Intergovernmental Solutions Newsletter green ITdownload.101com.com/pub/gcn/newspics/GSA_GreenIT_e... · 2008-11-18 · of desktop and enterprise computer technologies. Environmentally

Intergovernmental Solutions Newsletter

GSA Office of Citizen Services and Communications

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Issue 21 • Fall 2008

The Intergovernmental Solutions Newsletter is produced twice a year by the IntergovernmentalSolutions Division, GSA Office of Citizens Services and Communications; Lisa Nelson, Editor. Send comments and suggestions to: [email protected].

Green IT Is Essential to Green Government . . .1

EPA and Its PartnersWhat Does “Going Green” with Information Technology Mean? . . . . . . . . . . .4Putting EPA Data Center Energy Efficiency Projections to the Test . . . . . . . . . . . . .5The Green Grid: Establishing Greater Energy Efficiency in Data Centers . . . . . . . . . . . .7Environmental Benefits of EPEAT IT Purchasing System . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Looking Into the FutureAchieving a Green IT Strategy through Cloud Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Collaborative Work is Green by Nature . . . . . . .12The New Challenge of IT Asset Disposal . . . .14GSA Helps Government Go Green . . . . . . . . . .16Environmental and Corporate Benefits of Telework . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

State and Local PartnersThe Virtual State of Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Solar Photovoltaic Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22How State CIOs Can Get to Greener Pastures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24Public CIOs, Green Czars and their Span of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Cascade County Wind Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . .27The Sunshine State Keeps IT Green . . . . . . . . .29

Green IT Is Important Around the World

Green IT Approaches Span the Globe . . . . . . . .31Australia’s ICT Environmental Impact Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

The worldwide growth in the use of consumer electronic products,which include computers and communications and entertainmentdevices—cellular phones, VCRs, televisions, DVD players, video

cameras, stereos, copying machines and faxes, and video gameconsoles—has had both positive and negative effects. Electronicsenable us to make information exchange quicker and easier; reduce ourneed to physically move people, products, and information; and allow usto cut traffic, save energy, and reduce pollution. But the manufacture,use and disposal of these products, compiled from plastics, metals,silicon, and various chemicals, have an increasingly detrimental effecton the environment and human health. Waste from electronics is thefastest growing waste stream in the U.S., and the overall electronicsrecycling rate, at only 12.5%, is low. When these items become obsoleteand are thrown away, they quickly clog landfills. When they aredestroyed, the chemicals and heavy metals in their composition poseenvironmental risks to human health and the environment.

There is a growing awareness that governments, businesses, and non-governmental organizations need to better manage their use oftechnology in an environmentally responsible manner. As largepurchasers of electronic products and services, they have anopportunity, and a responsibility, to provide leadership throughenvironmentally sound practices and cost-effective, life-cyclemanagement of their electronic assets. Accordingly, many governmentsare taking a closer look at the design, procurement, operations, and end-of-life management of electronics to identify steps that can be taken toreduce the burdens that these products have on the environment.

Information technology products and processes have a significantimpact on the environment. They contain chemicals known to be a threatto human health and the environment—lead, mercury, cadmium andbrominated flame retardants among them. And like all electronics, ITproducts create electronics waste at the end of their lifecycle. Desktop

Green IT Is Essential to Green GovernmentBy Darlene MeskellDirector, Intergovernmental SolutionsGSA Office of Citizen Services and CommunicationsU.S. General Services Administration

green IT

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and enterprise computer equipmentrequire significant energy to operate,leading to increased greenhouse gasemissions. Today, large consolidateddata centers alone use more than 5%of all electricity consumed in theUnited States.

This newsletter offers severalexamples of how environmentalprinciples can be applied to the worldof desktop and enterprise computertechnologies. Environmentallyconscious, or “green” ITencompasses everything fromexamining the use of pollutants in themanufacture of technology, to

reducing the energy andenvironmental footprint of thebuildings that house computerenterprise operations, recyclingmanufactured equipment, and muchmore. The articles describe many ofthe ways governments are workingtoward socially responsible,environmentally friendly and fiscallysound practices.

EPA and Its PartnersGovernments are trying hard to be“green” but are not sure how to goabout it. The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency addresses thistopic in What Does Going Greenwith Information TechnologyMean? EPA challenges us to take aholistic look at the lifecycle of our ITpurchases from “cradle to grave,” andto find ways to intervene at criticaljunctures. Citing EPA’s recent Reportto Congress on Server and Data CenterEnergy Efficiency, the Silicon ValleyLeadership Group, a consortium ofpublic—and private—sectororganizations, reports on how it usedreal-life data Putting EPA DataCenter Energy Efficiency

Projections to the Test. TheLeadership Group is one of manyorganizations focusing attention onthe growing challenges of improvingenergy efficiency within data centers.The Green Grid is working towardEstablishing Greater EnergyEfficiency in Data Centers bydefining and promoting energy-efficient practices. The GreenElectronics Council describes theEnvironmental Benefits of theEPEAT Purchasing System as atool to help purchasers evaluatedozens of environmental performanceattributes of electronic products.

Looking Into the FutureEPA and its partners are establishingenvironmental standards and tools tohelp control energy use in governmentIT. But this is only a small step towardachieving an environmentally-neutralfuture. Technologies, methodologies,and work practices now beingdeveloped and implemented by theenvironmentally concerned andeconomically strapped in all sectors.IBM presents a new computingparadigm that helps organizations gogreen by providing a sharedinfrastructure with virtualizationcapabilities. Achieving a Green ITStrategy through CloudComputing shows how governmentand business can access services onan as-needed basis and maintaindistributed workforces.

Collaborative Work is Green byNature describes how Web-enabledcollaborative work environments,allow tens, hundreds or eventhousands of individuals tocollaborate on important workproducts without moving away fromtheir computer screens. Reducing the

need for travel, workspace, paper,time and even online storage spacerequired to share documents viaemail, these wiki-supported programssave their users time, achieve buy-in,and help generate better work thanmany face-to-face task forces.Adopting new technology is only oneof the many ways governments andother organizations can reduce theircarbon footprints. Another way is tobe dispose of old technology carefully.The Economics of IT AssetDisposal lays out Dell Computer’sprogram for reusing and recycling oldtechnology.

The U.S. General ServicesAdministration is leading by exampleand Helping Government GoGreen, using its unique position asthe government’s supply arm andproperty manager to help customeragencies become better stewards ofthe environment. As the government'spremier procurement agency, GSAincorporates principles of sustainabledesign in our building projects andoffers some 10,000 green goods andservices. In addition, as thepromulgator of the government’stelework policies, GSA is well on itsway to achieve its goal of having 50%its workforce teleworking by 2010.The Environmental and CorporateBenefits of Telework are alsorecognized as not just environmentalbut as a way to improve work/lifebalance, and the productivity ofemployees.

State and Local PioneersMuch of the innovation in “green”government is taking place at thestate and local levels in the unendingeffort to control costs. The VirtualState of Tennessee, for instance,

EPA and its partners are establishing environmentalstandards and tools to help control energy use in

government IT. But this is only a small step toward achievingan environmentally-neutral future.

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has embraced virtualization and notonly reduced staffing costs butlowered energy costs and harmfulcarbon dioxide emissions. Luckily,many funding options are available tostate and local governments forSolar Photovoltaic Financing,which has seen “exponentialincreases” in the capital available forsolar projects, and tremendouscreativity in the development of third-party ownership structures. Withrising energy costs, on the mind ofnearly every citizen and lawmaker,green initiatives will likely be met withunprecedented support, the NationalAssociation of Chief InformationOfficers predicts. State CIOs areuniquely poised to become leaders inthe green IT revolution, according tothe NASCIO brief, How State CIOsCan Get to Greener Pastures.

Although many governments are justcoming to terms with the strategicimportance of sustainability, Oregonand other states have fieldedsustainability programs for a decadeor so. Some jurisdictions are evenlooking at putting all theirsustainability programs under asingle high-level official. PublicCIOs, Green Czars and their Spanof Control considers the benefitsand disadvantages of establishing asustainability point person.

Cascade County, Montana, known forhaving strong and predictable winds,created wind speed and power mapsby combining federal wind map data,local land ownership, roadstransmission lines and other county-specific data. Cascade CountyWind Marketing used these plans toattract clean-power developers.

As the largest employer in Florida, thegovernment of The Sunshine StateKeeps IT Green. The state’s goal isto reduce greenhouse gas emissionsby 40% by 2025—through programsaimed at reducing vehicle emissions,making facilities energy efficient, andgreen purchasing.

Green IT Is Important Around the WorldOther countries are equally, if notmore, concerned about the impact ofIT on the environment. Green ITApproaches Span the Globe bringsin to focus the steps large English-speaking nations are taking to reducethe carbon footprint of informationtechnology at every point in the life-cycle of their government systems,from purchase and productionthrough usage and ultimate disposal.The Australian government chiefinformation officer has issued achecklist for Managing theEnvironmental Impact ofInformation and CommunicationsTechnology, as part of acomprehensive green IT effort.

The stories in this newsletter clearlyrepresent only a sampling of theincreasingly aggressive programs thatgovernments have undertaken toreduce the impact of their operationson the state of the environment. Aslarge organizations, with a relativelylarge effect, their ability to controltheir own operations and to leadothers to adopt eco-friendly practiceswill have a beneficial impact on theenvironment. n

For additional information [email protected]

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Search the Web for the term“Green IT” and you will quicklycome up with millions of results.

As EPA’s chief information officer, I’vereceived more than my share ofrequests from individuals looking forpractical help. People areconscientious about being “green,” butthey’re not quite sure how to go aboutit.

EPA’s mission is to protect humanhealth and the environment. It’s onlyfitting that we carry this mission intothe IT realm by ensuring our ITinvestments are socially responsible,environmentally friendly, and fiscallysound. While these are great reasonsfor embracing Green IT, what many ofus have seen firsthand is that savingsfrom “greener” technologies orbusiness approaches can offset thecosts. One of the key reasons Green IThas taken hold is because it’s not justthe right thing to do for theenvironment; it actually puts “green”back into your organization’s pocket.

Right at the top of my wish list is to geteveryone thinking about incorporatingand architecting Green IT into everystep of the IT lifecycle. I think this issomething we can all do now –examine our IT infrastructure with aholistic cradle-to-grave philosophy. Infact, we call this the Green IT Lifecyclewhere there are ways to be green ateach lifecycle “stage” of designing,buying, using, recycling and disposingof IT. The staff here designed a one-stop Web page with that can helpreduce your energy usage and carbonfootprint while saving money, select

technologies that are environmentallypreferable, and recycle unwantedequipment to conserve naturalresources (http://epa.gov/greenit/).

One of the most common questions Iget is, “What can CIOs do to save onenergy costs?” Well, here are some keythings I tell people to focus on:

• Save energy by encouraging staff topower down their equipment whennot in use

• Make energy conservation anacquisition objective for how youevaluate and procure technologies

• Embrace virtualization technologies(using IT environments moreefficiently) and explore theconsolidation of data processingand storage

• Manage, measure, and regulate howyour technologies consume energy(the days of set it and forget it areover!)

• Dispose of your technologies in asound and environmentally friendlymanner, and

• Utilize technologies that allow staffto stay connected in remotelocations, participate in meetingswithout travel, and respond quicklyduring emergency situations.

Another question I receive frequentlyis, “What is EPA doing to green itsown data centers?” EPA’s central datacenter, the National Computing Center(NCC), is a remarkable success storyfor the agency. From inception, thisbuilding was designed to incorporateenvironmentally friendly technologies.

The NCC was completed in 2002 andfeatures impressive energy savingcapabilities including green lighting,“smart” heating and cooling systems,and solar roof panels(http://www.epa.gov/greeningepa/facilities/rtp_ncc.htm). In January 2005,EPA received the Leadership in Energyand Environmental Design (LEED®)silver certification from the U.S. GreenBuilding Council for the NCC. Throughstrategic improvements andoperational modifications made at theNCC since then, total annual powerconsumption has been reduced by 20%(4.5 billion BTUs), despite a rise in thenumber of servers in use. In our questfor continuous improvement, we haveteamed with the Department of Energyto perform a more robust energyassessment of the NCC. With thisbaseline, we are better able tomeasure energy efficiencyimprovements and plan practicalstrategies for the future.

But not every organization has a largedata center; many have a collection ofsmall data centers or server rooms.Across the nation, data centerscombine for 1.5% of our country’senergy usage. At first blush that maynot seem like a lot, but it equates tothe energy consumed by 5.8 millionU.S. households at a cost of $4.5billion. Recognizing this, EPA enteredinto an agreement with The Green Gridto evaluate the numerous small EPAdata centers and server rooms(http://www.thegreengrid.org/home).Through this partnership, we aredeveloping best practices that willbenefit the wider community byaddressing energy usage solutions for

EPA and Its Partners


What Does “Going Green” withInformation Technology Mean?By Molly A. O’NeillAssistant Administrator, Office of Environmental InformationChief Information OfficerU.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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small data centers. And we’ll be sureto let this intergovernmentalcommunity know when these bestpractices become available.

