T ECHNOLOGY

Best Practice in Green ITImplementing Green IT in the enterprise and its cost benefits

Gary Eastwood

ii

Gary Eastwood

Gary Eastwood is an experienced writer and editor on business and IT issues,

contributing to many of the leading IT publications and magazines. As well as holding

senior editorial positions on a number of IT trade publications, he has worked with

companies such as the UK Department of Trade & Industry, the Confederation of

British Industry, Microsoft, IBM, CSC, Oracle and Intel on a variety of projects.

Copyright 2009 Business Insights Ltd This Management Report is published by Business Insights Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction or redistribution of this Management Report in any form for any purpose is expressly prohibited without the prior consent of Business Insights Ltd. The views expressed in this Management Report are those of the publisher, not of Business Insights. Business Insights Ltd accepts no liability for the accuracy or completeness of the information, advice or comment contained in this Management Report nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. While information, advice or comment is believed to be correct at the time of publication, no responsibility can be accepted by Business Insights Ltd for its completeness or accuracy.

iii

Table of Contents

Best Practice In Green IT

Executive summary 10

What is Green IT? 10 The business case for Green IT on the desktop 11 Choosing a green desktop PC and monitor 12 The business case for Green IT in the data center 13 Choosing a green server 14

Chapter 1 What is green IT? 18

Summary 18 Introduction 19 Lifetime asset management 21 Market context 23 Climate change & global energy demand 23 Global energy demand 24 The environmental impact of business & IT 25 E-waste, disposal and recyclability 27 Legislation 28 Market drivers & resistors 30 Drivers 30

Legislation and regulation 30 Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility agenda 31 Cost savings 31 Limitations and expense in the data center 32

Resistor 34 Perceived cost 34 Lack of education / apathy 34 Lack of knowledge / energy auditing 35

Conclusions 35

iv

Chapter 2 Green IT on the desktop 38

Summary 38 Market context 39 The business case for Green IT on the desktop 40 Environmental manufacture and recyclability of desktop equipment 40

eWaste 41 Green PC vendors and recycling 43

Energy-efficient PC design 47 Cost savings provided by energy-efficient processors 47 Estimated cost savings provided by energy-efficient PCs 51

Estimated savings from PC power management 54 Cost savings from efficient power supplies 56 Potential cost savings from monitors 57 Conclusions 58

Chapter 3 Choosing a green desktop PC and monitor 62

Summary 62 Market context 63 The procurement decision 65 Efficiency and environmental ratings 65

Energy Star 65 Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) 67 80-Plus 69

PC design 69 Form factor 69 Vendor selection 70

Conclusions 72

Chapter 4 The business case for Green IT in the data center 74

Summary 74 Market context 75 The business case for green IT in the data center 80 Environmental manufacture and recyclability in the data center 81

eWaste 81 Green PC vendors and Take Back programs 82

Energy-efficient server design 83

v

Estimating cost savings from energy efficient processors 85 Estimate of potential cost savings from energy-efficient servers 88

Estimated cost savings from efficient power supplies 90 Cost savings from server virtualization 91 Conclusions 94

Chapter 5 Choosing a green server 96

Summary 96 Introduction 97 The procurement decision 98 Choosing a green server 101

Multicore processors 101 Efficiency and environmental ratings 103

Energy Star 103 Climate Savers Computing Initiative 103 EPEAT 104 80-Plus 104

Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC) 105 Multicore processors 106 Form factor 107

Conclusions 108 Index 110

vi

List of Figures Figure 1.1: The Green IT lifecycle 20 Figure 1.2: Forecast global energy demand by fuel (quadrillion Btu) 25 Figure 2.3: Estimated annual cost savings from new energy-efficient processors compared to older

generation processors 50 Figure 3.4: Vendor selection: Energy efficiency vs. E-waste/recyclability 71 Figure 4.5: Server global market forecast by server type, 2008-2012 76 Figure 4.6: Growth in energy consumption of server types (billion kWh), 2000 and 2005 77 Figure 4.7: Data center power distribution in typical system 78 Figure 4.8: Data center power distribution in optimized system 79 Figure 4.9: Estimated vendor server cost savings claims 89 Figure 5.10: Server power consumption proportions 100

vii

List of Tables Table 1.1: Reasons for adopting Green IT 22 Table 1.2: Forecast global energy demand by fuel (quadrillion Btu) 24 Table 1.3: Legislation governing the use of hazardous materials in the manufacture of IT

equipment 29 Table 2.4: Toxic materials commonly found in PCs 42 Table 2.5: A selection of vendor attempts to reduce toxic materials in PCs, laptops and monitors

44 Table 2.6: Consumer and Small Business PC Take-Back Programs 45 Table 2.7: What to look for in a good take-back or recycling service 46 Table 2.8: Comparison of manufacturers estimated cost savings from operating energy-efficient

PCs 53 Table 2.9: Estimation of potential energy savings from power management 55 Table 2.10: Estimated savings from using power management with monitors 58 Table 3.11: Two main factors should be considered in the Green PC procurement decision 64 Table 3.12: Power consumption specifications for Tier 1, Energy Star 4.0 PCs 66 Table 3.13: Estimated power savings from Energy Star 4.0-certified PCs and monitors in a

hypothetical office (200 employees) 66 Table 3.14: A selection of EPEAT Gold-certified PCs, monitors and latops 68 Table 4.15: Server global market forecast by server type, 2008-2012 76 Table 4.16: Growth in energy consumption of server types (billion kWh), 2000 and 2005 77 Table 4.17: Vendor compliance with environmental legislation for servers 82 Table 4.18: Vendor Take-Back programs for servers 83 Table 4.19: Leading server vendors energy efficiency branding 84 Table 4.20: Energy-efficient server processing technologies 86 Table 4.21: Comparison of maximum power of leading energy-efficient server processors 87 Table 4.22: Estimated annual energy savings per server by using 80-Plus certified equipment

(kWh) 90 Table 4.23: Server consolidation and virtualization calculation, before and after virtualization 93 Table 5.24: Server consolidation and virtualization calculation, total power consumption 102 Table 5.25: High-efficiency targets for volume servers, CSCI 104 Table 5.26: 80-Plus server specification levels 105

8

9

Executive summary

10

Executive summary

What is Green IT?

Green IT can be split into four broad categories: responsible manufacturing; power

management; consumables; and recycling/disposal.

As enterprises adopt a lifecycle view to green computing, green vendor selection is

emerging as both a critical business issue and a CSER concern.

11 of the 12 years between 1995 and 2006 rank among the 12 warmest years in

terms of global surface temperature since records began in 1850.

