tags: climate smart, Green IT, OECD

I am currently participating on the 2-day OECD conference on how ICT can improve the environmental performance and mitigate climate change in all sectors of the economy. Around 230 high-level experts and government representatives have gathered to develop some solutions.  Some of the highlights as I see it has been the emphasis on the need for investment in education and R&D regarding Green IT – both to reduce the environmental impact of ICT and using ICT reduce other kinds of environmental impact. “The global economic crisis is 50 % pain and 50 % opportunity”, said Esko Aho, former prime minister of Finland who lead the country through a similar local crisis.

Another interesting point made by Marcus Courtney from Union Network International was that a significant part of the problem is that 75 % of all ICT equipment manufacturing is outsourced to low cost countries where there is less control with environmental factors and labor rights. We need producers who can guarantee and document that they meet both environmental and labor right standards.

When it comes to the use eCollaboration tools for travel reduction, Jeanette M. Wing from the US National Science Foundation, was not impressed how this technology has evolved. As a professional researcher she expected this technology to be much better by now. Talking with her afterwards she made a point out of that several criteria must be evaluated when choosing such systems. In my own view there seems to be certain criteria that will be mostly helpful for users to find good eCollaboration systems. These critieria include  sound and picture quality as well as synchronization and increased user friendliness of such products.

The discussion continues  tomorrow  and I’ll be back to share more  impressions with you then, so stay tuned.

Erich Must Wessel

Blogger for TCO Development

Helsingör, Denmark

Help in the green jungle!

Tags: China RoHS, Compliance and Risks, environmental legislation, Green IT, IT products, regulation, RoHS

All of you working with designing IT equipment are well aware of the enourmous work task to keep track on all the different regulations and product standards out there. Most IT products are designed for an international market and therefore need to comply with the fast moving market of environmental legislation globally. Just one example is the European Directive  called RoHS (Restrictions on Hazardous Substances) that came in to force in 2006  that now is being implemented all over the world with similar but not exactly the same legislation. To just understand the small differences between China RoHS and the European RoHS takes a lot of time to evaluate  and then to feel confident that your product will comply with both of them is also a costly and time consuming process.  And with the focus on Green IT and Global warming there is no doubt that we will see much more of environmental legislation in the future.

Luckily there are today internet based tools to help you sort this out! One of them is the Irish based company Compliance and Risks with their tool called C2P (Compliance to Products) http://www.complianceandrisks.com/. On top of monitoring all the different national legislations world wide  you will from now on also be able to follow all what is happening with the TCO Certified standards we develop! TCO Development was recently assigned Data Partner to Compliance and Risks and will regularly update their database with all relevant information about TCO Certified.

What about display performance ?

Tags: display performance, home entertainment system, home office, LCD display, readability

All displays are not created equal. Performance is important and there is a huge variation in how displays perform.
For consumers it is also a very important aspect when spending  money on a product you expect to use for several years. To connect this post with previous bloggers I would like to point out that high performance is indeed an environmental aspect as these products are less likely to enter the waste stream prematurely. On top of that, high performing products ensure that the work task the product is intended for is achieved in an effective way without unnecessary burden on the user.

First let’s look at the LCD display as a part of your home office or home entertainment system. The display is the interface between you and the content.. It is like the keyboard for the eyes. Would you choose a keyboard that is not comfortable and work with it 8 hours a day, every day?

The way the display presents the information you are working with has a crucial impact on the way you experience it. And let me break the news to you… there can be a huge difference in how displays perform! The problem is that the user rarely realizes that the presented image content is not the correct one. It is often very hard to see unless you can compare the inaccurate display with a correct one. Imagine you have a visual defect. You won’t realize the extent of that defect until you get it corrected with glasses, and then the experience is often astonishing.

So we can assume many users are working with inaccurate or incorrect displays without realizing this problem. It’s like taking a temperature with a broken thermometer… you get a result, but can you trust it?

Here’s my top 3 display performance criteria:  

1. The display should not present misleading image.
Examples are that colors may be wrong, light is not uniform or neutral grey levels get a color tint.

2. The display should not exclude any information from the image.
Examples are when near grey levels are merging and become impossible to distinguish between. Or when the display can not present enough colors to accurately show the image content.

3. The display should not have bad readability in different viewing conditions
Examples are when the characters have bad contrast, when the usable viewing angel is very narrow or when the maximum or minimum luminance of the display is not enough to compensate for the ambient luminance.

So what could be the effect of working with an incorrect display?