There is a lot of information out thereand a growing field of experts in theGreen IT area. Ultimately, the best wayto get started is to begin with a fewprojects where you can get some

measurable results. For thoseinterested in learning more aboutgreening IT, view a roundtablediscussion held earlier this year withmyself and several other leaders inthis area(http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?sid=1339342&nid=5). For morediscussion on the return on investmentof Green IT, listen to a CIO Talk Radio

interview held on March 26th(http://www.ciotalkradio.com/archives.html). And of course, be sure to checkout EPA’s Green IT Web site(http://epa.gov/greenit/). n


BackgroundIn August 2007, the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency released a Reportto Congress on Server and DataCenter Energy Efficiency. This reporthad US organizations acrossindustries—from financial services touniversities, high-tech corporations togovernment institutions—sitting up

and taking notice. Data centersalready consume a considerableamount of the nation’s total supply ofelectricity—approximately equivalentto the electricity consumed by 5.8million average U.S. households andgrowing. The potential energyefficiencies outlined in that reporthave implications for the environmentand increased sustainability, as well asfor business bottom line costs and

maximized value from organizations’IT assets and spending.

Intrigued by the EPA’s findings, agroup of companies organized by theSilicon Valley Leadership Group, orLeadership Group, saw a gap betweentheoretical discussion and proof in acommercial (not a research lab)environment. This group rose to

answer the challenge in the EPA’sreport, that “objective, credibleinformation is needed about theperformance of new technologies andabout best practices, as well as theeffect of both on data centeravailability.” The Leadership Groupwould put the theories to the testthrough real-life, practical application.

Working with a number of public- andprivate-sector partners (including

Accenture), the Leadership Group’sobjectives were simple: to help datacenters accelerate the adoption ofenergy-saving technology by:

• Making better-informed decisionson the effectiveness of energysaving initiatives

• Guiding policymakers on potentialregulation and certification bydemonstrating achievable results

• Educating the public on the impactof data centers on energy use andon how data centers can saveenergy by implementing technologyand applying leading practices.

A quick word on our approachOur methodology for this “Data CenterDemonstration Project” likewise wasstraightforward. We recomputedenergy projections from the EPA

Report by populating EPA’s formulaswith data gathered through a series of11 real-life technologyimplementations across 17 casestudies, which were then compiled intofour defined scenarios. We basedthese scenarios on the differences indata center types, which affect theapplicability and effectiveness ofpotential technology implementationinitiatives:


Putting EPA Data CenterEnergy Efficiency Projections to the TestBy Teresa Tung PhDResearch Manager, Infrastructure Research GroupAccenture Technology Labs

Data centers already consume a considerable amount of the nation’s total supply of electricity—approximately

equivalent to the electricity consumed by 5.8 million averageU.S. households and growing.

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• Implementing retrofit changes in alegacy production data center

• Implementing retrofit changes in alegacy R&D data center

• Implementing brand-newtechnologies in a built-from-scratch production data center

• Implementing brand-newtechnologies in a built-from-scratch R&D data center.

Our scenarios assumed thatimplementing certain technologies incertain situations simply does notmake sense. For example, in new datacenters, energy cost savings createthe incentive to buy more expensivesolutions that are highly energyefficient. In legacy data centers,however, the cost savings from energyconsumption over a long lifespan maynot justify the replacement of existingequipment with more efficient newpurchases.

Finally, we presented side-by-sidecomparisons of EPA projections withwhat our 17 case-study companiesactually achieved in their data centerenvironments in terms of energy, costand carbon savings.

The EPA projections are realistic and achievableMost important among all our findingsis that even the most optimistic of theEPA’s “best-case” energy projectionscan be achieved.

By 2011, our trajectories (using themeasured results of our case studies)showed significant savings overcurrent trends. For example, wedemonstrated that with legacyretrofits, data centers can:

• Save between 59.9 and 64.6 billionkWh/year

• Save up to $4.5 billion annually

• Cut 40.9 million metric tons ofcarbon (more than 7 million cars)

With a combination of both newcommissions and legacy retrofits,they can:

• Save between 64.2 and 68.9 billionkWh/year annually.

• Save up to $4.8 billion annually

• Cut 43.6 million metric tons ofcarbon (almost 8 million cars)annually.

More specifically, in terms of siteinfrastructure efficiency (as evaluatedusing the Power Usage Effectivenessratio of data center power to IT powerdraw), high-efficiency site initiativesalready exist and are achieving EPAstate-of-the-art estimates.Interestingly, legacy retrofits canalmost be as efficient as new centers.While legacy retrofits may notoptimize power delivery for costreasons, they can optimize cooling viaa unique set of technologies,including air management, variablefrequency drives, and water-sideeconomizers.

In terms of IT infrastructure efficiency(as evaluated by energy draw,percentage of power managementadopted and the EPA’s PhysicalServer Reduction Ratio), we foundthat holistic IT transformationinitiatives deliver a greater impactthan site improvements. Companiesneed to more aggressively reduce ITinfrastructure, as plenty ofopportunity exists to gain efficienciesthrough servers, storage andnetworks. With more aggressive IToptimization, we believe data centerscan exceed the EPA estimates.

ConclusionAlthough data centers will continueto be large energy consumers (due tothe necessity of keeping up withincreased business demands), ourdemonstrated results show that interms of technology maturity, bestpractice levels defined in the EPA

report are achievable in all types ofdata centers: whether legacy or new,R&D or production.

IT initiatives offer large savings;however, there is a gap between whatwe have achieved and what ispossible. For example, we have yet tofully harness the efficiencies inherentin IT capabilities such asvirtualization or rationalization.Furthermore, today’s available sitetechnology can achieve state-of-the-art efficiencies defined by the EPA,with legacy upgrades nearly matchingnew centers in terms of potentialefficiency. Clearly, the onus forreducing energy use falls on everyone.

Those of us who participated in theData Center Demonstration Projectfeel passionate about encouragingindividual data centers to considerimplementing our demonstratedinitiatives to save energy and costand reduce pollution. Our measuredresults already track the best-casescenarios in the EPA Report. Byincreasing adoption of thedemonstrated technologies and byimproving IT optimization, we believedata centers can meet or exceed theEPA scenarios and, as a group, cansignificantly reduce carbon dioxideemissions by 2011 by reducing carbondioxide emissions equivalent to thatput out by more than 7 million carsannually. n

See the Silicon Valley Leadership GroupReport at:http://accenture.com/datacenterreport.

For additional information [email protected].

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Until recently, electricity usagewasn’t near the top of ITconcerns. The cost of running

and cooling the IT infrastructuregenerally wasn’t even considered partof the IT budget within mostorganizations. For instance, serverdensity in data centers wasn’tsignificant enough to create any realpower management issues, and thecost of electricity was low enough tonot raise concerns acrossorganizations.

As the amount of data circulatingwithin the Internet and acrosscomputing devices continues toincrease exponentially, businesses,governments and other institutionsaround the world are aggressivelyfilling data center racks with powerfulservers to keep pace. At the sametime, energy shortages and energycosts are quickly rising to the top ofthe list of economic and environmentalconcerns for organizations worldwide.Accordingly, a movement to increasedata center and IT energy efficiency isgaining momentum.

The Green Grid, an industryconsortium dedicated to improvingenergy efficiency within data centersand business computing ecosystems,is helping focus attention on thisgrowing challenge. Founded in early2007, this fast-growing organization isworking to define and promote themost effective energy-efficiencypractices in data center operations,construction and design in order tohelp solve the numerous problemsrelated to power consumption, powerconversion and energy efficiency thatare plaguing data centers across theglobe.

Rising power consumption is amongthe many problems related to energyefficiency within data centers.Electrical power needed to run today’shigh-performing data center servers isonly part of the problem. Storage andnetworking gear, non-IT devices suchas transformers, uninterruptible powersupplies, fans, air conditioners, pumps,humidifiers and lighting alsocollectively account for a substantialamount of power consumption withindata centers.

Inefficiencies within data centers areeasy to find. From the time powerenters into a data center until the timeit reaches a server’s microprocessors,power is converted numerous times,affording numerous opportunities forinefficiencies. IT data centers typicallyburn more power in power conversionand cooling at light loads (zero to 25percent platform utilization) than thecomputer systems themselves areusing to produce real work. Thisrepresents a sizeable opportunity forenergy savings in the design of powerconversion and cooling systems thatscale better with the load.

Until recently, there has been nounified method for establishing andreporting server energy consumption.Fair comparisons for data centerenergy efficiency (and the componentsthat comprise it) require astandardized set of performance andenergy efficiency metrics. The GreenGrid believes data center managersneed a standard set of metrics similarto how miles-per-gallon comparisonsfor vehicles allow buyers to comparehow well a car converts fuel (ingallons) into work (in miles), tounderstand the efficiency of their data

centers, improve the performance-per-watt of their IT equipment, and makesmarter, energy-efficient IT purchases.

Addressing all of these issues andestablishing viable solutions willrequire an industry-wide effort. TheGreen Grid’s broad scope includesdefining meaningful, end-user- centricmodels and metrics as well asdeveloping and promoting standards,measurement methods, processes andtechnologies to improve performanceagainst the defined efficiency metrics.Member companies are workingtogether to identify solutions that canbe embraced by both the industry anddata center managers.

The Green Grid is a consortium ofleading technology companiesincluding AMD, APC, Dell, HP, IBM,Intel, Microsoft, Rackable Systems,SprayCool, Sun Microsystems andVMware. It’s focused on providingindustry-wide recommendations onbest practices, metrics andtechnologies designed to improveoverall data center energy efficiencies.It does not endorse any vendor-specificproducts or solutions.

With established programs in NorthAmerica, Europe and Japan, TheGreen Grid’s membership has grownin the past year to more than 190companies from across the globe. Inaddition, The Green Grid hasdeveloped strategic alliances withgovernment agencies and industryorganizations to help further its cause.The Green Grid is activelycollaborating with industry’sDistributed Management Task Force,the U.S. Department of Energy, andU.S. Environmental Protection Agency,the Green IT Promotion Council,Storage Network Industry Associationand other organizations to help ensurea higher degree of energy efficiency indata centers world over.

Member organizations are looking totake a proactive role in ensuringgreater IT energy efficiency. Throughactive engagement in The Green Grid,members collaborate to help developstandard workload and deploymentmodels and get an opportunity to

The Green Grid: Establishing Greater Energy Efficiency in Data CentersBy The Green Grid

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Information technology has enabledsignificant improvements in thestandard of living of much of the

developed world, and through itscontributions to greater transportefficiency, improved design, reducedmaterials consumption and othershifts in current practices, may offer akey to long term sustainability.However, the production, purchase,use and disposal of electronicproducts such as personal computersand monitors also can havesignificant negative environmentalimpact.

The EPEAT (Electronic ProductEnvironmental Assessment Tool)system for greener electronicspurchasing addresses many of theseissues. The tool was developed by theGreen Electronics Council to enablepurchasers looking for greener ITproducts to address dozens ofenvironmental performance attributes

in a meaningful way.

The EPEAT System EPEAT was launched in 2006 to helppurchasers identify environmentallypreferable electronic products –starting with a product standard andregistry addressing personalcomputers and monitors.

The EPEAT environmentalperformance criteria and registrysystem were developed through amulti-year, multi-stakeholder processsupported by EPA that includedparticipants from the public andprivate purchasing sectors,manufacturers, environmentaladvocates, recyclers, technologyresearchers and other interestedparties.

The development of EPEAT wasprompted by a growing demand for aneasy-to-use evaluation tool for

comparison and selection ofelectronic products based onenvironmental performanceattributes. IT purchasers needed asimple way to assess products’environmental impacts, andelectronics manufacturers in turnwanted consistent guidance to ensuretheir green design efforts met withsuccess in the marketplace.

EPEAT meets both constituencies’needs with a user-friendly systemdesigned and guided by stakeholdersthat is accessible to purchasers andmanufacturers of any size. As a result,EPEAT has revolutionized theelectronic product sector, withsignificant manufacturer and pur-chaser participation and an extensiveregistry of hundreds of electronic

Environmental Benefits of EPEAT IT Purchasing SystemBy Sarah O'BrienEPEAT Outreach DirectorGreen Electronics Council

engage directly with other standardsorganizations, industry stakeholdersand data center operators to definekey energy efficiency requirements.

Achieving this goal will require asystematic approach to addressingenergy related problems within datacenters. The Green Grid’s earlyemphasis has centered on developingbetter data center metrics, as theconsortium strives to define a way forfacilities organizations, IT managers,CIOs, regional power utilities, andgovernment regulatory agencies toevaluate the performance-per-watt ofdata centers and their components.The Green Grid supports metrics suchas Power Usage Effectiveness and its

reciprocal, Data Center InfrastructureEfficiency which are starting to receivebroad support within the industry.Additionally, The Green Grid believesrecently introduced Data CenterEnergy Productivity shows promise ofbecoming a true productivity metric.

Moving forward, The Green Grid willwork to define a new data centerpower efficiency architecture toimplement energy-efficiency policiesnatively through the instrumentation ofdevices. This architecture will includeautomatic control of data centercomponents via management policiesgeared towards power efficiency.

The Green Grid’s approach recognizes

that establishing greater energyefficiency within data centers will nothappen overnight, but rather willrequire a sustained, industry-wideeffort. By leveraging the extensiveknowledge of its members and workingwith relevant government and industryorganizations to develop data centerenergy efficiency metrics and on bestpractices, The Green Grid will helpeliminate costly data centerinefficiencies. n

For more information, visit:www.thegreengrid.org


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products that meet the system’sdemanding criteria.

The EPEAT system, with its 51environmental performance criteria, aregistry where products meetingthose criteria are listed, and averification system for vetting productdeclarations – offers purchasers aneasy-to-use environmental screen forproducts based on a wide array oflifecycle impacts.

The system also providesmanufacturers with guidelines fordevelopment of environmentallypreferable products that will meetmarket demand. And it establishescompetition among manufacturers tomeet higher rating levels, whichpushes innovation and environmentalexcellence forward.