Global energy consumption is predicted to rise 2% annually between now and

2030.

Business organizations accounted for 68% of the UKs total carbon fuel

consumption in 2005, an increase of 10.6% between 1990 and 2005.

Despite the fact that modern IT systems are more efficient, and deliver more

computing power per unit of energy than ever before, the sheer growth in volume

and demand for computing power, IT is responsible for a growing proportion of

energy consumption, energy costs and consequent CO2 emissions.

IT office equipment currently accounts for around 15% of the total electricity used

in offices, with the figure expected to rise to 30% by 2020.

E-waste is a major challenge globally. On the one hand, an increased focus from

enterprises on the ease of disposability at the end of the IT lifecycle is driving PC

and server manufacturers to maximize the recyclability of their offerings. On the

other, regulations such as the EUs RoHS and WEEE directives are progressing

towards stricter enforcement and control.

While many businesses are voluntarily making commitments to tackling climate

change through their own actions, governments across the world are increasingly

11

introducing legislation and financial incentives as tools to accelerate business

energy waste and carbon production.

There is already a precedent for the introduction of custodial punishments for e-

waste offenders South Koreas version of the EUs RoHS directive, for example,

includes a potential custodial sentence of one-year for parties that fail to meet their

recycling/disposal obligations.

The business case for Green IT on the desktop

A growing number of diverse organizations are realizing that adopting a total

lifecycle approach to Green IT including procurement, management and disposal

is not only becoming a social and political imperative, but can also drive cost

savings straight to the bottom line.

Any organization that wants to be taken seriously in terms of its CSER and green

IT strategy needs to consider its approach to procuring IT real estate across the

entire lifecycle of the equipment, starting with the manufacturing process.

In the US only 10% of unwanted or obsolete PCs are currently recycled; 80% of the

USs 500m PCs are sent to Africa, China or India.

As a result of PC manufacturers own initiatives and strong lobbying from the

environmental community, there is a growing range of PC models, monitors and

printers that have reduced levels of toxic materials, and which have been

constructed from recyclable or degradable components and materials as much as

possible.

A growing number of PC manufacturers offer recycling, or take-back, programs

on IT equipment.

One of the most significant costs for operating IT equipment over its lifetime is that

of energy consumption. Yet one-third (37%) of workers do not switch off their PCs

when they leave the office at night.

12

Energy efficient, multicore processors from the likes of Intel and AMD can provide

significant reductions in energy costs.

The PC processing unit and monitor are two of the more power-hungry devices on

the desktop, accounting for around two-thirds of ITs total energy consumption

photocopiers and printers consume another 25%.

Vendors claim that energy-efficient PCs (in conjunction with the use of power

management features, and using TFT monitors instead of CRTs) can almost halve

total energy consumption costs on the desktop.

Correctly configured power management features can cut energy consumption by

over 60%.

Choosing a green desktop PC and monitor

Energy efficiency is a significant consideration for most organizations today, as the

cost of electricity continues to increase, alongside the rising price of oil.

Introducing new-generation, energy efficient IT equipment can go a long way to

cutting the electricity bill, and significantly reducing the carbon footprint of

organizations.

The two most important factors to consider when purchasing green PCs are: energy

consumption during its lifetime, and the environmental impact at manufacture and

disposal/recycling.

Other factors to consider include the efficiency of the power supply, the amount of

packaging used, manufacturers support of take-back programs for recycling and

disposal, and the incorporation of power management features.

There are a number of energy efficiency standard benchmarks and labels to look

out for, which can act as an invaluable guide to procurement decisions by providing

13

an independent source of information or verification of the energy efficiency and

environmental specifications of certified PC models.

The most important certifications to look for are Energy Star 4.0, EPEAT

(Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool), 80-Plus (energy-efficient

power supplies) and the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive.

The Energy Star 4.0 certification could save $1.8bn in energy costs in the US over

the next five years and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equal to the annual

emissions of 2.7m vehicles.

Standard power supply units waste around 60% of the power supplied to them.

Buying 80-Plus certified power supply units could save 40% in power consumption

and have a significant impact on the energy bill.

The business case for Green IT in the data center

Due to the energy required to power the increasing number of servers and storage

systems in worldwide operation, recent increases in energy prices mean that the

data center is becoming a significant cost factor for organizations.

Demand for more processing power, has led to an estimated doubling in the energy

used by servers and the power required to cool them. This increase in server use has

a number of important implications for organizations: increased energy costs;

increased CO2 emissions; and, increased capital costs for expansion of data center

capacity.

The total number of worldwide servers is predicted to grow at a compound annual

growth rate (CAGR) of 5.0% between 2008 and 2012, with low-end servers driving

that growth.

An idling server still consumes about 60-70% of the energy compared to a server in

normal production operation.

14

The three-year costs for powering and cooling a server are now between 1 and 1.5

times the procurement costs.

As well as making attempts to reduce the use of harmful and toxic materials in their

servers, most of the major manufacturers offer recycling or disposal services for

server equipment.

Manufacturers such as Intel, AMD, IBM and Sun offer a wide range of processors,

which draw less power, require less cooling, deliver higher processing

performance, and are optimized for server consolidation and virtualization.

Vendors claim that an energy efficient server alone can cut the annual energy bill

by around one-third, and in some cases up to 39%.

A Gold certified 80-Plus power supply could save organizations in the region of

$732 per server per year.

Server virtualization can reduce data center space requirements, cut staff and power

costs, and provide server redundancy (i.e. backup) should things go wrong.

Choosing a green server

There are a number of ways to reduce total energy consumption in the data center,

from choice of processor in the servers to infrastructure (such as virtualization and

consolidation) to data center layout (to optimize cooling). None of these factors,

when implemented correctly, will affect performance and in most cases should

boost it.

By using energy efficient memory, CPU, power supplies and fans together with an

energy optimized system design, organizations can significantly reduce their energy

consumption, and in the process their carbon footprint.

It is estimated that utilization rates of up to 90% can be achieved by combining

hardware-based and software-based virtualization.

15

Multicore processors can facilitate server consolidation, as fewer processors are

required to do the same amount of work, and hence enable much higher server

utilization rates.

The latest processor technology and design best practices mean that todays servers

produce less waste heat, which not only reduces the energy bill by wasting less

power to drive IT equipment but also by significantly reducing the power

requirements for cooling the server or data center.

It is necessary to consider the total cost of ownership of servers over the operational

lifetime of the product, as well as the peripheral, indirect or intangible benefits, and

balance that with the cost of purchasing new equipment.

