Green Desktop Computing at the University of Oxford

The government of the United Kingdom has set a target to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 34 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) will require all large public and private sector organizations across the U.K. to cut carbon emissions and report total CO2 emissions a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe EDUCAUSE quarterly Vol. 32; no. 3
Main Authors Noble, Howard, Curtis, Daniel, Tang, Kang
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published EDUCAUSE 2009
Subjects
Computer Networks
Computers
Electronic Equipment
Energy Conservation
Energy Management
Environmental Standards
Foreign Countries
Improvement Programs
Influence of Technology
Program Descriptions
Program Effectiveness
Technological Advancement
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
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Summary:The government of the United Kingdom has set a target to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 34 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) will require all large public and private sector organizations across the U.K. to cut carbon emissions and report total CO2 emissions annually so that the data can be published in a league table. IT professionals clearly have a significant role to play in helping organizations perform effectively within this framework: (1) Minimize energy consumption by idle devices, specifically desktop computers and laptops; (2) Reduce, reuse, recycle, and buy the greenest equipment--and only when necessary; (3) Consolidate servers and manage optimized virtual infrastructures; (4) Consolidate applications by promoting the use of shared services; (5) Build and manage more efficient data centers; (6) Consolidate data centers, locate them in colder climates (where there is less need to cool them), and power them with green energy; (7) Reduce travel by using remote communication technologies; (8) "De-materialize" processes, for example by moving to a paperless office; (9) Install sensors and controls that enable more efficient management of building services; and (10) Implement new computing infrastructures such as more use of mobile devices or thin clients. This article reports on a project which considers the first of these initiatives, specifically how to minimize the power consumed by desktop computers at the University of Oxford. (Contains 3 figures, 1 table and 5 endnotes.)
ISSN:1528-5324