Launched only 20 months ago, EPEAThas so effectively met the purchasingcommunity’s need for a tool tomeasure environmental performancein IT hardware that purchasers areadopting the tool in larger numbersevery day. (See www.epeat.net/RFP.aspx for a sampling of purchasersusing EPEAT.)

For a detailed overview of EPEAT’sdevelopment, see http://www.zero-waste.org/ epeat/epeat_develop-ment.htm. Increased purchase ofEPEAT-registered products rewardsmanufacturers directly for theirenvironmental design and serviceefforts. With more than 580 productscurrently registered by more than 25manufacturers, EPEAT has grown tobe the most comprehensive andeffective environmental purchasingtool available for IT hardware. Therapid expansion of the EPEAT systemis a clear indication of its value in theworld of environmentally preferablepurchasing.

Environmental Benefitsof 2007 EPEAT Purchases To enable purchasers to measure thebenefits of EPEAT vs. conventionalproducts, EPA supported thedevelopment of a lifecycle environ-mental benefits calculator by the

University of Tennessee Center forClean Products and CleanTechnologies. The calculatorassesses environmental benefits fromelectronic product purchases basedon specific EPEAT criteria and tiers.By entering information provided byEPEAT’s subscribing manufacturerson unit sales of registered prod-ucts,it is possible to estimate theenvironmental benefits of overallEPEAT purchasing year by year.

Sales of EPEAT-registered productsworldwide in 2007 totaled more than109 million individual units. Growth inmarket share has been rapid – EPEATregistered desktop and laptop salesconstituted more than 22% of totalworldwide units shipped in 2007. Thelifecycle environmental benefit ofthose sales is huge compared to thepurchase of conventional products.

2007 purchases of EPEAT-registeredlaptops, desktops, and monitors overconventional products will:

• Reduce use of primary materials by75.5 million met-ric tons, equivalentto the weight of more than 585million refrigerators

• Reduce use of toxic materials,including mercury, by 3,220 metrictons, equivalent to the weight of 1.6million bricks

• Eliminate use of enough mercury tofill 482,381 household feverthermometers

• Avoid the disposal of 124,000 metrictons of hazard-ous waste,equivalent to the weight of 62million bricks.

In addition, due to EPEAT’srequirement that registered productsmeet ENERGY STAR’s energyefficiency specifications, theseproducts will consume less energythroughout their life, resulting in:

• Savings of 42.2 billion kWh ofelectricity – enough to power 3.7million U.S. homes for a year

• Elimination of the release of 174million metric tons of air emissions(including greenhouse gasemissions) and almost 365,000

metric tons of water pollut-antemissions

• Reduction of 3.31 million metrictons of carbon equivalentgreenhouse gas emissions –equivalent to removing over 2.6million U.S. cars from the road for ayear. Remarkably, these benefitswill not come at a cost premi-um –in fact, manufacturers andpurchasers will actually savealmost $4 billion over the life of theEPEAT products sold in 2007,primarily from reduced energy use.

The immense volume of EPEAT ratedproducts sold worldwide in 2007, andthe very significant environmental andfinancial benefits resulting, confirmthe EPEAT system’s success as adriver for environmental change in theelectronic products market. Credit forthese benefits goes to the manypurchasers who are demandingEPEAT products, and to themanufacturers who are developingproducts and services to meetEPEAT’s requirements and reduceenvironmental impact.

The Green Electronics Councilanticipates robust continued growthin EPEAT product registrations andresulting benefits in coming years. Asmore products are designed to meetthe current EPEAT standard, asstandards covering additionalelectronic products come on line, asglobal use of EPEAT continues togrow, as purchasers world-wide buymore EPEAT registered products, andas the current EPEAT standard isrevised to become increasinglystringent, these tangible benefits willcontinue to grow in scope and value.n


For the 2007 EPEAT Environmental BenefitsReport, see:http://www.epeat.net/Docs/EnvironmentalBenefits2007.pdf

Looking Into the Future

IntroductionWith today’s challenging marketconditions – rising energy costs,commercial real estate costs,increased regulatory scrutiny andhigher customer expectations – goinggreen is not only about being sociallyresponsible, it is an economic andregulatory imperative. A recent CIOmagazine survey of IT executivesrevealed that cost-cutting and socialresponsibilities are the two mainfactors driving green IT initiatives. Atthe same time, CIOs are consideringhow to best undertake green ITinitiatives, especially in time ofshrinking IT budgets. Organizations

are looking to maximize energyefficiency while simultaneouslymeeting more challenging businessneeds and productivity requirements.

Cloud computing may serve as a goodanswer to the Green IT puzzle,especially for those who are lookingto avoid upfront costs associated withbuilding their own IT infrastructures;IT departments that do not have theinternal resources to maintain anenterprise-level data center andassociated services; or enterprisesthat want to add supplementalcomputing capacity or services thatare not already built into thecompany’s infrastructure. Cloud

computing, which leverages sharedinfrastructure to deploy and balanceIT resources for computing tasks inrealtime, can significantly reducecarbon footprints while maintainingservice levels.

Going Green in the CloudCloud computing is a new computingparadigm that connects rapidlyproliferating end-user devices andenables rapid deployment of servicesover the network. In essence, cloudcomputing helps organizations tapinto a vast network of IT resources,which are dynamically shared andprovisioned and can be accessed by

Achieving a Green IT Strategy through Cloud ComputingBy David McQueeneyVice President, Technology & Strategy IBM Software Group

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multiple users in disparate locations.With cloud computing centers,organizations can tap intoestablished computing power,software and services; and end userscan access services from remotelocations by laptop, cell phone orother devices.

Cloud computing can helporganizations of all sizes go green byproviding a shared infrastructure withvirtualization capabilities. Companiescan access services andinfrastructure on an as-needed basis,and promote the ability to maintaindistributed workforces.

Infrastructure is a major consumer ofenergy, and data centers are a majorpiece of any organization’s IT

infrastructure. In 2007, theEnvironmental Protection Agency(EPA) released a report to Congressdetailing the impact of increasingpower consumption and energy costswithin data centers, forecasting thatby 2011, data centers will consume 100billion kWh of energy at a total annualcost of $7.4 billion. An immediatebenefit of cloud computing is thatcompanies will no longer need tomaintain their own data centers,freeing up IT resources anddecreasing infrastructure operatingand maintenance costs.

Another benefit is that enterprise-grade cloud computing centersfeature green hardware and software,saving companies all the upfront costof deploying and upgrading thetechnology.

Virtualization drives consolidation ofthe IT infrastructure. It is an exampleof energy-efficient technology foundin cloud computing centers today. Byincreasing utilization, and decreasingthe number of servers and physical

floor space in the data center,virtualization helps to reduce energyconsumption and costs. In fact,virtualization has been shown toreduce floor space by 80 % and energyconsumption in data centers by 40%.Cloud computing can offer energysavings through reducing hardwareusage by a ratio of 4:1 andadministration by a ratio of 7:1.

Cloud computing enables ITorganizations and individuals to besmarter about the way they operate,both bolstering the bottom line andpromoting energy efficiency in theprocess. For instance, services thatreside in cloud computing can beaccessed on an as-needed basis;organizations are charged based onusage. Cloud computing centers

house real-time efficiency monitoringcapabilities to gauge powerconsumption and thermal awareness.Energy monitoring software can easilyshow where most of the energyconsumption is taking place, whetherby resource, group or location.Resources can then be allocated andprovisioned dynamically, decreasingthe idling time of servers andunnecessary cooling cost.

These types of changes have a largeimpact on energy and cost, but anadded benefit is to deliver highervalue services to end users, enablingbusiness users within theorganization to maintain their workstyles and routines. In fact, cloudcomputing can help companiesfurther reduce global emissions byhelping workers access servicesremotely, whether from home or onmobile devices while traveling. Theelimination of commercial officespace can help companies save oncommercial real estate costs and theenergy to power offices.

Cloud around the WorldCloud computing is a new paradigmthat is already being used byorganizations around the world.

Wuxi, a historical Chinese cityfounded three thousand years agoduring the Zhou Dynasty, is not onlydubbed the “Little Shanghai” due toits fast economic growth today, butalso becomes known as the home ofthe “China Cloud Computing Center.”In February this year, Wuxi Tai LakeIndustry Investment and DevelopmentCompany Limited decided toestablish China’s first cloudcomputing center, which will offeremerging software companies theability to tap into a virtual computingenvironment to support their

development activities. Customerswill be able to access these commonservices provided by the center at anytime -- just as they use utilities andother shared services. They do notneed to own and manage hardwareand software as they would intraditional business models. Thisinitiative is expected to generatemulti-million dollar businessopportunities.

Moreover, collaboration technologiesavailable through cloud computinghave helped companies like theSogeti Group, a specialist provider oflocal professional IT services. In Aprilthis year, Sogeti successfully used acloud computing environment tofacilitate a 72-hour global employeebrainstorm in order to generate newbusiness ideas about building the"Sogeti of the Future." The Web-based event involved 18,000employees, saving both energy andtravel costs.

With a similar cloud computinginfrastructure, the VietnamInformation for Science and

Enterprise-grade cloud computing centers feature greenhardware and software, saving companies all the upfront

cost of deploying and upgrading the technology.

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Technology Advance InnovationPortal went live in May this year. Theinteractive online portal is used byVietnamese universities to developeducation programs for ServiceScience, Management andEngineering, an emerging academicdiscipline that integrates engineering,management, business, and socialscience. The portal virtually connectsexperts and on-line communities tocreate ideas, share experiences anddebate opinions. Such real-timeexchanges save time and energy todestinations. The ability is highlyadvantageous for geographicallydistributed communities.

SummaryCloud computing allows companiesto optimize people, resources andcollaboration beyond boundaries,driving efficiency and growth whilereducing costs such as IT investment,travel, and physical real estate. Inaddition to detailing the impact ofdata center energy use on theenvironment, the 2007 EPA report alsosuggested that by changing the waycompanies use and operate datacenters, energy consumption in 2011can potentially be reduced to 2001levels – a net swing of nearly 90billion kilowatt hours. Cloudcomputing is one viable greentechnology model that organizationscan consider in helping to achieve thegoal of energy efficiency, while alsoenhancing the work environment forbusiness users, boosting the bottomline and helping companies serve asresponsible corporate citizens. Withsome analyst estimates placing thecloud computing market at more than$100 billion by 2011, it is a technologythat will both explode in importanceand grow in pervasiveness. n


As communities strategize onways to reduce human impacton climate change, virtual

collaborative work environments offerdouble dividends—reducing the needto move people and their artifacts andhelping groups more effectively toachieve timely results and buy-in totheir joint work products.

Green by NatureGiven today’s urgencies forcommunities to form and becomeproductive quickly, limitations ofteleconferences, email, and face-to-face meetings are readily apparent.Using a collaborative workenvironment that includes a wiki,archived discussion forum, file-sharing repository, search andhyperlink pointers is a simple, yetpowerful way to dramatically reducetime, energy and resourcerequirements. A wiki is a websiteused by one or more communities todo work together. Members edit,contribute, and link web page contentusing a browser. A wiki enableseffective sharing within a communitywhether members are located downthe hall or thousands of miles away,so travel to meetings is dramaticallyreduced.

All work products, resources anddiscussions of the community are fullyarchived by meeting date, materials,and member information usinghyperlinks. Everything is easy to findand right at hand for all members andduring all virtual meetings. Ratherthan attaching documents in emails,members just include the link to thedocument’s location in the communityrepository. This eliminates delays and

network congestion associated withlarge emails. In addition, becauseeverything is stored in a coherentmanner by all the members at thelevel of the community, each memberdoesn’t have to take the time to storeand organize each document andemail locally. Much less storage isrequired and less time is spent byeach member storing and findingitems. Versioning problems go awayand all content is available to anymember who is traveling and hasInternet access only.

Spaning Boundaries Collaborative work environmentsaddress not only distance barriers,but also the continuity andcohesiveness needed to developeffective community strategies andproducts. High performing teamsrequire quality dialogue, openness,and transparency in order to buildtrust that leads to credible actions atall levels – from local to global.Unfortunately, few organizations havethe staffing and resources to supportcommunities with the level ofcommunications, coherence, andcontinuity needed to reach desiredperformance levels. Collaborativework environments, when added toexisting communication tools(teleconferences, videoconferencesand webinars), can fill that gap.

EngagementUse of collaborative workenvironments doesn’t change existingrules and procedures underpinninghow government work is conducted.Because the tools, such as wikis, areso simple to use, however, it’s much

Collaborative Work is Green by NatureBy Susan TurnbullSenior Adviser, Intergovernmental SolutionsGSA Office of Citizen Services and CommunicationsU.S. General Services Administration


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easier for government teams,particularly interagency andintergovernmental teams, to becomehigh-performing and results-oriented.Community purpose and charterdetermines how each collaborativework environment evolves;newcomers have the full contextneeded to get up to speed.

TransparencyThe shared knowledge of acommunity is available to allmembers, which builds trust. Everychange on a wiki page is recorded and

viewable. Each wiki page versionincludes name, date, and all changesmade by every member. Somecollaborative work environments arepublic-facing, where anyone can viewcontent, but only members can editcontent. Some collaborative workenvironments are closed, available tomembers only, and no content isviewable by the public. One of themost well-known public collaborativework environments, Wikipedia, hasbecome a primary source ofinformation for people around theworld.