With an estimated annual increase of 10% in volume servers and, more importantly,

typical utilization rates of 15%, the replacement or consolidation of volume servers

with energy efficient servers offers significant potential savings, at a minimum

capital outlay.

16

17

CHAPTER 1

What is green IT?

18

Chapter 1 What is green IT?

Summary

Green IT can be split into four broad categories: responsible manufacturing; power management; consumables; and recycling/disposal.

As enterprises adopt a lifecycle view to green computing, green vendor selection is emerging as both a critical business issue and a CSER concern.

11 of the 12 years between 1995 and 2006 rank among the 12 warmest years in terms of global surface temperature since records began in 1850.

Global energy consumption will rise 2% annually between now and 2030. Business organizations accounted for 68% of the UKs total carbon fuel consumption in 2005, an increase of 10.6% between 1990 and 2005.

Despite the efficiency of modern IT systems, the sheer growth in volume and demand for computing power, IT is responsible for a growing proportion of energy consumption, energy costs and consequent CO2 emissions.

IT office equipment currently accounts for around 15% of the total electricity used in offices, with the figure expected to rise to 30% by 2020.

E-waste is a major challenge globally. On the one hand, an increased focus from enterprises on the ease of disposability at the end of the IT lifecycle is driving PC and server manufacturers to maximize the recyclability of their offerings. On the other, regulations such as the EUs RoHS and WEEE directives are progressing towards stricter enforcement and control.

While many businesses are voluntarily making commitments to tackling climate change through their own actions, governments are increasingly introducing legislation and financial incentives as tools to accelerate business energy waste and carbon production.

There is already a precedent for the introduction of custodial punishments for e-waste offenders South Koreas version of the EUs RoHS directive, for example, includes a potential custodial sentence of one-year for parties that fail to meet their recycling/disposal obligations.

19

Introduction

Environmental responsibility is emerging as an increasingly important consideration

for organizations today. As a major contributor to business electricity bills and to the

environment in the form of CO2 emissions and toxic substances from e-waste IT

has become a particular focus for organizations that take their Corporate Social and

Environmental Responsibility (CSER) agenda seriously. As a result, there is a growing

movement towards Green IT, with a focus on minimizing ITs impact on the

environment and using energy efficient hardware to significantly cut energy

consumption and, therefore, electricity bills.

Green IT, green computing, and sustainable IT are interchangeable terms used to

describe the manufacture, usage, and recycling or disposal of any IT-related device,

system or process in a way that minimizes or removes damage to the environment.

Green IT can be split into four broad categories: responsible manufacturing; power

management; consumables; and recycling/disposal. These four categories are described

in Figure 1.1.

20

Figure 1.1: The Green IT lifecycle

Manufacture and Materials

Power management

Consumables

Recycling and disposal of e-waste

Environmentally aware sourcing and manufacture of components and hardware. Includes transport

and packaging of end-product

The design and use of energy efficient hardware, as well as the

management of power consumption and waste emissions throughout

product lifetime

The responsible use of IT-related consumables, such as

printer paper and ink

The environmentally responsible recycling and

disposal of all IT hardware and consumables

Manufacture and Materials

Power management

Consumables

Recycling and disposal of e-waste

Environmentally aware sourcing and manufacture of components and hardware. Includes transport

and packaging of end-product

The design and use of energy efficient hardware, as well as the

management of power consumption and waste emissions throughout

product lifetime

The responsible use of IT-related consumables, such as

printer paper and ink

The environmentally responsible recycling and

disposal of all IT hardware and consumables

Green IT CycleGreen IT Cycle

Source: Business Insights Business Insights Ltd

Responsible manufacturing refers to the components and production methods used to

manufacture IT equipment. End-user procurement decisions should consider the

following factors: the amount of harmful chemicals used in the making and design of

products; the use of recyclable components; the amount of packaging used; the

transport miles required for delivery of the product; and disposability of the product

at the end of its lifetime.

Power management refers the procurement of energy-efficient IT hardware, such as

PCs and servers, and their management and operation in such a way that reduces power

consumption over the product or system lifecycle. This can encompass anything from

complex technologies through to simple policy strategies for example, data centre

virtualization through to educating employees of the benefits of switching off desktop

PCs and printers whenever they leave the office.

21

The responsible use of consumables is fairly self-explanatory and encompasses, for

example, the procurement of recycled printer ink to the education of employees to only

print out documents that are absolutely necessary. A number of large organizations,

such as KPMG, have significantly reduced paper consumption through the latter policy

not only does this reduce costs, it also reduces harm to the environment in both terms

of paper production and recycling.

The issue of e-waste is a growing problem for the global environment. In turn, it is

driving regulatory and ethical pressures that require hardware vendors and enterprises

to ensure that IT-related waste or e-waste that is not recyclable has a minimal

impact on the environment. Likewise, hardware manufacturers are reacting to self-

imposed and external pressures to maximize the recyclability of e-waste.

Lifetime asset management

As the debate around carbon emissions and the role of enterprise IT gathers

momentum, IT organizations are focusing their efforts on finding the right ways to

reduce their carbon footprint and alleviate the Corporate, Social and Environmental

Responsibility (CSER) concerns of enterprises. The adoption of emerging technologies,

such as desktop and data center virtualization, goes some way towards addressing these

concerns, but the impact is limited to the operational life of IT infrastructure. In an

attempt to remedy this oversight, an increasing number of enterprises are beginning to

adopt a lifecycle approach to their green computing initiatives.

As enterprises adopt a lifecycle view to green computing, green vendor selection is

emerging as both a critical business issue and a CSER concern. While the business

equation for the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) includes implications from power

savings in the operational phase, the CSER focus on green computing prompts an

evaluation of the carbon footprint of desktops or data center hardware during their

manufacture phase as well.

22

In addition to power management and carbon footprint considerations of the IT asset

lifecycle, progressive IT departments are increasing their focus on the environmentally-

friendly disposal of hardware assets during the retirement phase.

At the same time, the definite trend in the US and EU towards tighter regulations

surrounding electronics waste processing, along with the escalating costs of safe

disposal, is driving IT organizations to evaluate the ease and expected cost of

compliant disposal while taking vendor selection decisions. Of highest concern is the

potential disposal of toxic materials into the environment during asset retirement, as the

litigation risks associated with such an event are very likely to have the highest impact

on both reputation and financial position.

The following table outlines some of the pressures voluntary and external that are

increasingly driving organizations to adopt a green approach to the entire lifecycle of

IT equipment.