Sustainability learning – Arizona State leads the way

Tags: design, sustainability, USA

This week I was speaking at the International Symposium for Sustainable Systems and Technology in Tempe, Arizona http://www.ieee-issst.org/ and was impressed to see the innovative approach to sustainability learning at Arizona State University, who has opened USA’s first School of Sustainability and celebrated their first graduates earlier this month, with President Obama in attendance.

ASU President, Michael Crow described the School’s multidisciplinary approach to sustainability, with a focus on real outcomes. A clearer connection between science, engineeering and social science is a priority as sustainability graduates are encouraged to look closer at human behavior and intergenerational design. http://schoolofsustainability.asu.edu/

Greening your IT work

Tags: cooling plate, double sided printing, energy saving, lap top, noice, TCO Certified Display

In the blogg May 6, Anna Pramborg described how to reduce IT Climate Impact.
This is an important information, so do read it again, Reduce your IT Climate Impact by 80% !
What more can be of benefit for you and the planet?
Here are four good advices:

1. When using your TCO Certified display,
be sure to connect your display, your PC, your desk lamp and the rest of your work place with an energy saving power supply equipment. Choose a highly product developed electricity saving master-slave junction box. Connect your PC to the master socket and the rest to the slave sockets.
An extension lead detects when the master socket is not being used.
This detection will automatically power down the other sockets, in other words saving energy!
 
2. When working with your lap top,
save energy by using a cooling plate. This is a   convenient pad placed between the lap top and your lap. The cooling plate has a cooling effect for more than 5 hours, recharging in 3 hours in normal room temperature.
The cooling plate reduces heat from the cover material to the skin as well as reducing electromagnetic radiation from the laptop. Cooling your laptop this way also makes battery power of your lap top last for a longer time before the need of recharging it again.

3. Reduce electrical equipment in your personal work place,
Store printers, copiers, scanners and fax machines in a separate room. This also reduces noice from these machines as well as noice from other people’s voices. So this third advice reduces energy from machines and makes it possible to energize your body and mental work.
An extra benefit while walking to the machine room is the possibility to get away from your computer for a second or two. So take the chance to stretch your body or just use this little walk as a good rest from your computer walk.

4. Do you really have to print out so many documents? 
A study from a large Swedish office showed that by organizing files and documents in computers in a smart way, including printing on both sides on a reduced amount of copies, saved more than 100 printed copies a day and person. So save the environment by printing fewer paper copies and do not forget to print double sided.

Green IT becomes greener with the usability aspect

Tags: climate conscience, climate smart, CO2 emissions, combine usability and environmental aspects, computer display, energy consumption, frustration, Green IT, hazardous substances, ICT products, image quality, standby, sustainable IT, usability

The buzz word within the ICT industry has during the last 18^th month been Green IT and now it seems the trend it moving to include another buzz word; Sustainable IT. This trend is of course very positive.

In the discussions of Green IT so far there has been a lot talk about lower energy consumption. Low energy consumption is an important factor to reduce the CO2 emissions, but focusing only on lower energy consumption for a computer display can mean lower image quality.

It’s simple – a product with high performance and good usability has a longer life span and is less likely to enter the waste stream prematurely. This is another important environmental aspect that we unfortunately not see too much of in the discussion of Green IT or Sustainable IT.

No trade off between usability and environment
My point is that truly sustainable ICT products also must include the aspect of usability. A product that performs well and has low energy consumptions as well as low levels of hazardous substances is the best choice for the environment. Therefore there should not be any trade off between usability and environment aspects for ICT products!

What about products that don’t work if yoy try to be climate smart?
Last week I had a personal experience of usability vs. environmental aspects when I tried to be climate smart by switching off the printer at home. The printer is in standby mode 24 hours a day. Standby means less energy consumption but still it consumes energy, therefore I switched it off. The pleasure of a silent office and a good environmental conscience was on top when the printer was off. However there were no feelings of pleasure the next day when I was going to print a document. I had switched the printer on again, the control panel showed that the document was in the line for getting printed and that the printer was connected – but I did not get the document printed!  This doubly frustrating – firstly for not being able to get my documents printed and sceondly,  that I unnecessarily cause CO2 emissions because the printer doesn’t work if I switch it off properly.

Do you have similar experience of technology that makes it impossible to combine usability and environmental aspects? Let me know.

Make your comment here, or e-mail: birgitta.halvarsson@tco.se

How can the IT manager choose the right notebook computer –

Tags: ergonomics, IT manager, IT procurement, laptop, usability

In  a corporate procurement setting the company’s IT manager will often focus on offering a limited number of different notebook models to the IT department’s internal customers. For most companies, offering several different models leads to high cost in regard to  keeping updated images, spare parts and internal competence available. The users, however, will often have a different point of view. 