Global Impact and ImplicationsA less familiar, but riveting exampleof virtual collaboration potential forpublic service is the tsunami wikicreated by a global community ofvolunteers in the aftermath of theSouth Asia tsunami in 2005. Usingfour light-weight Internet tools thatincluded a wiki, discussion group,blog, and Flickr (a photo and video

hosting site), volunteers from aroundthe world established “light”governance principles and workedtirelessly to organize and unifyprecious bits of information andcommunications needed by all partiesas multi-institutional response gotunderway. Volunteers worked on thewiki into the waning hours of a dayand were then relieved by the nextwave of volunteers, up at dawn intheir own time zone. Like aneighborhood bucket brigade, itspanned the globe and drew upondiverse languages, cultures, tools, andskills of people who had never met,

but were not deterred from workingtogether. See:www.tsunamihelp.info/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Closer to home, the GSAIntergovernmental Solutionscollaborative work environment (withwiki) supported development of theFederal Enterprise Architecture DataReference Model (DRM). Thisunprecedented government-wideproject was completed in 180 daysand was issued as policy soonafterwards by the White House Officeof Management and Budget. The wiki-based online environment providedthe DRM Working Group with thequiet, “closed” community spaceneeded for its 125 members to share,deliberate, and transparentlydocument its entire work process,including meeting notes,conversations, drafts, and relatedresources, numbering over 300documents. In addition, the workinggroup used an “open” collaborative

work environment, the DRM PublicForum, to invite public comment anddraw upon interested state and localgovernment participants. Over 130people subscribed to the PublicForum and six DRM open workshopswere held with 585 participants. Thedocument was so widely acceptedthat a number of states and othercountries are using the DataReference Model to rationalize theirdatabases and make it easier to shareinformation across jurisdictionalboundaries.

The technology that enabled

hundreds of individuals across thegovernment to collaborate on thisfoundational document withoutrequiring the carbon-based movementof people will have a significantimpact on society’s ability to reduceits carbon footprint today and in thefuture. Not only does it eliminate theneed for local, interstate and eveninternational transportation, it alsoreduces the amount of paper, time andWeb storage space required to sharedocuments and versions ofdocuments via email, fax or mail. n

For additional information [email protected]. TheIntergovernmental Solutions wiki can beaccessed at: http://colab.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WikiHomePage

Using a collaborative work environment that includes a wiki, archived discussion forum, file-sharing repository,

search and hyperlink pointers is a simple, yet powerful way todramatically reduce time, energy and resource requirements.

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IT managers whose primary concernhas long been keeping systems andservers up and running to meet

service level agreements are facing awhole new set of concerns that stemfrom increased environmentalawareness in society. Today,constituents expect government ITorganizations at every level to practiceenvironmental responsibilityeverywhere, from desktop to datacenter. The most widely publicizedgreen issue is power consumption, anda new metric – performance per watt –is beginning to play a role inpurchasing decisions. But now, asecond environmentally importantissue is gaining prominence: how tohandle the disposal ofdecommissioned desktops, notebooks,servers and other IT assets at the endof their life cycle and how to protectthe data residing on those systems.

There was a time not so long agowhen old IT assets were simply stored

in the nearest closet with the hope thatsomeone would eventually get aroundto finding a school or charity that couldput them to use. Now, the process ofdealing with used IT equipment has aname (IT Asset Disposal) and anacronym (ITAD). Governmental ITADneeds include data security,compliance with applicable regulationsand government agency policies,capturing residual value, and the needto set an example of environmentalstewardship. In this new, morestructured ITAD landscape, decisionsabout ITAD have two importantcomponents: manner and timing – the“how” and the “when.”

How ITAD is handled basicallydetermines whether or not anorganization is in compliance withdata security rules and environmentalregulations. When assets are disposedof is a factor that can affect the ITbudget.

IT System Life Cycles, Value Recovery and Total Cost of OperationsIT systems that have come to the endof their useful life in the office or datacenter are not “very expensivedoorstops” anymore. They havepotential value on three levels:

• as functioning systems

• as a source of parts

• as a source of raw materials.

The precise value of IT equipment,such as a server at the time of itsdecommissioning, is affected by anumber of factors including supplyand demand, configuration ofsystems, functionality and cosmeticcondition of the equipment. The pricesbuyers are willing to pay for systems,components and scrap aredetermined by market forces, notunlike those that determine the priceof used cars. Still, IT managers do

The New Challenge of IT Asset DisposalBy Joe Strathmann Americas Takeback OrganizationDell


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have some control over the valuerecovery numbers. They can, forexample, adjust server life cycles.

For example, after three years, if aserver is worth about 10 percent of itsacquisition cost, that figure can easilybe about 5 percent at the end of theforth year. If the acquisition cost of aserver was $3,000, one hundredservers could be worth as much as$30,000 on the resale market at theend of three years, less the cost ofdata “wiping” and sales commissions.But, at the end of four years, thatfigure could easily be about $15,000.

From these examples, it’s clear that

the value recovery number alone isprobably not large enough to impactdecisions about optimal life cycletimes. But value recovery is not theonly economic factor involved indeciding when to dispose of ITassets.

A second factor is energyconsumption. IT equipment isbecoming much more energy-efficient. At Dell, for example, we areconstantly reducing the energyconsumption of our products whilealso increasing performance. In datacenters, where the total energy cost ofpowering servers (with cooling, powerconditioning etc.) is fast approachingthe cost of the servers themselves,reduced power consumption can havea major impact on TCO.

When virtualization initiatives arepart of the picture, the energy-savingpotential is even greater. Obviously,every data center has its own uniquecost structure, but value recoveryfrom ITAD should not be left out ofthe calculation when managers aremaking decisions about when toreplace servers.

The “How” of ITADDecisions about how to assetdisposal is handled are as importantas timing decisions, anddevelopments in the broader ITenvironment have made the wholeprocess more important. Thesedevelopments include:

• The sheer growth in the number ofassets. It is estimated that thefederal government alone disposesof up to 10,000 computers per day.

• The corresponding rise in the riskthat improper disposal of used ITequipment can pose to the

environment – particularly in theform of heavy metals.

• The emerging global market forsensitive data, which puts newpressure on IT organizations toensure data security and preserveprivacy.

• The growing body of ITAD-relatedregulations, which govern not onlybest practices related to datasecurity and physical disposal, butdocumentation requirements aswell

• The need for government at alllevels to set a good example ofenvironmental stewardship.

Given the net effect of these factors,ITAD is no longer a viable do-it-yourself activity, except perhaps whenit pertains to highly classifiedinformation at the federal level. In allother cases, ITAD is too complex, toodifficult and too time-consuming tomerit the use of IT personnel who arealready in limited supply. Fortunately,IT organizations can now select froma growing number of third party ITADproviders to do the job. Choosing

which vendor to trust with thisimportant task is a serious matter. Toevaluate these providers, ITmanagers should focus on two areas:

• Data Security. ITAD vendorsshould provide a certificate ofdestruction that lists the serialnumber, provides a description ofhow data was cleansed, andindicates whether the system wasrecycled or sold. Good datacleansing systems will use multiplepass overwriting, test all harddrives, and destroy drives that failtesting. They should also guaranteethird-party auditing to ensure that

these practices are strictlyobserved.

• Physical Disposition. ITADvendors should ensure 100 percentdownstream traceability, with fulltransparency and pound-for-poundaccounting at every level of theprocess. They should also followstrict export policies so that noend-of-life materials are sent todeveloping countries.

The new reality of structured ITADadds yet another item to the datacenter manager’s regulatory alreadylong task list, and with it comes a newset of responsibilities. But wheninternal resources are scarce, thirdparty ITAD providers stand ready tohandle all the details. It’s just a matterof choosing a provider wisely. n


A second environmentally important issue is gaining prominence: how to handle the disposal ofdecommissioned desktops, notebooks, servers and

other IT assets...

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Preserving the environment andits precious natural resourceswas a key priority at the U.S.

General Services Administration(GSA) long before green moved tothe top of the national color chart.

As Acting Administrator and SeniorEnvironmental Official, I have urgedGSA leaders to move aggressively tohelp client agencies meet theirenvironmental mandates through avast array of eco-friendly products,services and buildings.

As the government’s premierprocurement agency, GSA:

• Incorporates principles ofsustainable design in our buildingprojects

• Offers some 10,000 green goodsand services

• Has simplified eco-friendlyprocurement for federal agencies

• And for many years has helpedagencies with energy-efficient,cost-effective recycling programs.

In fact, at this moment, GSArecycling programs are serving morethan 650,000 government employeesand contractors in more than 1,100government-owned and leasedbuildings.

Green BuildingsWhile recycling the old, GSA hasalso focused on the new,commissioning buildings thatdemonstrate we are committed to theworld outside our structures as wellas the workers within. For instance,GSA offers:

• Green roofs, which can be foundin the design of the NOAASatellite Operations Building inSuitland, Md., the Social SecurityAdministration building in NewBedford, Mass., and the U. S.Department of Transportationheadquarters in Washington, D.C.These planted roofs cansubstantially reduce rainwater run-off during storms and providesignificant insulation for thebuildings.

• Underfloor air distribution is afeature we’ve incorporated infacilities we build, like the regionalheadquarters building of theEnvironmental Protection Agency

GSA Helps Government Go Green By David L. BibbActing AdministratorU.S. General Services Administration


The GSA-built National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Satellite Operations Building has a "green roof."

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in Denver, and the Wayne l. MorseCourthouse in Eugene, Ore.Underfloor air distribution deliverscooling and heating air at floor levelinstead of from the ceiling. It’senergy-efficient, enhances indoorair quality, and increases flexibilityfor space configuration.

• Power generation at the SanFrancisco Federal Building andDenver Federal Center Solar Parkare wonderful examples that provewe can co-exist with ourenvironment, and in spectacularfashion. The latter facility producesenough energy to power 145 homesfor a year. At the dedicationceremony in June, I noted that inproducing this clean energy, we arenot burning about 6.5 railcars ofcoal, which means 1,244 less metrictons of CO2 in the atmosphere.That’s like taking 228 cars off I-70here in Denver.

• Sustainable design. GSA, inkeeping with the President’sExecutive Order 13423,Strengthening FederalEnvironmental, Energy, andTransportation Management, hascreated an Office of High-Performance Green Buildings.Housed in the GSA PublicBuildings Service, the officeensures that all federal buildingsare meeting sustainable design andenergy-reduction targets mandatedby the Energy Independence andSecurity Act of 2007.

• Teaching eco-friendly habits. Anew initiative has even begun togreen up the 110 child care centerswe manage in federal buildings. Weare implementing a “learninghealthy early” initiative designed tohelp parents and children makehealthier choices and become moreenvironmentally aware.

Buildings, however, are only part ofGSA’s green agenda. Telework andgreen procurement are some of theother improved processes we arepioneering.

TeleworkThe agency is leading by example inthe vital area of telework. Telework notonly helps preserve precious naturalresources by keeping cars off theroad, it helps with employeeattraction and retention and gets usbetter prepared for times of nationalemergency. Nearly 30% of GSA’seligible workforce is teleworking atleast one day per week.

GSA has also developed 14 TeleworkCenters in rural and suburban areassurrounding Washington, DC thatprovide a professional workenvironment convenient to home,well-equipped with high-speedcomputers and Internet access andtechnical support. Governmentemployees who use these centers towork closer to home each year save2.8 million travel miles and keep 2.3million pounds of emissions out of theair we breathe.

Green ProcurementGSA’s green procurement programpromotes the purchase and use ofrecovered material products,environmentally preferable servicesand bio-based products. We have aspecial “environmental aisle” onGSA Advantage, the agency’s onlineordering system that offers saferpaints, green cleaning supplies andother non-ozone depleting materials.Buyers for federal agencies can alsofind Energy Star compliant products.This online store allows federalbuyers to purchase literally thousandsof energy efficient products andservices online. Other GSAprocurement programs also offergreen alternatives:

• In Fiscal 2008, GSA Fleetpurchased over 22,000 alternativefuel vehicles (AFVs) for clientagencies, plus 239 hybrid electricvehicles. Moreover, the agency sold13,862 AFVs at public auctions,putting more of these energyefficient vehicles into the hands ofprivate consumers.

• GSA schedule contracts promote

big-picture energy initiatives, suchas energy management programsupport and energy audit services.Some schedules also offermanagement and procurementservices for natural gas, electricityand energy from renewablesources.

• Closely aligned with theprocurement program is GSA’seffort to green public and privatedata centers nationwide. Thesecenters house computer servers,databases, and related systems.Agencies could make data centersmore energy efficient byconsolidating the number ofcenters and optimizing the numberof servers within centers by havingone machine run several virtualservers. Typically, servers are idle85 percent of the time, the key hereis that consolidation presentsopportunities for tremendousenergy savings and operationalefficiency. The centers account forroughly 1.5 percent of the totalenergy consumption in the U.S.

GSA is working hard to lead byexample and help other federalagencies meet their environmentalobligations. From telework to hybridsand green roofs, GSA is using itsunique position as the government’ssupply arm and property manager tohelp customer agencies becomebetter stewards of the environment.No single individual, organization orgovernment entity can clear the pathto a pristine environment or Americanenergy independence, but individuals,organizations and governmententities must all take advantage whenopportunities arise to “go green.”

As government leaders, it is ourresponsibility to safeguard ournatural resources. The rule should be:we will not take more than we need,and we will replace what we take. n

David L. Bibb was Acting Administrator andChief Environmental Officer of the U.S.General Services Administration until hisretirement August 29 after 37 years at GSA.

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Corporate Commuting and ItsAffect on the EnvironmentThe impact an organization has onthe environment extends beyond itsown direct actions. Althoughemployees who commute to work are

individually consuming energy andadding to pollution problems, they aredoing so in the interest of theiremployers.