Table 1.1: Reasons for adopting Green IT Voluntary Enforced Cost savings Legislation and regulations CSER (green credentials) CSER (consumer and political pressures) Reduced carbon footprint Rising energy prices IT architecture flexibility Space and capacity limits (eg data centres) Energy efficiency Recycling and disposal of e-waste

Source: Business Insights Business Insights Ltd

As a result, there is a growing awareness that a Green IT strategy needs to encompass

the entire lifecycle management of IT hardware, systems and processes.

23

Market context

Climate change & global energy demand

There is growing evidence that human activity is having a detrimental effect on the

environment and climate. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (Climate Change 2007), warming of the

climate system is unequivocal. The assessment notes that 11 of the 12 years between

1995 and 2006 rank among the 12 warmest years in terms of global surface temperature

since records began in 1850, with increases seen across the globe and most notably at

higher northern latitudes.

Average Northern Hemisphere temperatures during the second half of the 20th century

were very likely higher than during any other 50-year period in the last 500 years, it

says, and likely the highest in at least the past 1,300 years. Global average sea level,

meanwhile, has risen at an average rate of 1.8mm/year since 1961 and at 3.1mm/year

since 1993, due to melting glaciers, ice caps and polar sheets, and thermal expansion.

Consistent with the theory of global warming, satellite data also shows that snow and

ice coverage is shrinking rapidly since 1978 the annual average Arctic sea-ice area

has shrunk by 2.7% [range 2.1 to 3.3] per decade, with larger decreases in summer of

7.4% [5.0 to 9.8] per decade. Mountain glaciers and snow cover on average have

declined in both hemispheres.

The cause of this global warming effect can be linked to numerous factors, however,

the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is generated by the burning of fossil fuels,

is widely considered to be one of the major contributors.

24

Global energy demand

According to the energy policy advisory body, the International Energy Agency (IEA),

over 80% of the worlds primary energy supply is currently derived from coal, gas and

oil (collectively known as fossil fuels). Fuels derived from crude oil currently supply

about 96% of the worlds demand for transport fuels. The IEA predicts that total global

energy demand will increase by 60% between now and 2030, with China and India

together accounting for 45% of this increase.

Backing up those figures, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) which

provides energy information and statistics to the US Government estimates that

global energy consumption will rise 2% annually between now and 2030 (see Table

1.1). By then, the EIA predicts that Asia will account for 38% of that demand, Europe

24%, North America 23%, Central & South America 6%, Middle East 5%, and Africa

4%.

Table 1.2: Forecast global energy demand by fuel (quadrillion Btu) Fuel 2003 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 Avg annual chng 2003-2030 Oil 162.1 185.6 199.1 210.8 224.3 239.1 1.4% Natural gas 99.1 121.1 139.8 156.1 172.5 189.9 2.4% Coal 100.4 128.8 144.4 160.1 176.7 195.5 2.5% Nuclear 26.5 28.9 31.0 32.9 34.0 34.7 1.0% Other 32.7 45.2 49.1 53.1 57.8 62.4 2.4% Total 420.7 509.7 563.4 613.0 665.4 721.6 2.0%

Btu = British thermal unit

Source: Energy Information Administration Business Insights Ltd

25

Figure 1.2: Forecast global energy demand by fuel (quadrillion Btu)

0

50

100

150

200

250

2003 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

Oil Natural gas Coal Nuclear OtherGlo

bal e

nerg

y de

man

d by

fuel

(qua

drill

ion

Btu)

0

50

100

150

200

250

2003 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

Oil Natural gas Coal Nuclear OtherGlo

bal e

nerg

y de

man

d by

fuel

(qua

drill

ion

Btu)

Source: Energy Information Administration Business Insights Ltd

Worse still, rising energy costs for gas and oil are triggering a switch to the greater use

of coal the most polluting and least efficient fossil fuel energy source. According to

the EIA, global consumption of coal grew 5% in 2005 (double the 10-year average) and

was the worlds fastest growing energy source. Chinas annual usage grew 10.9% in

2005 on the previous year, while India used 4.8% more coal in the same period. The

two economies combined now consume twice as much coal as the US.

The environmental impact of business & IT

Business is a significant and growing consumer of energy and, therefore, a major

contributor to CO2 emissions. For example, the UK Office of National Statistics

estimates that business organizations accounted for 68% of the UKs total carbon fuel

consumption in 2005, an increase of 10.6% between 1990 and 2005. In the US,

meanwhile, the commercial and industrial sectors accounted for 50% of total energy

consumption in 2007, according to a report in Monthly Energy Review magazine.

26

IT is undoubtedly a significant energy consumer in all businesses, and at a time when

IT strategy is central to competitive advantage this trend is only likely to increase.

Despite the fact that modern IT systems are more efficient, and deliver more computing

power per unit of energy than ever before, the sheer growth in volume and demand for

computing power, means that IT is responsible for a growing proportion of energy

consumption, energy costs and consequent CO2 emissions.

New software and increasing demand for more processing power are devouring more

and more power every year, while ever-larger data centers are driving increased energy

requirements and therefore CO2 emissions in terms of both operating and cooling

individual servers. According to a recent report from hardware giant IBM, the number

of servers in data centers is currently increasing at an annual rate of around 18%.

But while the data center represents the largest energy consumer in the enterprise,

desktop equipment such as PCs, monitors, printers, photocopiers and projectors

represent the fastest growing segment in terms of power consumption. According to the

UKs Carbon Trust a government-backed independent company aimed at helping

business to cut carbon emissions estimates that office equipment currently accounts

for around 15% of the total electricity used in offices, with the figure expected to rise

to 30% by 2020.

As this report will highlight though, help is at hand, with a growing range of tools, best

practice and new-generation hardware specifically aimed at reducing the carbon

footprint and energy consumption of businesses, which in turn has a direct benefit of

reducing the enterprise energy bill.

Todays new-generation, energy-efficient hardware, such as processors, desktop PCs,

monitors and servers, has been specifically designed to provide higher processing

performance, while using less energy. This energy-efficient equipment is claimed to

provide significant energy savings without compromising performance.

27

E-waste, disposal and recyclability

E-waste is a major challenge globally. According to the United Nations Environmental

Programme, the world generates 20m to 50m metric tons of e-waste every year, most of

which ends up in developing countries where it is recycled cheaply, but poorly.

Traditionally, IT hardware has been constructed using a cocktail of potentially

hazardous materials, including lead, mercury and even arsenic.

