Energy Resolver II – Power to the people

Tags: energy saving, ICT, PC energy consumption, TCO Certified

Some say we need more power stations and if we’re going green then it’s got to be nuclear to fill the demand. 
A scary scenario when there are already 400 nuclear power stations in the world leaving their radioactive waste for future generations to clean up, not to mention other risks with this source?
But is there really an energy crisis looming? Could it be that there would be enough to go around if we started to consume it more wisely?
The best way to avoid a crisis is through good management…and in this energy situation, the manager that has a big say over the amount of energy you’re using during the day, is YOU! You’re a self-employed energy tycoon with the right to hire & fire…& right now you might be thinking business could be better.

So, as I promised you in my new years resolution a couple of weeks ago, let me give you a simple first aid guide on how to cut back your energy consumption, your energy cost & green house gas emissions in one easy move at the office….and please try this at home also.
Just use this link:
http://www.tcodevelopment.com/pls/nvp/Document.Show?CID=4146&MID=255
It will direct you to our web site and an easy step by step guide on how to set up the energy saving function on your computer.
This set up will place your computer and screen automatically in a standby/sleep mode when you are not using it and it automatically starts it up again when you touch the mouse or keyboard.

Savings: For example: for a 19” TCO certified monitor this will mean a drop in energy consumption from approx 20 Watts to less than 1 watt during an estimated 3 hours of a working day (these power levels are not guaranteed if you do not have a TCO marked product). A computer & screen that is always on may cause 7kg of CO2/week from electricity production. If an energy saving function is active on your computer however, that level will sink to as little as 0.8kg CO2/week.

A low hanging fruit like this is something we can all reach from the comfort of our chairs…so enjoy this double energy saving, since my next tempting apple in a couple of weeks may take a bit more effort to reach

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