Fuel costs are rising and commutingdistances are getting longer as

employees move farther away fromtheir workplaces. In addition,geographically dispersed work teams,progressively more complex supplychains, and globalization are allincreasing business-related travel. Asa result, direct costs and harmful CO2emissions from transportation arerising.

In the United Sates, the averageemployee spends more timecommuting each year than onvacation. Using a distance of 18 mileseach way and highway mileage of 23.4mpg as standards, the daily fuelconsumption due to commutingcomes to a minimum of 1.5 gallons perround trip. Thus, for each employeecommuting five days per week, awhopping 5,154 pounds of CO2 isreleased into the atmosphere eachyear. That’s using relatively lowstandards for commuting distanceand mileage; many individuals livemuch farther than 20 miles from theirwork places and travel in stop-and-go,rush hour traffic, which increases theamount of gas consumed and CO2emitted into the atmosphere.

The Socially Responsible OrganizationThere are several steps a companycan take to improve its standing as anenvironmentally consciousorganization, focusing onmanufacturing processes, recyclingand disposal, product design, and –addressing the corporate commutingissue -- teleworking.

“Telework continues to receiveattention within Congress and federalagencies as a human capital strategythat offers various flexibilities to bothemployers and employees, includingthe capacity to continue operationsduring emergency events, as well asbenefits to society, such asdecreased energy use and pollution,”according to the GovernmentAccountability Office.

The Benefits of TeleworkAccording to research conducted bythe Telework Exchange, if federal

Environmental and CorporateBenefits of Telework By TANDBERG Federal


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workers in the Washington, D.C.,metropolitan area worked from theirhomes rather than commuting to theiroffices, they could save 12.4 milliongallons of gasoline each week. Asrecently as late 2005, the cost ofcommuting for federal workers was$19 million per day.

Aside from enabling organizations tobecome positive global citizens,implementing a teleworking programas part of a green initiative yieldsbenefits that are measured not just inCO2 reduction, but also in lowercosts, increased brand value, andstronger competitive advantage.

For example, a 2007 survey of 15countries by global survey firm IpsosMori revealed that 50% of globalconsumers are more likely topurchase from companies with strongenvironmental reputations, increasingbrand value. Further, with 80% ofpeople indicating that they prefer towork for organizations that areenvironmentally friendly, greenorganizations have access to moretalent, strengthening their competitiveadvantage.

In addition, according to the TeleworkCoalition, companies save an average$3,000 to $10,000 per employee just byreducing office space. For example,AT&T's telework initiatives saved thecompany approximately $550 millionby eliminating or consolidatingunneeded office space. And roughly25 percent of IBM's 320,000 workerstelecommute from home offices,saving Big Blue $700 million in realestate costs.

An article published in 2005 in theTelework Coalition in the Associationof Contingency Planners Newsletter,November 2005 and authored byChuck Wilsker and John Edwards,focused on the importance ofteleworking to business continuity:“Employers go to great lengths toback up their data and infrastructure,but the inability of workers to get toeither their offices or other assignedalternate work locations, whether theyare destroyed, quarantined, or thestaff itself is quarantined, will have a

devastating impact on anorganization's ability to survive.”

The article goes on to point out thepositive effect of teleworking on anorganization’s bottom line as a resultof reduced real estate requirements,increased employee productivity, andreduced absenteeism: “In 2004 atAT&T, for example, almost one third(30%) of all their managementemployees worked full time outside ofthe traditional office. The companyrealized an estimated $180 million inbottom line benefits.”

Others who have embraced the eco-friendly proposition of telework haveseen similar results. Germanmanufacturer BJB acceleratesdecision making by havinginternational project teams,customers, and suppliers weigh in onproduct design via videoconference,cutting time to market by four months.Statoil, a major oil and gas company,scales knowledge by using video for

remote diagnostics and repair, linkingpeople visually from land to oilplatforms in the North Sea. Manycompanies use video communicationsproducts to unify their organizations,enabling executives and staff tocommunicate across the country andacross continents – not onlyeliminating the ill effects of travel onthe environment, but improvingwork/life balance for their employeeswho are less stressed and moreproductive as a result of not having totravel.

The Bottom Line: Telework isMore Than a Green InitiativeAs more and more organizationsadopt telework as an environmentallyfriendly initiative, they are enjoying amultitude of additional advantages,including:

• Increased productivity;

• Lower operating costs due to areduction in office spacerequirements;

• Reduced business travel, whichfurther lowers operating costs andimproves employee morale;

• The ability to ensure businesscontinuity in the event of naturaldisasters or other incidentscausing loss of connectivity; and

• Increased brand value asconsumers seek out eco-friendlyorganizations.

SolutionsAs telework programs are on the rise,video has become an essential toolfor home-based employees who wantto maintain a visual connection withtheir workplace. What’s more, theircompanies appreciate the reductionin cost and increase in workerproductivity gained through

teleworking. For the tens of thousandsof companies and government officesworldwide that already havevideoconferencing solutions installed,extending the benefit to teleworkersis the natural next step in technologyadoption. For companies that havebeen seeking a way to jumpstarttelework programs, implementing avideo network is an effective way torealize tangible benefits right away. n

TANDBERG is a leading global provider oftelepresence and high-definitionvideoconferencing. For additionalinformation www.TANDBERG.com.

telework.gov

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State and Local Partners

As IT operational issuesbecame more complex andassociated costs continued to

rise, the State of Tennessee needed tofind a way to minimize complexity andspending while maintaining quality ofservices delivered to its citizens. Itbecame apparent that virtualizationwould be one solution to do just that.As an added benefit, we found a

greener way to do business and arereducing our footprint on the stateenvironment.

Virtualization is a server techniqueused to provide a complete simulationof the underlying hardware, allowingmultiple virtual machines to run a mixof operating systems on one piece ofphysical hardware. This results in a

system that allows all softwarenormally run on physical machines tobe run on the virtual machine. Thereare multiple forms of virtualization,including platform, resource,application, and desktop. Thisdiscussion will refer to primarilyplatform and resource virtualization.

The advantages of servervirtualization have allowed the Stateof Tennessee to reduce staffing costs,lower energy costs and harmfulcarbon dioxide emissions, and offerbetter disaster recovery options. Highavailability is more easily maintainedas well, with almost zero downtimerealized for planned and unplannedoutages. We have also found that ourcustomers are pleased with the fasterprovisioning of a virtual server overthe customary lag time needed toprocure a physical piece of serverhardware.

When the state first reviewed theconcept of a virtualization strategy, wewere very skeptical about the theory ofunder-utilized physical servers.VMware, Inc., a global leader invirtualization, provided us withstatistics stating that physical serversonly use about five to six percent ofthe resources available to them at anygiven point in time, which means thatabout 95% of the energy costs tooperate a machine are wasted. To fullyutilize the server hardware resources,multiple guest servers are placed on aphysical host server to use allavailable resources to full capacity.Our servers met these criteria andwere good candidates forvirtualization, which allows us to savephysical space in the Data Center, aswell as power, cooling costs, networkconnections, server racks, and storageconnections. VMware’s analysis1

shows that by virtualizing 450 physicalservers, we should be saving almost$3 million annually in energy costsand almost four million pounds ofcarbon dioxide emissions, which is theequivalent of planting 9,000 trees ortaking 675 cars off the highway.

Further research provided by a May

The Virtual State of TennesseeBy Mark HackneyInformation Systems DirectorOffice for Information Resources State of Tennessee


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2008 Tech News World story2 indicatesthat at the rate it is currently growing,the power demand for data centerswill reach such heights by 2020 that itwill become a larger cause for carbonemissions than the airline industry.Additionally, a recent article3 inBusiness Week predicts that surgingpower consumption, along with risingenergy costs, will soon make it moreexpensive to keep a server going for ayear than to acquire one in the firstplace. And this year’s June issue ofCFO.com explains why virtualizationis a key part of broader efforts to makedata centers more efficient.4Theresearch is compelling. Virtualizationis “in.”

After reviewing various virtualizationproducts, the State of Tennesseepartnered with VMware. The first stepin our process was to virtualizeenterprise servers housed at the datacenter to ensure that the virtualservers performed at the level of ourexpectations and minimized anyimpact on our customers, stateagencies, in the process. Once weachieved success in this area, webegan to target agency-owned serverhardware candidates for virtualization.However, we first needed to educatesome of the agencies in the concept ofvirtualization.

Many agencies expressed concern asto how their applications would run onvirtual servers. We also encounteredstiff resistance from vendors who hadcontracted with state agencies toprovide application solutions. Weprovided a great deal of education andassurance to the agencies andvendors as we demonstrated for themhow well the virtual servers performedwith the overwhelming majority oftheir applications. As time haselapsed, the transition to virtualservers has been embraced by bothstate agencies and applicationvendors; in fact, two of the largestinformation system projects in thestate have taken advantage of ourrobust host farms to support theirmission-critical applications.Capacity and load testing on virtualservers was performed and the resultswere equal to that of testing on

physical servers, or better, in somecases, with these two applicationsystems. Based on these successes,the State of Tennessee now employs adefault virtual model on all newapplications that are planned to behoused at the data center. Both weband application servers are virtualizedin this model and in the rare instanceswhere performance cannot be deemedsatisfactory, physical servers are thenused.

Our current environment houses over450 virtual guest servers running ononly 50 host servers (actual physicalserver hardware) in the state’s datacenter. This would equate to 400+physical servers that would requirerack space, electricity, and air coolingin the data center. The State ofTennessee’s IT organizations arecommitted to Governor PhilBredesen’s pro-active conservationinitiatives, and virtualization hasbecome one strategy that is alreadygiving us Green IT payback.

We have found that virtualizationprovides excellent uptime solutionsfor mission- critical agencyapplications. The use of a VMwaretool allows virtual servers toautomatically migrate to another hostserver in the farm, based onpredefined settings determined by aperceived hardware failure or crossinga threshold percentage of resourceusage on a server. This means that ifa physical server fails, or serverresources become fully utilized, thetool will automatically migrate thevirtual server to another physical hostserver without the customer beingaware that a problem occurred. Thisfeature is directly comparable toclustering of physical servers inproviding customers constant accessto their servers.

Disaster recovery capabilities arebeing realized for virtual servers aswell. Another tool allows thereplication of virtual servers and theirassociated data to occur at both theprimary and disaster recoverylocations of the data center. Thisallows the state agency to continue toconduct business operations in theevent of a disaster that would cause

the primary data center to becomenonfunctional. With this type of tool,the amount of downtime experiencedby the customer can be greatlyreduced for routine maintenance andsoftware patching by switching thecustomer from the primary to thesecondary site during thesemaintenance outages.

The State of Tennessee currentlyoutsources disaster recovery ofcritical agency applications to avendor-housed location. Lookingahead, as the state’s new data centercomes online, the ability to providestate agencies a wide range ofdisaster recovery solutions throughvirtualization will greatly enhancecurrent service offerings and provideeconomies of scale. The state will beable to realize considerable costsavings in server hardware, energy,and indirect labor services as a resultof the virtual implementation.

The State of Tennessee has fullyembraced virtualization as a means ofreducing complexity, staffing andutility costs, while maintaining andeven improving the level of qualityservices we can offer to ourcustomers and citizens. We canconsistently meet our service levelagreements for server uptime andminimal downtime with this solution,which will hopefully assist in ensuringmaximum Earth uptime for futuregenerations. n

1. VMware, Inc. Total Cost of Ownershipcalculator can be found at:www.vmware.com/solutions/green/calculator.html

2. Haskins, Walaika. (2008 May 01). “DataCenters May Spew More Carbon ThanAirlines by 2020”. Tech News World.www.technewsworld.com/story/62840.html?welcome=1215719336

3. King, Rachael. (2007 May 14). “Averting theIT Energy Crunch”. Business Week.www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2007/tc20070514_003603.htm

4. Violino, Bob. (2008 June 1). “Less Bleeding,More Edge - Runaway IT spending is out,cost control is in.” CFO Magazine.www.cfo.com/printable/article.cfm/11448406/c_11476271?f=options


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State and local governmentshave grown increasingly awareof the economic, environmental,

and societal benefits of taking a leadrole in U.S. implementation ofrenewable energy, particularlydistributed photovoltaic (PV)installations, those familiar solarpanels that produce electricity fromsunlight. Recently, solar energy's costpremium has declined as a result oftechnology improvements and anincrease in the cost of traditionalenergy generation. At the same time,a nationwide public policy focus oncarbon-free, renewable energy hascreated a wide range of financialincentives to lower the costs ofdeploying PV even further. Thesechanges have led to exponentialincreases in the availability of capitalfor solar projects, and tremendouscreativity in the development of third-party ownership structures.

As significant users of electricity,state and local governments offerexcellent examples for solar PVsystem deployment on a nationalscale. Many public entities are notonly considering deployment onpublic building rooftops, but alsolarge-scale applications on availablepublic lands. The changingmarketplace requires that state andlocal governments be financiallysophisticated to capture as much ofthe economic potential of a PVsystem as possible. Therefore, a keyissue facing policy makers at thestate and local level is how to mostefficiently allocate public dollars andleverage incentives to develop asignificant amount of energy

generation from public-sector PV.This report examines ways that stateand local governments can optimizethe financial structure of deployingsolar PV for public uses.

A number of revenue streams,incentives, and financial structurescan be utilized by state and municipalgovernments who want to supportsolar projects. PV systems producetwo products that can be sold in themarketplace: electricity and the greenattributes of this electricity. Revenuefrom any particular solar PV projectwill depend on its geographiclocation, the quality of the resource,and access to purchasers that place ahigh value on solar renewable energycertificates (SRECs).