But this is also becoming a major challenge for hardware manufacturers and users, with

a definite trend in the US and EU towards tighter regulations surrounding electronics

waste processing such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and

Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directives. At the same time, the

escalating costs of safe disposal means that organizations need to evaluate the ease and

expected cost of compliant disposal at end-of-lifetime a decision that needs to be

made at the vendor selection stage. Of highest concern is the leeching of potentially

toxic materials into the environment during retirement, as the litigation risks associated

with such an event are very likely to have the highest impact on both an organizations

reputation and finances.

In addition to adopting new design paradigms, IT vendors have of late been attaching a

considerable degree of importance to material selection in conjunction with device

design. On the one hand, an increased focus from enterprises on the ease of

disposability at the end of the IT lifecycle is driving PC and server manufacturers to

maximize the recyclability of their offerings. On the other, regulations such as the

RoHS and WEEE directives are progressing towards stricter enforcement and control.

Given this onus on recyclability and safer material selection, the majority of vendors

across the IT market are currently adopting or planning to adopt a sharper focus on an

environmentally-friendly material selection philosophy.

28

Legislation

While legislation or levies governing CO2 emissions and energy consumption are not

yet reality, it is likely that in the coming years governments will introduce fiscal, and

even custodial, punishments to the worst environmental offenders, as they try to meet

their own climate responsibilities, such as those laid down in the Kyoto protocol. For

now, the bulk of legislation in existence is focused on restricting or reducing the use of

environmentally harmful or toxic chemicals and materials in the manufacture and

design of IT and other electrical equipment, as well as ensuring that materials used in

the construction of IT equipment are either highly recyclable or environmentally

benign. This responsibility falls on both the vendor of the equipment and on the user.

The main legislation governing the use of harmful materials in the production of IT

equipment is the EUs Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, which

came into force in 2006. The directive restricts or bans the use of six hazardous

substances:

Lead;

Cadmium;

Mercury;

Hexavalent chromium (used to prevent corrosion of steel parts, such as computer

chassis);

Polybrominated biphenyls (used as a flame retardant);

Polybrominated diphenyl esters (used as a flame retardant).

Although RoHS-like regulations and legislation has subsequently been enacted in other

parts of the world, the directive is credited with kick-starting the drive by PC and

server manufacturers to reduce the use of harmful materials in their products. In order

to sell their products in Europe, manufacturing processes have to comply with the

29

RoHS directive, therefore manufacturers have adopted it as a universal requirements

it would not make financial or business sense to have separate product lines (RoHS and

non-RoHS compliant) depending on the region into which the product is sold.

It is important to note that here we already seeing the introduction of custodial

punishments for offenders South Koreas version of the EU RoHS directive, for

example, includes a potential custodial sentence of one-year for parties that fail to meet

their recycling/disposal obligations. Table 1.3 outlines the main legislative frameworks

that apply to the manufacture of environmentally responsible IT equipment and its

disposal and recycling.

Table 1.3: Legislation governing the use of hazardous materials in the manufacture of IT equipment

Region Legislation European Union EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive adopted in 2003 governs the restriction of six harmful chemicals in the manufacture and disposal of IT equipment. Closely related to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, which sets targets around collection, recycling and recovery of electronic goods. The directive also has liability implications under Sarbanes-Oxley. California, Maryland, Implemented own versions of RoHS. Californias Electronic Waste Maine, Washington Recycling Act of 2003, was the first to come into effect. North America 20 other states and Canada have RoHS-like or e-waste regulations pending implementation. China Chinas Regulations for Pollution Control of Electronics Products (or China RoHS) came into effect in July 2006, and represents a more stringent version of the RoHS and WEEE directives. Japan Adopted a stricter version of the EU RoHS, termed JPSSI, around green procurement practices. Taiwan, Australia, Are initiating their own versions of the EU RoHS. Argentina South Korea The Act for Resource Recycling of Electrical/Electronic Products and Automobiles contains aspects of the RoHS and WEEE directives. Came into effect in July 2007, and includes penalties such as 1 year in jail.

Source: Business Insights Business Insights Ltd

30

As can be seen, most current legislation around the world has been based on the EUs

RoHS Directive, with varying additions or modifications. California was one of the

first places, outside of the EU, to adopt such legislation which is, of course, home to

many of the worlds largest IT hardware organizations. Interestingly, China has

adopted a more stringent version of the law, while India (the destination of much of the

Wests e-waste) is notable only by its absence from the table.

Market drivers & resistors

Drivers

Legislation and regulation

While many businesses are voluntarily making commitments to tackling climate

change through their own actions, governments across the world are increasingly

introducing legislation and financial incentives as tools to accelerate business energy

waste and carbon production.

As of December 2006, 169 countries and governmental entities had ratified the Kyoto

Protocol, representing over 60% of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions. The protocol

was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December 1997, and came into force on 16 February

2005, with the aim of cutting emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) specifically CO2,

methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, and fluorocarbons by an average of 5%

by 2012, compared to 1990 levels.

In order for governments to meet these and, in many cases, stricter self-imposed

targets for CO2 emissions, they are exerting increasing pressure in the form of taxes,

levies, regulations and legislation on business organizations to cut energy use and

reduce their carbon footprint. This trend is only likely to increase in future, meaning

that a green approach to IT will become an operational imperative for businesses in

coming years.

31

At the same time, legislation in the EU, such as the WEEE and RoHS directives, mean

that organizations must be increasingly aware of their environmental and legal

responsibilities when procuring and using IT equipment. In the US, meanwhile, many

states have introduced laws requiring that all computer components stay out of landfill

sites, placing the recycling/disposal onus on the organization or their suppliers.

Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility agenda

In mid-term future, existing energy-intensive modes of business and commercial

operation could become untenable politically, economically and socially.

Increasingly, consumers and governments expect businesses to act in a responsible

fashion towards the environment, and this pressure is only set to grow.

It is also increasingly important for businesses to be seen to be taking their

environmental responsibilities seriously, as consumers, shareholders, partners and

suppliers alike become more aware and sophisticated in their buying/investing

behaviors. In turn, Green ICT strategies are appearing on the CSER agenda of a

growing number of organizations throughout every industry sector. It is likely that

organizations that do not consider their environmental responsibilities as an inherent

component of their business strategy will be at a fiscal disadvantage as

environmentally-conscious consumers, purchasers and investors incorporate such

considerations into their decision-making.

Cost savings

While legislation and CSER considerations are sufficient reasons for businesses to take

Green IT seriously, perhaps the biggest driver will be the potential cost savings that

energy-efficient machines and power management can offer over the lifetime of IT real

estate particularly as the cost of energy continues to rise, along with the demand for

ever-increasing levels of processing power both on the desktop and in the data center.