Users who travel and for whom mobility is key, often  prefer a very lightweight PC with a monitor of 12.1”. Some users want them even smaller. The readability of the monitor is not the most important factor to this group. However, the battery capacity and  unified communication support are important factors.

Engineers and others whose jobs involve design, technical detail and accurate images often like to choose form several high performance laptop workstations  with 15.4 or 17” monitors, powerful processors, different powerful graphical cards and up to maximum internal memory. For the young engineer the readability of the monitor is not the most important factor. The engineer will prefer an internal monitor with high resolution making it possible to display a lot of information. Mostly this laptop is used on a desktop and connected to power  – so the battery capacity is not the most important factor.

Desktop replacement models are popular with older workers and those who dont require mobility in their work  – working with office tasks, emails etc. The readability of the monitor is for these users an important factor. The battery capacity is often another important factor and. These users therefore often prefer medium powerful laptops with from 14.1” to 15.4” monitors. Internal monitor with medium ore even lower resolution are often the most popular models.

Even though the tablet PCs are still more of a niche product in many companies, many of the most “innovative” employees often prefer this laptop model. The normal readability of the monitor is not the most important factor. Tablet functions implemented, the battery capacity, the size and the implemented unified communication support are important factors.

The field engineer travelling offshore or working in areas with a lot of dust often prefers a fully rugged laptop with GPS or EX-approval. The computers approved certificates (ATEX etc) are the most important factors.

Then, what is the best way to deal with all these demands? Shall the IT-manager give the users all what they want? “Is The User  Always Right”?

My experience after working for several years with these kinds of issues in one of Scandinavia’s biggest companies is that it is necessary to thoroughly analyze all the different user  demands and then choose no more than one model for each of these 5 main user categories. This will give the company a maximum of 5 different laptop models to deal with. Smaller companies may want to choose even fewer. Combining a couple of the most common demands in one model is therefore often a preferred solution. The standard desktop replacement model and the laptop workstation can for instance be the same model with a common image. This could for instance be a laptop with 15.4” monitor, only differing in the internal graphics card and the resolution of the monitor.
The traveller’s PC and the desktop replacer PC might also be combined in one model. This could for instance be a lightweight 14.1” or 13.6” laptop offering a couple of different monitor resolutions.

Product spotlight – Eizo Flexscan EV2303W / 2023W

Tags: Eizo, FlexScan, monitor, TCO Certified

Fridays on GreenITedge we will feature a Product Spotlight –  a look at some of the new products that have caught our eye and that we love to use. Of course they all offer superior green features and design for usability !

To kick things off, take a look at these new EIZO Flexscan monitors – EV2303W and EV2023W. These are among of the first products to achieve the new TCO Certified designation, and here’s what I like about them.

It’s 48% thinner and 41% lighter than earlier models in the same size, due to less materials used. It’s fully adjustable to your environment and what’s really great is that it prompts you to take regular breaks so as to avoid eyestrain. Really nice when I think of all those hours we spend in front of the screen without paying attention to resting our eyes!

There are some really good energy saving features too – like a motion sensor which detects when you’re not at the desk, and automatially goes into power save mode, returning to full functionality when you return. Another cool feature is the Eizo Eco View index, which displays my level of power savings while I work. For more info on these monitors, click here http://www.eizo.com/products/lcd/ev2303w/index.asp

So in short, a product that really works with my environment, work patterns and green ambitions ! Look next Friday for our next Product Spotlight.

Notebook or Netbook ?

Tags:

In the world of mobile technology, it’s interesting to observe the growing use of not only Notebook PCs but also the smaller Netbooks. This new development is really fascinating.  Years ago, when we started to work mobile, Notebooks were the tool of choice.  TCO Development has worked on environmental and usability criteria for  notebooks, and now these little netbooks are also becoming a complement to our  mobile tools for getting work done and keeping in touch while on the road. If you prefer pink, black or white, you have the choice… They fit nicely in a handbag of women of all ages – totally portable.

One issue that needs further investigation is the ergonomics of Netbooks. The screen and keyboard are much smaller than those of a Notebook  and it would be interesting to see how this small size impacts the usability of the product over time. But most of them are very  energy efficient. We know that Netbooks are intended for shorter sessions on the internet, rather than as a primary computer for office use. I use mine often for presentations and what can I say? I get a lot of comments and questions about it –people are curious about Netbooks ! We will be publishing more on the Netbooks vs Notebooks debate in coming months – issues like user comfort, image quality and functionality will be key issues we will explore more in future posts.

Mine is black – by the way, not pink!