For state and local governments,several methods of financing theproduction of these goods areavailable, including:

• systems benefit charge (SBC)funds

• issuance of energy bonds

• clean renewable energy bonds(CREBs) approved by the InternalRevenue Service and

• federal renewable energyproduction incentives (REPI).

Additionally, private sector financiersare able to take advantage of anotherset of incentives, which include thefederal investment tax credit andaccelerated depreciation under thefederal Modified Accelerated CostRecovery System (MACRS). Finally,there may be additional state, local, orutility incentives available to further

reduce the installed costs of PV.

The primary vehicle that has emergedto finance public-sector PV is thethird-party ownership model becauseit allows the public-sector systems totake advantage of federal taxincentives without a large up-frontoutlay of capital. Under this structurethe government entity hosts, but doesnot own, a solar PV system and isable to secure, on average, 15- to 25-year fixed-price power at or belowcurrent retail rates. The combinationof these options has led to theinstallation of many PV systems withthe transactions increasing both interms of size and complexity.

In this paper, the mechanismsunderlying these transactions areanalyzed and their specific relevanceto state and local governments isexplored. Based on the research andanalysis conducted, several themesemerge that highlight theopportunities and challenges withdeploying PV on public-sectorbuildings and lands:

• Reduce electricity bills. Stateand local governments can reduceelectricity bills by producingelectricity on-site with a solar PVsystem. However, the savings arenot currently enough to justifydeployment solely based on thesesavings, even over a 20-yearpayback period.

• Value of green attributes. Solarrenewable energy certificates offeran additional revenue stream thatcan be combined with incentives tooffset the high cost of PVdeployment. The value of an SRECis highest in states with solar tiersin their renewable portfoliostandard (RPS) requirements;voluntary SRECs command asmaller, but sizable premium aswell.

• Use state incentives. SBC fundsprovide a significant source ofcapital to lower the up-front costsof installing PV, including public-sector applications. There issignificant flexibility in how SBC-

Solar Photovoltaic FinancingDeployment on Public Property by State and Local GovernmentsBy Karlynn Cory, Jason Coughlin, and Charles CoggeshallNational Renewable Energy LabU.S. Department of Energy


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funded programs can be designedand administered.

• Take advantage of third-partyownership.

• Capture federal incentives. Asmany state and localgovernments pursue aggressivePV expansion programs, thethird-party ownership model willbe a key financing structure totake advantage of federal taxincentives like the ITC andMACRS. However, unlesssignificant rebates are availableor if the system is beinginstalled in or near a state with asolar tier in its RPS, theeconomics of on-site solar inmany states may still bemarginal when compared toaverage retail electric rates,even with the federal incentives.

• Consider an option forownership.Two relatively newstructures, the sale-leasebackand partnership flip, create the

financing mechanism for third-party ownership model. Both ofthese structures allow an optionfor the public entity to ultimatelyown the project after year six, orat the end of the power purchaseagreement or lease. However,each structure has complicatedtax issues that must beaddressed.

• Defray up-front costs. Incertain states, the transition toperformance-based incentiveprograms and away from up-front incentives may change thenature of how PV projects arefinanced. This may encourage agreater reliance on third-partystructures, especially for thepublic sector and residentialmarkets.

• Own and finance public-sectorsolar PV. For those state and localgovernments that desire to own thePV system on their site, there areseveral options for structuring thefinancing:

• Issue bonds. Securing up-frontcapital through generalobligation bonds is how publicrenewable energy projects havetraditionally been financed,though they do require voterapproval.

• Issue energy bonds. Issuingstate or municipal energyrevenue bonds that are repaidwith energy savings is anattractive concept; howeverbringing these bonds to marketcan be challenging.

• Apply to the IRS for a cleanrenewable energy bondallocation. For approvedapplicants, the federal incentiveCREBs can be a valuable sourceof low-cost financing, if steps aretaken to reduce the hightransaction costs associatedwith their issuance.

• Use federal renewable energyproduction incentives.Whilethe REPI is designed to providea production incentive to publicprojects like the production taxcredit, the incentive isconsistently underfunded byannual congressionalappropriations; therefore, it isdifficult to depend on it forsupporting significant publicdeployment of solar PV.

• Understand insurancerequirements. Utility insurancerequirements for PV systems,including general liability andproperty, can be onerous. Their costcan significantly negatively impactthe economics of solar PV projectsand can be large enough to derailpublic-sector PV projects. n

The full report on Solar PhotovoltaicFinancing: Deployment on Public Propertyby State and Local Governments is online atwww.nrel.gov/docs/fy08osti/43115.pdf Foradditional information [email protected].

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State CIOs are now findingthemselves to be crucialplayers in areas such as

healthcare IT, Medicaid reform, e-discovery, and a host of other issuesthat have just recently begun togarner state CIO attention. Green ITis among these emerging trends andstate CIOs are beginning to find theirrole among the many stakeholdersinvolved in green practices. StateCIOs must now utilize existingtechnologies, and work to incorporatenew ones, into their enterprise greenIT policies and practices. To do this,state CIOs must take steps to movegreen benefits to the forefront of theirstrategic thinking.

• Think Green: State CIOs canachieve green results in the shortterm using technologies andratings systems that already existand can significantly reduce the

environmental impacts of projectoperations in the longer term byestablishing systems and planningnow. Yet, working to think “green”strategically, and to see its benefitswith an enterprise view, will requirea shift in not only the way newprojects are pitched, but also in themindset of the state CIO

Projects such as data centerconsolidation, integratingvirtualization technology, andincorporating telework programstypically are done for reasons otherthan the immediate green benefitsthey pose. However, by articulatingthe enterprise vision andemphasizing a sense of urgency inimplementing green initiatives,advocating for the green benefits atthe outset of a project, and makingthese green benefits part of the

driver for a project, state CIOs mayincrease stakeholder buy-in andfoster a sense of greater good inthe initiative in which they areworking to implement.

• Develop a Plan:Working todevelop a green IT plan for theenterprise can be a first steptoward implementation of greenerpractices. Those states that havedeveloped green IT plans, includingMissouri, Kansas and Oregon, haveincorporated ideas for green effortsin nearly every aspect of theirjurisdiction as state CIOs. Theseinclude areas such as equipmentpurchasing, recycling, data centerconsolidation and virtualization,among others. Reaching out tostates that have developed plans,and learning about steps they aretaking, can help in implementinggreen IT initiatives.

• Establish a Baseline andDetermine a Metric: Before astate CIO can move a projectforward, they must ascertain wheretheir state is at currently in regardto energy consumed, greenhousegas emitted, etc. To adequatelymeasure success, you must knowor have an estimate of where you

How State CIOs Can Get to Greener PasturesRecommendations from Green IT in Enterprise Practices: The Essential Role of the State CIO, a publication of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers


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began before you can decipher howfar you’ve come at a project’scompletion. Developing a baselineand a way to measure progress canbe built into a total carbon footprintreduction plan at the outset of aninitiative and can be key to overallproject success.

For example, one way to determinea state’s energy use in its datacenter is to conduct an audit toassess how much energy is usedand how energy efficiently a datacenter is operating. The GreenGrid and other industry groupshave published a metric which cantell state CIOs how much energy isspent on the productive use of ITversus the amount wasted onphysical infrastructure. Getting thefacts is a good way to startmanaging the problem—and yetless than 20% of companies in theUnited States have done a basicenergy audit.

• Track and Monitor Success:Once a metric is determined, stateCIOs must continue to track andmonitor a project’s success rate.For example, in following a datacenter consolidation initiative,examining the energy usage rateprior to consolidation and thencomparing that to energy usageafter consolidation can helpdetermine success and show thebenefits accrued from the project.Making sure those benefitscontinue to be realized and that theproject maintains a level of successis an important way that state CIOscan continue to justify maintenancecosts.

• Become a TransformationalLeader: State CIOs may notimmediately have authority toimplement certain programs orinitiatives designed to have greenbenefits. Utilizing existing authoritythrough enterprise architecture orother means can help state CIOsdrive toward greener practiceswithout making major jurisdictionalpolicy changes. In other cases,

such as telework, state CIOs mustoften work to gain authority toimplement these programs for theiremployees.

State CIOs using enterprise-wideleadership skills can work acrossorganizational boundaries totransform existing practices intogreen practices. For instance,despite the significant increases inemployer adoption of telework, itstill remains a subject of debate,particularly among older workers.In order to incorporate a teleworkprocess, state policy issues mustfirst be resolved, some of whichmay pose significant obstacles.However, by emphasizing the greenbenefits of telework, state CIOsmay be better poised to advocatefor the implementation of theseinitiatives.

• Don’t Go It Alone—Enlist YourPartners: Collaborate with otheragencies within your state toestablish jurisdiction and authorityand to gain buy-in for a green ITinitiative or agenda. Also, reach outto other states to gather bestpractices and lessons learned,gauge success stories and assessproject failures before deciding toembark on a similar initiative.Often, your greatest resource canbe your peers. Also, engage yourstaff in these initiatives—they alsohold a stake in enterprise successand may be eager to help drivethese green efforts.

Collaboration with vendors is alsocritical for green IT success. Thereis a multitude of vendors that offergreen components to their productsand services, as well as thosesolely dedicated to incorporatinggreen practices. Communicatingwith existing vendors that greeninitiatives are important to yourstate will drive them to incorporategreener practices as well.

• Leverage the Circumstances: Withrising energy costs, particularlyfuel prices, on the mind of nearlyevery citizen and lawmaker, green

initiatives will likely be met withunprecedented support. Now, morethan ever before, the green benefitsof a program will be seen as amajor advantage by legislaturesand executive offices. State CIOsare uniquely poised to becomeleaders in the green IT revolution.

Much as with other emerging ITtrends, state CIOs can either chooseto take the lead at the outset, or riskmissing an opportunity to shapepolicies that will likely affect themeventually. Green IT efforts appearcertain to become more prevalent -and in turn, mandated—as publicopinion and therefore legislativeaction increasingly favorenvironmentally friendly initiatives.State CIOs who begin to exploregreen practices now will be ahead ofthe curve when these mandatesbecome effective. By advocating forgreen practices in the use of IT,reducing energy consumption, and byhelping to reduce greenhouse gasemissions, state CIOs can have asignificant impact on reducing theirstates’ carbon footprint. Theseactions are not just good for theenvironment, they also position stateIT organizations and systems tobetter manage future demands andachieve more effective outcomes forthe state business applications theysupport. Taking public service to thenext level, state CIOs now have achance to contribute to the greatergood far beyond their IT departmentsby working to establish moresustainable IT practices and policiesthat will have a lasting effect ongenerations to come. n

Excerpted from Green IT in EnterprisePractices: The Essential Role of the StateCIO, a white paper published in May 2008by the National Association of State CIOs.See www.nascio.org/publications/.

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Chief information officers cameinto their own as organizationsrecognized the strategic

importance of information technology.As organizations come to terms withthe strategic importance ofsustainability, it leaves open thepossibility of the ascendancy of a“Chief Sustainability Officer.” Theproponents of such a developmentenvision a “Chief Green Officer” asbeing on point for a broad agenda to

“reduce the environmental footprint,engage with a diverse group ofstakeholders, and discover newrevenue opportunities.”

On the downside, green czarsrepresent the thin edge of the wedgein creating a new bureaucracy, thecarbon footprint of which would haveto be mitigated. There are otherorganizational constraints. Thesustainability point person would beless likely than her C-level executivecolleagues to be able to see intoparticular operating environmentsand understand the opportunities andpitfalls in harvesting environmentalgains. Moreover, a Chief GreenOfficer is primarily a policy andpolicing role, which makes it difficultto be genuinely collegial in theexecutive suite.

“I do not believe it is necessary toestablish a Chief Green Officerposition,” suggests Dr. MikeMittleman, New York state deputy

CIO. “Sustainability is a concern andresponsibility of all organizationalmembers. As such, it should be givenprominence in strategic plans andpolicies. Various performance metricscan be established that will readilyprovide current state and trendinformation to management and staff.Measures should be global within anorganization since all areas consumepower and all parts can take steps toreduce consumption. The other reality

is most power metering and billingsystems are not sufficiently granularto isolate power consumption by flooror office.”

California CIO Teri Takai, whopreviously served in the same role inMichigan and is a past president ofthe National Association of StateChief Information Officers, agrees. “Ithink a Green C (Chief Green Officer)is overkill. Once the governor sets apolicy, it is up to the cabinet agenciesto determine what their role is inenergy efficiency,” says Takai. “I am[also] not sure that the CIO should bethe focal point for all of the state’sgreening efforts. I believe that theCIO should take a leadership role inensuring that [everything IT is]green.’”

The Commonwealth of Virginia hasfound a different balance point. “Weappointed a senior advisor to thegovernor as our ‘energy czar,’”remembers Secretary of Technology

Aneesh Chopra. He says CIOs shouldnot be confused with being greenczars because “the skills are totallydifferent,” but “the CIO is animportant stakeholder for states thatplan to lead by example in loweringour energy footprint.”

Sustainability brings with ittechnologies of its own, particularlywhere green or energy-efficientbuildings are concerned. Like physicalcontrols in manufacturing and othermechanical processes, greentechnologies rely on digitaltechnologies to control the controls— including a growing range ofproducts alternatively known asoperational technology (OT) orembedded IT. Digital physicalcontrols have been outside thepurview of CIOs in manufacturing,warehousing and the operation ofbridges. The public CIOs interviewed

agreed that the CIO’s span of controlwas unlikely to change as greencontrol and other technologiesbecome mainstream — nor should it.

