ACS Earth Hour Key Messages
The ACS supports the initiatives of WWF and Earth Hour and encourages staff and members to take action to help reduce carbon emissions.
Earth Hour is a call to action to every individual, every business and every community. It starts with a flick of the switch at 8:30pm on Saturday 26 March in a collective display of commitment to reduce our impact on the planet and create a sustainable future.
In 2010 the ACS commissioned a report on Carbon and Computers in Australia that looked at the energy consumption and carbon footprint of ICT usage in Australia. The report found that the biggest components of ICT carbon emissions are the data centre environment (18.8 per cent), PCs (15.8 per cent), printers and imaging equipment (15.7%) and servers (14.7%). Read the full report to see the full breakdown of energy consumption statistics and key environmental management strategies for the ICT sector.
Please join the ACS in supporting this initiative by turning off your lights at 8:30pm on Saturday 26 March.
The ACS recommends the following action to help reduce carbon emissions:
1. Work Harder on Data Centre Efficiency
Data centres are responsible for more than one third of Australia’s ICT footprint. The real culprit is data centre cooling – data centre environmentals consume more power than data centre ICT equipment. There are many techniques and technologies for increasing the energy efficiency of data centres – they all need to be implemented, and quickly.
2. Reduce the Usage and the Number of Printers and Imaging Devices
Printers, multi-function devices, fax machines, scanners – they are real energy hogs. The report shows the massive amount of energy they use. Most people print too much, though the techniques for saving on printing are well known – print management, centralised printing, duplex printing (though its advantages are greatly overrated). The easiest thing is to simply print less, and on fewer printers. We don’t need all that paper, and we certainly don’t need all those printers.
3. Turn Computers Off – Standby is Not Good Enough
Standby power is power wasted. The research for this study clearly shows that electronic devices left on when they are not being used constitute close to 20 per cent of all ICT power consumption. With some devices, like games consoles and video monitors, the waste is excessive. Turn them off at the wall when not in use, or implement power management systems that have the same effect.
4. Think Green
There are many ways to reduce ICT power consumption. Most of them have to do with changing behaviour, not introducing new technology. Green ICT does not cost money, it saves money. All ICT users, from casual home users to power users in large corporations, should adopt a power saving attitude to everything they do in ICT.
5. Use ICT to Reduce Carbon Emissions in Other Areas
We can work hard on reducing ICT’s carbon footprint, but much more significant savings can be made outside of ICT – improving business processes, making transport and electricity distribution and building systems and healthcare more efficient – working greener, not harder. ICT has always been an enabling technology – now its biggest challenge lies before it.
Earth Hour is a call to action to every individual, every business and every community. It starts with a flick of the switch at 8:30pm on Saturday 26 March in a collective display of commitment to reduce our impact on the planet and create a sustainable future.
In 2010 the ACS commissioned a report on Carbon and Computers in Australia that looked at the energy consumption and carbon footprint of ICT usage in Australia. The report found that the biggest components of ICT carbon emissions are the data centre environment (18.8 per cent), PCs (15.8 per cent), printers and imaging equipment (15.7%) and servers (14.7%). Read the full report to see the full breakdown of energy consumption statistics and key environmental management strategies for the ICT sector.
Please join the ACS in supporting this initiative by turning off your lights at 8:30pm on Saturday 26 March.
The ACS recommends the following action to help reduce carbon emissions:
1. Work Harder on Data Centre Efficiency
Data centres are responsible for more than one third of Australia’s ICT footprint. The real culprit is data centre cooling – data centre environmentals consume more power than data centre ICT equipment. There are many techniques and technologies for increasing the energy efficiency of data centres – they all need to be implemented, and quickly.
2. Reduce the Usage and the Number of Printers and Imaging Devices
Printers, multi-function devices, fax machines, scanners – they are real energy hogs. The report shows the massive amount of energy they use. Most people print too much, though the techniques for saving on printing are well known – print management, centralised printing, duplex printing (though its advantages are greatly overrated). The easiest thing is to simply print less, and on fewer printers. We don’t need all that paper, and we certainly don’t need all those printers.
3. Turn Computers Off – Standby is Not Good Enough
Standby power is power wasted. The research for this study clearly shows that electronic devices left on when they are not being used constitute close to 20 per cent of all ICT power consumption. With some devices, like games consoles and video monitors, the waste is excessive. Turn them off at the wall when not in use, or implement power management systems that have the same effect.
4. Think Green
There are many ways to reduce ICT power consumption. Most of them have to do with changing behaviour, not introducing new technology. Green ICT does not cost money, it saves money. All ICT users, from casual home users to power users in large corporations, should adopt a power saving attitude to everything they do in ICT.
5. Use ICT to Reduce Carbon Emissions in Other Areas
We can work hard on reducing ICT’s carbon footprint, but much more significant savings can be made outside of ICT – improving business processes, making transport and electricity distribution and building systems and healthcare more efficient – working greener, not harder. ICT has always been an enabling technology – now its biggest challenge lies before it.