According to data from the Carbon Trust, businesses in the UK waste between 10%

and 20% of the energy they consume through very simple (easily corrected) oversights,

32

such as poor control of heating, air conditioning and ventilation, and through leaving

lights and office equipment, such as PCs and printers, on when not in use. The

organization estimates that through simple low-cost, energy-saving measures, UK

businesses could save 1.4bn and more than 11m tonnes of CO2 in a single year. It also

calculates that switching off all non-essential equipment in a typical office for just one

night would save enough energy to run a small car for 100 miles.

Meanwhile, figures from Energy Star, an energy-saving and ratings program run by the

US Environmental Protection Agency, show that for every $1 spent on IT equipment in

the US, $3 to $4 is spent operating it over its lifecycle. Clearly, there are significant

cost savings on offer through energy efficiency and Green IT.

Green IT has a huge role to play in helping organizations to meet their legal and moral

obligations to the environment. But in a worsening economic environment, the cost

savings available from a green IT strategy from simple power-saving policies to the

purchase of energy-efficient hardware increasingly represent the main driver for

organizations that are stalling on a switch to a green IT strategy.

Limitations and expense in the data center

The high growth of data centers and requirement for ever-increasing processing power

is being driven by a number of factors, including the ubiquity of the Internet and the

dawn of Web 2.0, the growth of multimedia applications, the automation of business

processes, increasing regulatory requirements, such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Basel II,

and the need for disaster recovery measures. As a result, businesses are increasingly

reliant on their servers and storage systems, which in turn need to offer greater

performance and capacity in less space than their predecessors.

For example, industry estimates suggest that the power consumption of a rack of blade

servers will increase from 15kW to over 50kW between 2005 and 2011, due to this rise

in power of the hardware itself.

33

However, this increased power also places greater demands on the data center

infrastructure, such as cooling and power supply. A large part of the energy used in IT

operation is not translated into computing power but is dissipated as heat. An idling

server also still consumes about 60% to 70% of the energy compared to a server in

normal production operation.

The cost of cooling has risen so quickly that, according to industry information

provider The Uptime Institute, the three-year costs for powering and cooling a server

are now between 1 and 1.5 times the procurement costs. More worryingly, it predicts

that by 2012 the cost ratio will be 3:1 in the best-case scenario or 22:1 in the worst

case.

According to a recent report by scientists at the US Lawrence Berkeley National

Laboratory1 the energy used by a typical rack of state-of-the-art servers, drawing 20kW

of power at $0.1 per kWh, amounts to more than $17,000 per year in electricity bills

with data centers often holding hundreds of such racks, this equates to annual energy

costs per square foot that are 15 times (and in some cases over 40 times) greater than a

typical office building.

In addition, servers operate continuously, which means that their power consumption is

always contributing to peak utility-system demands, an important fact given that utility

pricing increasingly reflects time-dependent tariffs.

One of the worst culprits is the low-end, or sub-$25,000 volume server, simply due to

its market share dominance this group of servers are generally those based on Intel

and AMD processor platforms.

34

Resistor

Perceived cost

There is a perception that energy-efficient IT equipment is more expensive than non-

optimized systems, which can impact the procurement decision. However, this is a

short-term view. Procurement decision makers need to look at total-cost-of-ownership

(TCO) when purchasing energy-efficient IT hardware. While there is currently a small

price premium to pay on such equipment (estimated at around $30 for a typical desktop

PC, but increasingly shrinking), the cost savings in terms of reduced energy

consumption that they provide is often recouped in the first year. Over a three- or four-

year lifecycle, any initial price premium is easily recouped by energy cost savings.

In addition, energy-efficient PCs are usually quieter in operation, thus potentially

improving the working environment and therefore productivity, and produce less heat

which means less energy is required for cooling the office and hence offer further

energy savings.

At the same time, it is important to consider that such equipment reduces CO2

emissions, is likely to be easier to recycle or dispose of, and provides a signature of an

organizations true green credentials and CSER intentions.

Lack of education / apathy

For many organizations, ethical and environmental considerations do not yet figure in

the procurement decision. While the focus in recent years, on both the desktop and in

the data center, has been on low-cost and high-capacity considerations, that attitude is

changing quickly as a result of the reasons outlined in previous sections.

It is also unlikely that such freedom from environmental concern will be afforded for

much longer, as governments, lobby groups, stakeholders and consumers are more

likely to turn the environmental screw, and as energy demand continues to grow.

35

Of course, as fossil fuels become increasingly scarce and concentrated in specific

regions of the world, the issue of energy security is likely to have a growing influence

on universal energy strategies. As a large consumer of energy, business is likely to bear

the brunt of any serious event or shortage.

The following chapters outline not only the impact that operating IT equipment, and

then disposing and recycling of it, can have on the environment, but also the significant

cost savings that are available to those organizations that adopt an energy-efficient, or

Green IT, approach to running their business. If environmental concern, social

pressure, government legislation or industry regulation are not drivers enough, then

bottom line cost savings should be.

Lack of knowledge / energy auditing

According to a recent survey of 200 IT managers in the UK, performed by processor

manufacturer Intel, energy consumption is now a board-level discussion at 66% of

organizations, and decreasing energy consumption is viewed as a business priority

going forward at 69% of businesses. However, the research also showed that 80% of

businesses have never conducted an energy audit, and only 29% are currently investing

in energy-efficient PCs despite the fact that 94% of respondents said that they were

aware that energy consumption from IT is a major contributor to global warming.

Without setting benchmarks there is no way for organizations to assess how much

energy they are wasting, where the problems lie and what improvements have been

made. Rising energy costs are a growing challenge, and so it is vital that organizations

of all sizes get a handle on their IT power consumption through an audit, in order to

begin tackling the problem.

Conclusions

A mixture of trends and issues, including energy demand and cost, legislation, growing

environmental awareness and corporate social responsibility, are coming together to

36

drive the adoption of green IT. Not only can green IT help to minimize the

environmental impact of business, it can help to save energy, and therefore have a

direct and significant benefit for any organizations bottom line.

While the green IT movement is currently being driven by the early adopters those

organizations with a forward-looking and responsible attitude towards the environment

the movement is still in its infancy. However, in coming years it is very likely that

growing legislation, regulation and even taxes and levies will make it a legal obligation

for organizations to reduce their carbon footprint.

More importantly, however, growing social, governmental and consumer pressure

could mean that organizations not taking their environmental responsibilities seriously

will suffer financially from both the perspective of continuing to needlessly waste

energy and in terms of consumer choice. Already, a growing number of organizations

are differentiating themselves on their adoption of ethical business strategies, and this

trend is only likely to increase, as energy costs soar, environmental damage continues

and energy security becomes a major global issue.