Mittleman and Chopra pointed toappropriateness of fit betweenbusiness needs and skill sets.According to Mittleman, “The CIOdoes not generally have specialknowledge, training or skills thatautomatically proffer credentials formanaging outside of the usual sphereof influence — that is, informationtechnology.” For her part, Takai saysthe integration of digital, networktechnologies into controltechnologies notwithstanding, stateand local governments “all have anactive facilities managementorganization who are responsible foroverall power consumption.” Her onlycaveat is that all such devices need tobe well behaved as they connect tothe state network. “My view is that therole of the CIO is to ensure that any

Public CIOs, Green Czars and their Span of ControlBy Paul Taylor, Ph. DChief Strategy OfficerCenter for Digital Government


On the downside, Green Czars represent the thin edge ofthe wedge in creating a new bureaucracy, the carbon

footprint of which would have to be mitigated.

27

It was a bitterly cold winter night inearly 2003. The mercury hadn’t beenabove the zero mark at any point

that day and snow banks lined thesides of every street. But in aconference room at Great FallsCollege of Technology, more than 200people, including landowners,stakeholders, wind developers and ahandful of the curious, had packed in

to see the unveiling of CascadeCounty’s wind map and the first stepsinto a new era.

The locals who braved the night wereexcited to learn about the neweconomic development that this couldbring to struggling rural communities.Wind energy would build the tax baseto pay for schools, libraries, roads andother vital services and provideadditional income to landowners. Thenewest electronic layer to the county’sGeographic Information Systems(GIS) map outlining the county’s windpotential was projected on the wall.Cascade County had embraced the

GIS mapping technology in the mid1990’s. It had worked with the NationalRenewable Energy Lab to add thisnewest GIS layer, which would becomethe center of the Cascade County windmarketing program. GIS is a mappingtool in which maps of the area areenhanced with layers that contain thelocal road system, topography, powerlines, property ownership records and,

in Cascade County, wind potential.

Cascade County Commissioner PeggyBeltrone has been the driving forcebehind much of this program.Montana is one of the windiest placesin the country. One developer hasdescribed the winds in Montana as“screamers.” Locals can tell youstories of strong winds knocking downpower lines, trees and even LadyJustice from the top of theCourthouse. The memory of the smallwind turbines knocked over in the1980s had stuck in the minds ofMontanans. But in 2001 CommissionerBeltrone, visiting a wind farm in

Cascade County Wind MarketingBy Madelyn Krezowski and Steffen ThieCascade County, Montana

devices that utilize state networksshould be vetted by the CISO (chiefinformation security officer),” shesays, but “the selection and controlshould be the responsibility of (the)facilities (department).”

Richard H. J. Varn, CIO for the city ofSan Antonio, Texas, and long-servingsenior fellow with the Center forDigital Government, says, “We areresponsible for the flows ofactionable data on which people orsystems depend. That’s where wehave a role.” Noting that public sectorIT departments are “already so bigand inappropriately staffed,” Varninsists that CIOs should not buytrouble. “Sustainability is at thelogical nexus of physics, fluid andthermal dynamics and mechanicalengineering, not IT. But when theinformation systems on which thatnexus relies need support, we’rethere.” With a wink and a nod to themarketing campaign of a majormanufacturing concern, Varnconcludes, “We don’t make greentechnologies; we may make themmore useful.”

“All things technical are not IT,”agrees Mittleman, because chasingeverything digital could take CIOs toplaces they do not want to go.“Automobiles represent compen-diums of several technologies,including computers, networkinfrastructure and software, but thatdoes not necessarily translate to theCIO being qualified to manage thecarpool.” n

This is an excerpt from Simply Green: AFew Steps in the Right Direction towardIntegrating Sustainability into PublicSector IT published by the Center forDigital Government. To review the report init’s entirety, go tohttp://www.centerdigitalgov.com/story.php?id=106657.


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Alberta, Canada, realized that windtechnology had grown and matured.The big turbines she saw there wereready for Montana’s big wind. Windtechnology had reached a scale whereit was able to turn the strong windsblowing through Montana into energyand profit.

Today’s turbines range in size fromsmall home or farm-scale operationswhich produce about 1 kilowatt (kW) tocommercial turbines that can rangefrom 50 kW to 3 megawatts (MW). Inthe U.S. the 2MW size is popular formost commercial operations.Technology is no longer the limitingfactor in size; instead it is the ability totransport the pre-fabricated pieces of

the turbines along the interstatehighway system. A complete 2 MWturbine is as tall as a 30 story buildingand costs about $3.5 million. With agood wind source it can produce 6million kW hours each year. Enough topower 600 average Americanhouseholds.

The question for CommissionerBeltrone then became how to bringdevelopers into her small county inMontana. Cascade County put itswind information into a format thatadded more information for developersthan existing national maps, with theability to distribute them in a variety ofways to catch developers’ interest. An

executive from FPL Energy, thenation’s largest wind developer,commented that the GIS tool providedin one place the normally scatteredinformation that would have taken hiscompany weeks to gather. “We gaveourselves an edge by being able tosend this map to anyone in the world,”Commissioner Beltrone said.

But the county role has not beenlimited to only the GIS tool. The countyis aggressive on a policy front,answering questions about andstreamlining the permitting process,providing information about avianissues, working with national expertson different barriers to wind energydevelopment and recently launching a

new website to answer questions fromlandowners and developers. “We aretrying to send the message ‘You willhave advocates in Cascade County foryour project,’” Commissioner Beltronestated.

The first commercial scale windproject in the county came online in2006 with six turbines that can produceup to 9 MW of power in an area knownas Horseshoe Bend. The turbines areowned by a local constructioncompany. Part of the power is used toin its gravel operation, the remaindersold to a third party. The county playeda large role in getting this project onits feet by supplying a 40 meter

anemometer tower to test the site, anexpensive development step.

This June, Cascade County’s ownturbine went online. The countypurchased a turbine to power its new$6.4 million county shop complex. The50 kW Entegrity Wind Systems turbinetowers 100 feet over the shop, adjacentto the interstate highway. “We wantedto show that Cascade County iswalking the talk on wind energy,”Beltrone said. It also served as alearning experience for the county indealing with the local utility to bringthe turbine online and to set up a net-metering system. A proposal is in theworks to add a low-frequency radiostation to tell the County’s wind storyto motorists. The county-owned projecthas also attracted attention from anational company to use the site totest new wind energy-relatedtechnology which could bringadditional jobs into the community.

The Cascade County Commissioncontinues to be aggressive inaddressing barriers to wind energy,including transmission issues, themajor factor limiting the growth ofwind in rural communities across thecountry. The county has been verysupportive of the Montana Alberta TieLtd., a proposed 600 MW merchant linebetween Great Falls in CascadeCounty and Alberta, Canada. Beltronewas part of a group to addressproperty owners concerns for thecompany. The line is expected to get allof its permits within the next threemonths and be constructed over thenext year.

So far, all that work seems to bepaying off. Currently at least 13 sites inthe county are being tested by well-financed developers. CommissionerBeltrone says she knows of at leastthree major companies that are testingfor investments in wind energy totaling$4 billion. The interest in CascadeCounty’s wind is clear. It’s clear thatthis interest is because of the suppor-tive role of the local government. n

For additional information go towww.cascadecountywind.com.

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Green FloridaOn July 13, 2007, Florida GovernorCharlie Crist signed Executive Order07-126, committing Florida to lead inthe reduction of greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions. This historic moveestablished GHG emission reductiontargets of 10% by 2012, 25% by 2017,and 40% by 2025, and called for the useof environmentally sustainablebusiness practices. The FloridaDepartment of Management Services,in partnership with the FloridaDepartment of EnvironmentalProtection, coordinated activitiesacross state agencies to conduct animmediate baseline of GHG emissions

during the 2006-07 fiscal year.

Florida’s first comprehensive GHGemissions assessment, Florida StateGovernment Greenhouse GasReduction Scorecard, is a baseline toidentify and track GHG emissionswithin state government. Findingsshow that state agencies producedalmost 899,107 metric tons of carbondioxide during the 2006-07 fiscal years,the equivalent of emissions from194,612 passenger cars or 115,418homes. The study reports emissionsdata for each individual state agencybuilding, as well as vehicle emissions.The data identifies areas to reduceand track reductions.

Target AreasFacilities, purchasing and vehicles arekey target areas. The stategovernment is the largest employer inFlorida with about 115,000 employeesand 16.8 million square feet of officespace. “As the state’s landlord wehave a huge opportunity to take thisdata and see what incrementalimprovements we should make toimprove the efficiency of our realestate,” said Department ofManagement Services SecretaryLinda H. South.

Common types of improvements toreduce GHG emissions include:

Fleets:• Educate drivers to increase

efficiency (avoid quick starts,excessive speed, idling, reduceweight, etc.)

• Ensure vehicles are maintained(tire inflation, oil changes, airfilters, tune ups)

• Train drivers on availability ofalternative fuel across state

The Sunshine State Keeps IT GreenBy Joshua YaffinStrategic Planning and Energy Management Real Estate Development and Management Florida Department of Management Services


30

• Rent hybrids or small compact cars

• Share vehicles when traveling toconferences.

Facilities:

• Use products that lower / eliminatevolatile organic compounds (e.g.,cleaners, carpeting, paints) anduse integrated pest management tominimize pesticide application

• Follow U.S. Green Building CouncilLeadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design standards

• Purchase energy efficientappliances, lighting, etc.

• Purchase EnvironmentallyPreferred Products (EPP)

• Establish a recycling program.

Florida purchases more than $1billion in commodities annually.Governor Crist’s executive orderrequired the Department ofManagement Services StatePurchasing Division to develop theFlorida Climate Friendly PreferredProducts List to encourage the use ofgreen purchasing standards andproducts. More than 9,000 productsfrom 56 state term contracts on thelist meet one or more of the 19 labels /standards approved by the FloridaDepartment of EnvironmentalProtection, like Energy Star and theElectronic Product EnvironmentalAssessment Tool.

To encourage users to access the list,the state integrated theenvironmentally preferred productslist into existing business practices.By working with its partner,Accenture LLP, to enhance Florida’sstatewide electronic procurementsystem, MyFloridaMarketPlace, orMFMP, it flagged qualifying productsas “green.” State purchasers nowsearch, compare and trackenvironmentally-preferred products inthe system. As the program evolvesand agencies continue to purchaseavailable green products, the statecan report by green product, contract,agency or purchasing group. Thisinformation provides significant valueto the state and leads to new ways to

measure the state’s performance as agreen organization.

Next StepsStatewide participation in reducingGHG emissions from facilities andvehicles is working to meet the targetreductions. To help state agenciesdevelop action plans to reduce theirGHG emissions, the Department ofManagement Services produced atemplate outlining opportunities foragencies to reduce facility and vehicleGHG emissions. Potentialopportunities include:

Vehicles

• Perform scheduled maintenancefor all vehicles to maximize fuelefficiency

• Increase use of biofuels or otheralternative fuels when available

• Increase telecommunications andvideo conferencing to reduce travel

• Investigate replacing older, largervehicles with fuel efficient vehicles

• Replace older, larger vehicles withsmaller, fuel efficient vehicles,including hybrids.

Facilities

• Consult energy conservationguides to identify steps to improvebuilding energy efficiency

• Consolidate facilities to reducetotal square footage

• Replace state- owned or leasedspace with energy efficient spacethat meets the green standards

• Use Building Council’s LEEDstandards where viable

• Investigate telecommuting toreduce overall office space needed.

Serve to PreserveGovernor Crist convened the secondServe to Preserve Summit on GlobalClimate Change in June 2008 withmore than 700 national andinternational environmental leaders.The summit focused on stimulatingeconomic development in cleantechnologies as well as greeningFlorida’s business community. Theinaugural summit last year was thecatalyst for Florida’s “green” portal,the Serve to Preserve Web site athttp://www.myfloridaclimate.com/env/home/. This inclusive site includesannouncements, energy tips, summitWeb casts, resources and much more.

The governor and state governmentencourage innovation in this area.The state continues to look foropportunities to leverage tools suchas online catalogs that highlightgreen commodities and identify waysof automating the collection of utilitydata to ensure the success of theseinitiatives. Florida’s commitment tostimulating investment through green,climate-friendly energy sources,purchasing technologies and buildingrelationships with alternativeresources strengthens its future andprotects its natural environment forgenerations to come. n


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The United States and four otherlarge English-speaking nationsare taking similar steps to

increase the energy efficiency ofgovernment computers and datacenters and to reduce their impact onthe environment. The ChiefInformation Officers of the UnitedStates, the United Kingdom, Canada,Australia and New Zealand comparedtheir respective approaches during avideoconference hosted by the GSACenter for IntergovernmentalSolutions in late February.

Each of the five nations has lookedinto ways to reduce the carbonfootprint of information technology atevery point in the life-cycle of theirgovernment systems, from purchaseand production through usage andultimate disposal. The five nationshave all taken steps to beenvironmentally friendly in thefollowing areas:

Moving from CRTs to LCDs All five nations have concluded thatreplacing employees’ Cathod ray Tube(CRT) computer monitors with LiquidCrystal Display (LCD) monitors willreduce both energy consumption andcosts of the IT systems. LCDcomputer monitors use considerablyless office desk space than traditionalCRT monitors, and the energysavings from a shift to LCDs isconsiderable. Because CRTs use upto 50% more energy to operate,replacing CRTs with LCDs canreduce energy consumption by 123Kilowatt hours per monitor over thecourse of a single year. In addition,LCDs emit less heat than CRTs

which reduces energy consumption tocool LCD equipped offices.

Ensuring that new IT purchasesconform to sustainability stan-dardsIn 1992 the US EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) introducedENERGY STAR as a voluntarylabeling program designed to identifyand promote energy-efficientproducts to reduce greenhouse gasemissions. Today all five countrieshave in place similar standards toguide procurement officers towardthose IT hardware products thatconserve energy. The New ZealandEnergy Efficiency and ConservationAuthority has its own Energy StarRating system. Canada’s Ecologoprogram, dating from 1988, is thesecond oldest environmentalstandard and certification program inthe world. Australia has implementedits environmental check list, which isoutlined elsewhere in this news letter.The United Kingdom and the UnitedStates have both implemented theElectronic Product EnvironmentalAssessment Tool (EPEAT) as a corerequirement for PC and laptoppurchases. The desire for similarsustainability standards for ITpurchases by all five of these nationsis expected to promote improvementsin the energy efficiency of IThardware over time.

Reducing the energy consumption of the public-sectorserver estateAll five nations are strong advocates

of sharing IT services acrossgovernment departments andagencies to reduce the numbers of ITservers needed by government. Inaddition, there is growing awarenessthat significant energy savings can beobtained by using Green Buildingconcepts in the design andconstruction of data storage facilitiesin which to house IT servers andrelated hardware.

The US EPA National ComputerCenter in Research Triangle Park, NCis operating with a 70% savings onelectricity because it employs greenlighting features including motionsensors and daylight dimmingsensors as well as heating an coolingsystems designed to meet actualenergy demand. Integrated into thisfacility is one of the largestphotovoltaic installations in the USwhich has generated as much as110,000 kilowatt hours of electricity ina given year.

Government Australia policy onEnergy Efficiency in GovernmentOperations commits to reduce energyconsumption by government-operatedcomputer centers by 20% over thenext five years.

Converting Physical Servers toVirtual ServersServers are computers that provideother computers with assistance.Usually, servers are designed to run aspecific operation for use by manydesktop computers at the same time.Virtual servers are based on theconcept of partitions on mainframecomputer servers that allow eachpartitioned division to function as astand-alone or “virtual” serverdedicated to a single customer. Theuse of virtual servers allows fewerservers to operate any mix ofcomputer applications, therebyreducing the amount of space andenergy needed to maintain them.

All five nations are committed to theconversion of physical servers tovirtual servers and are in the process

Green IT Is Important Around the World

Green IT Approaches Span the GlobeBy Dr. Thomas SkirbuntIntergovernmental Solutions GSA Office of Citizen Services and Communications


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of developing specific goals andbenchmarks for the future. Australiahas established its current benchmarkratio of virtual servers to physicalservers at 5:1.

Reducing the use of desktopprinters and the amount ofmaterial that is printedThe New Zealand government goal isto reduce the amount of paper that isgenerated by the use of IT systems.Their focus is on movingtransactions, not paper, and alwaysbeing aware that IT is the enablerthrough which public goals are

optimized, and not a goal in itself.

All five nations encourage areplacement of desktop printers withshared multi-function systems as afirst step toward reducing the energyuse associated with printed material.The CIOs all seek to reduce thegovernment’s reliance on printedmaterial through the use of newmedia for collaboration (wikis, blogs,videoconferencing, etc.) andenhancing the transactioncapabilities of governmentdepartments and agencies. TheAustralian Department of theEnvironment, Water, Heritage and theArts has already configured all of its

printers to produce two-sided copiesby default.

Disposing with IT equipmentthat is at the end of its life-cycleComputer monitors, towers andlaptops contain lead, chromium,cadmium, mercury, beryllium, nickel,and other chemicals that can presentserious environmental hazards if theyare not disposed of properly orrecycled. A recent study by the USEPA found that 59,000 computersdonated for disposal contained 13,000pounds of toxic material.

All five nations are either developingstandards for the disposal ofhazardous IT material, or likeAustralia, have issued guidance on itsmanagement. The AustralianGuidance is contained in ElectronicScrap – A Hazardous Waste(www.enviornment.gov.au/settlements/publications/chemicals/hazardous-waste/electronic-scrap-fs.html).

Next StepsAll five nations are building on theirexisting Green IT initiatives. TheUnited States will introduce next yeara 5 year planning process to optimizethe IT infrastructure of everygovernment agency for cost,performance and energy efficiency.The Australian government isconducting a pilot study of fivegovernment agencies (Securities andInvestments Commission,Department of the Environment,Water, Heritage and the Arts,Department of Defense, Centrelinkand IP Australia) to validate their goalfor a 20% reduction in IT energy usagein five years. In the United Kingdomthe Transformational Governmentteam in the Cabinet Office is workingwith industry on proposals forimproving the sustainability of ITused by the government. NewZealand is implementing itsSustainable Procurement Guidelines,and Canada has initiated a mandatorythree year reporting cycle on ITsustainable development strategiesfor all of its departments. All five

Disposing of IT equipment that is at the end of its life-cycle


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The Australian Governmentissued the EnvironmentalImpact Better Practice

Checklist in December 2007 to helpagencies reduce the impact of theirinformation and communicationtechnology activities on theenvironment.

The rapid growth in the use of ICThas prompted the Australiangovernment to consider how to bettermanage and reduce the potentialenvironmental impacts resulting fromusing ICT products and services. TheChecklist was developed to assistagencies in managing theenvironmental impact of ICT productsand services. The checklist isintended raise awareness of the

impact that government ICTresources have on the environment. Itprovides information and acts as aguide to agency staff responsible formanaging ICT products and services.

Agencies should consider thefollowing when completing theChecklist.

Procurement of ICT Products and Services1. Have you included the

environmental impact of ICTproducts and services inprocurement plans?

• Under the CommonwealthProcurement Guidelines,agencies must make a whole-of-

Australia’s ICT EnvironmentalImpact Checklist

nations are developing specific GreenIT targets and performancemeasures.

The 5-Nations CIO Council consistsof the senior IT officials of five majorEnglish-speaking nations: the UnitedStates, the United Kingdom, Canada,Australia and New Zealand. Theyhave come together regularly sinceMay. 2006 to discuss issues ofcommon, concern in quarterlyvideoconferences and annual face-to-face meetings. The meetings haveenabled these national CIO’s to shareideas, information and insights in atrusted environment with their peersaround the world. Topics fordiscussion ranged from Web 2.0 toshared services, building a centralgovernment CIO function, andcontrolling costs of IT infrastructure.

The principal participants in thismeeting were:

Australia:Ann Steward, CIO, Australia;Peter Woods, CIO, Department of theEnvironment, Water Resources,Heritage and the Arts

Canada:Ken Cochrane, CIO, Government of Canada;Jeff Braybrook, Deputy CTO,Government of Canada

New Zealand:Edwin Bruce, Manager, E-governmentProjects, State ServicesCommission;Clifton Chan, Senior Analyst, StateServices Commission

United Kingdom:Andrew Stott, Deputy CIO, United Kingdom;William Perrin, Director, Strategy andPolicy, E-Governance Unit

United States:Karen Evans, Administrator, E-Government and IT, Office ofManagement and Budget;Molly O'Neill, AssistantAdministrator, Office ofEnvironmental Information, and CIO,Environmental Protection Agency n


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life assessment of the costs ofalternative procurementprocesses or solutions.

• Agencies need to be methodicaland analytical about the way theyassess, select and manage theirICT sourcing requirements - thisrequires much more than aseries of one-off purchasingdecisions.

• Refer to The EnvironmentalPurchasing Checklist - PersonalComputers and Monitors and theGreen Office Guide

• Look for the Energy Star labelwhen purchasing ICT equipment

• Ensure that environmentalissues are included in allprocurement documentationsuch as the Request for Tender,Contract, and Tender EvaluationPlan.

2. Have you considered theenvironmental impact of the ICTproducts and services beingprocured?

• It may be more energy efficientto replace old equipment ratherthan maintaining it.

• Consider the use of notebookcomputers where appropriate.Notebooks use 90 per cent lessenergy than desktop personalcomputers.

• Before purchasing new productssuch as printers and scanners,determine whether it is possibleto network existing or newdevices.

• Consider what types of batteries(nickel-cadmium, nickel hybridsor lithium ion) will be suppliedwith the ICT products.

• Check that new ICT equipmentcan operate with recycled paperand that cartridges can berecycled.

• Consider purchasing LCDmonitors which use less energythan CRT monitors.

• If you are procuring for a datacentre consider taking steps to

ensure it is a green data centre,one in which the computersystems and the building haveall been designed for maximumenergy efficiency and minimumnegative environmental impact.

• Consider purchasingmultifunctional devices such asdevices that can print, copy, faxand scan.

• Consider how packaging for ICTproducts and services can beminimized and how will it be re-cycled? For example, clusterpackaging of bulk supply ofcomputers is recommended.

3. Have you allocated key resourcesfor management of theenvironmental impacts of ICTproducts and services?

• Identify an asset manager totrack the ICT products andservices across their full lifecycle (from the design of thetender process, the tenderselection itself, operationalphase, and the disposal phase atthe end of initial life).

• Set up an ICT asset monitoringsystem, including an ICT assetregister.

Use and Operation of ICT Products and Services4. Have you implemented polices and

practices that encourage goodenvironmental awareness andpractice in the use of ICT? Thefollowing points will assist in thedevelopment of policies andguidance within agencies.

• Follow The Green Office Guide

• Using ICT equipment efficientlymay lengthen the lifetime of theequipment.

• Consider using ICT forteleconferencing rather thanface to face meetings to reducethe environmental impactassociated with commuting.

• Consider instituting educationand training to increase

awareness, knowledge, skills andattitudes leading toenvironmentally responsiblepractices and behavior.

• Switch off ICT equipmentoutside of work hours

• Switch off computers when notin use during the day. If acomputer it not in use for 30minutes it should be switchedoff.

• If ICT equipment cannot beswitched off, activate standby orsleep mode.

• Switch off the monitor of acomputer acting as a networkserver which must remain on.

• Consider making double sidedprinting the default setting inprinters.

• Only use color printing whennecessary, and minimize use ofcolor when formattingdocuments.

• Think twice before printingdocuments that can be reviewedelectronically, particularly draftsand emails.

• Encourage staff to changecomputer monitor view options(font size, text/background coloretc) to enhance on-screenreadability and reduce the needto print.

• Consider replacing paper basedmaterial and information,including letters and forms, withonline information wherepossible.

• Implement electronic documentrecord management systems inaccordance with policies andguidance from the NationalArchives of Australia.

• Consider teleworking and onlinecollaboration as a way to reduceenvironmental impacts ofcommuting.

• Communicate with staff aboutways to reduce printing and useof storage space.


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5. Have you considered implementingenvironmental monitoring andmanagement systems?

Re-use, Recycling, and Disposalof ICT Products and Service6. Have you prepared an

environmentally sound disposalplan for ICT products and servicesno longer required? The followingissues should be considered whendocumenting and managing thedisposal of ICT resources.

• Identify whether the ICTproducts can be re-used orrecycled.

• Update asset managementrecords to reflect disposal, re-use or recycling of ICT products.

• Scan ICT products to determine

if discovery data should beremoved from the product priorto disposal, re-use or recycling.

7. Have you identified methods ormeans by which ICT products andservices can be re-used orrecycled?

• Make recycling decisions takinginto consideration the NationalGovernment Waste Reductionand Purchasing Guidelines.

• Consider programs that providefree or subsidized computers tothe community. The Departmentof Broadband, Communications,and the Digital Economymaintains a list of theseprograms.

• Consider recycling tonercartridges and using recycled

toner cartridges, rather thanpurchasing new cartridges.

• Recycle ICT equipmentpackaging.

• Monitor contract performance inrelation to re-use and recyclingclauses in contracts for ICTproducts and services.

8. Have you identified the hazardousmaterial in your ICT products andservices and the means by whichthey will be disposed?

• Put in place a strategy tocommunicate what is hazardouswaste in ICT products and how itshould be disposed of.

• Dispose of waste in accordancewith the guidance in ElectronicScrap - A Hazardous Waste

• Ensure that any hazardous wasteproduced by your agency isdisposed of appropriately, anddoes not contravene theHazardous Waste (Regulationsof Exports and Imports) Act 1989which regulates the export,import and transit of hazardouswaste to ensure it is managed ina environmentally sound manner

Environmental ReportingRequirements9. Have you met the Australian

Government’s mandatoryenvironmental reportingrequirements?

• Financial Management andAccountability (FMA) Act 1997

• Environment Protection andBiodiversity Act of 1999

• National Packaging Covenant

• 2006 Energy Efficiency inGovernment Operations n

For a comprehensive look at therequirements for each checklist questionrefer to http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/better-practice-and-collaboration/better-practice-checklists/environmental-impact.html

Managing the environmental impact of ICT

Procurement of ICT products and services

• Have you considered the environmental impact of ICT products andservices in business plans and procurement plans?

• Have you considered the environmental impact of the ICT products andservices being procured?

• Have you allocated key resources for the management of theenvironmental impacts of ICT products and services?

Use and operation of ICT products and services

• Have you implemented policies and practices that encourage goodenvironmental awareness and practice in the use of ICT?

• Have you considered implementing environmental monitoring andmanagement systems?

Re-use, recycling and disposal of ICT products and services

• Have you prepared an environmentally sound disposal plan for any ICTproducts and services no longer required?

• Have you identified methods or means by which ICT products andservices can be re-used or recycled?

• Have you identified hazardous materials in your ICT products and servicesand the means by which they will be disposed of?

Environment Reporting Requirements

• Have you met the Australian Government’s environmental reportingrequirements?

Better Practice Checklist

U.S

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