As one of the largest energy consumers in any enterprise, the IT department has to start

considering the total lifetime impact of procuring and operating IT equipment on the

environment, and on the bottom line. Green IT offers significant cost savings through

energy efficient hardware and best practices, and for the reasons outlined above, is set

to become one of the most important issues at enterprise of all sizes over the next

decade.

37

CHAPTER 2

Green IT on the desktop

38

Chapter 2 Green IT on the desktop

Summary

A growing number of diverse organizations are realizing that adopting a total lifecycle approach to Green IT including procurement, management and disposal is not only becoming a social and political imperative, but can also drive cost savings straight to the bottom line.

Any organization that wants to be taken seriously in terms of its CSER and green IT strategy needs to consider its approach to procuring IT real estate across the entire lifecycle of the equipment, starting with the manufacturing process.

In the US only 10% of unwanted or obsolete PCs are currently recycled, while 80% of the USs 500m PCs are sent to Africa, China or India.

Due to manufacturer initiatives and strong lobbying from the environmental community, there is a growing range of PC models, monitors and printers that have reduced levels of toxic materials, and are constructed from recyclable or degradable components and materials as much as possible. Many PC manufacturers now offer recycling, or take-back, programs on IT equipment.

One of the most significant costs for operating IT equipment over its lifetime is that of energy consumption. Yet one-third (37%) of workers do not switch off their PCs when they leave the office at night.

Energy efficient, multicore processors from the likes of Intel and AMD can provide significant reductions in energy costs.

The PC processing unit and monitor are two of the more power-hungry devices on the desktop, accounting for around two-thirds of ITs total energy consumption photocopiers and printers consume another 25%.

Vendors claim that energy-efficient PCs (in conjunction with the use of power management features, and using TFT monitors instead of CRTs) can almost halve total energy consumption costs on the desktop.

Correctly configured power management features can cut energy consumption by over 60%.

39

Market context

A growing number of diverse organizations are realizing that adopting a total lifecycle

approach to Green IT including procurement, management and disposal is not only

becoming a social and political imperative, but can also drive cost savings straight to

the bottom line. With rising energy costs and a tightening regulatory environment,

organizations of all types and sizes are reassessing their approach towards IT.

In order to meet their own CO2 emission targets (such as those defined by the Kyoto

Protocol) and reduce energy waste and consumption, governments around the world

are introducing stricter legislation and regulation governing the procurement and

disposal of IT, and its associated energy consumption over the complete lifecycle of

equipment. As a significant user of IT and energy, business is increasingly being forced

to cut its energy consumption and reduce carbon footprint across the board.

At the same time, organizations green credentials are coming under scrutiny from

consumers, purchasers, investors, partners and suppliers like never before. To be seen

as the largest energy consumer, dirtiest polluter or worst recycler could be potentially

devastating to any business, from both a PR and financial perspective. As a result,

Green IT is moving up the CSER agenda at a surprising range of organizations.

According to a recent Intel survey of 200 IT managers in the UK, for example, 66% of

respondents said that energy consumption had become a board-level discussion, while

69% stated that decreasing energy consumption was viewed as a business priority

going forward.

Indeed, the main driver for Green IT at many organizations is the growing realization

that regardless of rising energy prices simple power management policies and

technologies, and the procurement of a growing range of low-power, high-performance

hardware from PCs and monitors to servers can result in significant savings in

terms of energy costs over the lifetime of IT real estate.

40

The following chapter offers an analysis of the potential savings on offer from a range

of initiatives from simple power management policies (such as educating staff to turn

off machines when not in use) and the use of power-saving features that already exist in

many desktop PCs, right through to the procurement of a new-generation of energy-

efficient hardware that has been specifically designed not only with end-of-life

recycling and disposal in mind, but also to cut energy consumption and heat output,

during operation, while maintaining and usually increasing processing performance

on the desktop.

The business case for Green IT on the desktop

When considering the business case for greening the desktop, there are a number of

factors to consider: the ethical manufacture of equipment, the energy-efficiency of its

design, the power-management features available, and the ease and expense of disposal

or recycling at the end of its lifecycle. The following section argues the business case

for each consideration.

Environmental manufacture and recyclability of desktop equipment

One of the key planks of a holistic CSER and green IT strategy is the approach to

procuring IT real estate across the entire lifecycle of the equipment, starting with the

manufacturing process; Key questions include:

Does the product contains ethically sourced components

Is it manufactured with environmentally-conscious techniques?

Has the product been constructed using hazardous materials, such as lead and

mercury;

Has consideration of ease of disposal and recyclability been incorporated into its

design?

41

Additional factors to consider include the amount of packaging used (and the

environmental cost of creating it). PC manufacturer Lenovo, for example, introduced a

Desktop PC pack in 2006, which eliminates the use of traditional PC foam packaging

and decreases the amount of materials required to effectively ship Lenovo desktop PCs

by 25% per PC. This reduces the use of virgin plastic required in the production of

traditional foam packaging.

Levels of transportation and the distance products need to be shipped must also be

taking into account, as this is likely to significantly add to the total carbon footprint of

an organizations IT procurement and lifetime strategy. While these considerations at

first seem like overkill, a serious green IT strategy as part of an client and investor-

facing CSER agenda, for example will be hard to justify with a carbon footprint that

results in the unnecessary transport of equipment that is manufactured and constructed

using a cocktail of toxic materials that cannot be recycled or disposed of in an

environmentally sensitive manner.

eWaste

The number of PCs worldwide is estimated to have crossed the one billion mark in the

last few years, which according to the United Nations Environment Programme, is

creating 20m to 50m metric tonnes of e-waste worldwide every year. Computers,

monitors, servers, and so on, make up a significant part of that e-waste. E-waste is

often sent surreptitiously to groundfill sites, where it sits leeching dangerous and toxic

chemicals and materials into the ground or, when incinerated, into the atmosphere.

Table 2.4 outlines some of the most harmful chemicals found in older IT equipment

PCs manufactured before the introduction of the RoHS and WEEE directives still make

up the majority of existing computers in use.

42

Table 2.4: Toxic materials commonly found in PCs Monitors PC casing and circuitry Lead Selenium Arsenic Cadmium Barium Mercury Hexavalent chromium Lead Antimony trioxide Beryllium Polyvinylchloride (PVC) Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) Halogens Phthalates

Source: Business Insights Business Insights Ltd

Many environmentalists believe that the lack of consideration given to IT hardware

disposal is an environmental disaster in eating, especially in developing countries in

Africa and growing economies such as India that are bearing the brunt as Western

organizations take advantage of cheap recycling and disposal programs in these

regions, essentially using them as dumping grounds for old IT equipment. According to

the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition only 10% of unwanted or obsolete PCs are

currently recycled, while 80% of the USs 500m PCs are sent to Africa, China or India.

Unfortunately, the infrastructure is not yet in place for these countries to be able to

effectively and environmentally dispose of or recycle complex electronic equipment. It

is not only the local environment that suffers, as this equipment has first to be

transported there (which requires energy and increases CO2 emissions), but the crude

method of incinerating equipment that cannot be recycled releases harmful gases into

the atmosphere. Clearly, this represents a massive flaw in any organization that claims

to adopt a green computing or CSER agenda, but does not consider the entire

lifecycle of the IT procurement decision-making process, from cradle to grave.

While there are no direct cost savings to be made from ethical sourcing, although it is

quite likely that in the near- to mid-future, organizations will be taxed, or subject to

some form of levy, in terms of their carbon footprint, energy usage and environmental

43

waste volumes, as governments try to hit their own environmental targets, not to

mention consumer/social pressure.

Green PC vendors and recycling

As already noted, PC manufacturers in the EU and in other regions and states around

the world are obliged under the European Restriction of Hazardous Substances

(RoHS) directive to eliminate six key toxic chemicals from PC manufacturing,

including lead, mercury, cadmium and flame retardants. One key RoHS requirement is

lead-free components in PC-class products. In late 2007, for example, Intel announced

its first 100% lead-free processor. At the same time, the EUs WEEE directive is

driving suppliers and purchasers to consider the recyclability and ease of disposal of IT

desktop equipment, at the point of purchase.

In the US, the Federal Governments Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refuses

to set regulatory standards that prohibit putting e-waste in landfills and incinerators.

While the federal law says that CRTs should not go into landfills, the EPA rules

exempt households and small businesses from this ban. Waste regulations are governed

at the state-level in the US, with only a few such as California, which introduced an

Electronic Waste recycling fee on all new monitors sold to cover the cost of recycling

legislating. As a result of this reluctance to legislate for e-waste in the US, 80% of its e-

waste is currently shipped to countries such as China and India.

However, as a result of PC manufacturers own initiatives and strong lobbying from the

environmental community, there is a growing range of PC models, monitors and

printers that have reduced levels of toxic materials, and which have been constructed

from recyclable or degradable components and materials as much as possible. There is

still much room for improvement, but the following table outlines some of the

industrys attempts to reduce the environmental footprint of IT desktop hardware.

44

The information is based on industry sources and data, including the Greenpeace Guide

to Greener Electronics Ranking, which provides a barometer of the green-ness of

many of the large electricals manufacturers.

Table 2.5: A selection of vendor attempts to reduce toxic materials in PCs, laptops and monitors

Vendor Progress made Acer Committed to phasing out phthalates, beryllium and antimony in all new products by 2012. Apple Many products, such as MacBook Air, are free from PVCs and BFRs. MacBook Air also has mercury-free LCD display and arsenic-free glass. MacBook Pros have mercury free LED displays. Dell Uses fewer hazardous chemicals, but not as advanced as HP. Has aggressive plans to reduce or eliminate toxic materials in hardware production, improve energy efficiency, and boost recycling rates. Fujitsu Siemens Range of products with halogen-free plastics and circuit boards. No information on PVC-free components. HP Committed to completely eliminate PVC and BFRs by 2009. Claims that over 400 products meet Energy Star 4.0 energy efficiency specifications. Lenovo Yet to put products on the market that are free from BFRs and PVC, and not yet committed to phasing out beryllium, antimony and phthalates. Samsung Since November 2007, all LCD monitors have been PVC- free. The company has also developed halogen-free memory chips and for certain applications. Sony Has a number of models on the market that are partially free of PVC and BFRs. Toshiba Committed to introducing alternatives to phthalates, beryllium and antimony by 2012. Launched laptop models free from BFRs and Eco-Mark products without PVC.

Source: Business Insights, based on Greenpeace Green Electronics Guide Ranking Business Insights Ltd

Under WEEE regulations, which came into effect in August 2005, electronics

manufacturers became financially responsible for compliance with the WEEE directive.

45

The directive is designed to make equipment manufacturers financially or physically

responsible for their equipment at its end-of-life under a policy known as extended

producer responsibility, which provides a competitive incentive for companies to

design equipment with fewer costs and liabilities at end-of-life.

As a result, a number of PC manufacturers also offer recycling, or take-back

programs on IT equipment. Dell, for example, offers free recycling of any Dell product,

while Apple offers free recycling of any branded product, as long as purchasers buy a

new or refurbished computer or monitor direct from Apple. The table below outlines

some Take-Back programs for consumers and small businesses.

Table 2.6: Consumer and Small Business PC Take-Back Programs Program Vendor(s) Completely Free Dell Sometimes Free (free to some users or for some products) HP, Apple, Toshiba (laptops only) Offers Take-Back program for fee Lenovo, Acer (Gateway products only after its acquisition) No Take-Back Program Acer, NEC

Source: Electronics TakeBack Coalition Business Insights Ltd

Many of these manufacturers also provide take-back programs to enterprises. However,

the amount of information that they are willing to release about such programs is still

relatively small. Most will offer the service such as IBMs Asset Recovery Solutions

but they are negotiated on a one-off basis. Others offer the service as part of a leasing

contract, while others still offer trade-in recycling schemes. For large enterprises

purchasing significant levels of new hardware from any vendor, it is vital to understand

theirs and the vendors responsibilities at end-of-life, and what the vendor or supplier

offers in terms of take-back, trade-in and recycling services.

46

Similarly, a growing number of third-party asset disposal and recycle providers are

taking advantage of the growing importance that forward-thinking organizations place

on environmental protection.

Table 2.7: What to look for in a good take-back or recycling service Component Explanation Easy to use It should be as easy to return products for recycling as it was to buy them. Free Cost of recycling should not be additional to purchase price. All products Vendors should take back anything they sell. Any time Some vendors link recycling services to purchase of new products. Recycling should be available whenever. Re-use first Try to choose vendors that make every effort to reuse or refurbish equipment before any other consideration. Responsible recycling Ask about how products will be recycled. No export to developing countries Ensure that no products are sent to developing countries for recycling. No incineration or landfill These practices are responsible for the e-waste problem. Audit procedures Recycled and disposed materials should be subject to a complete audit trail process. Reporting Vendors should provide transparent reporting on how they recycle, reuse, or dispose of all equipment and components.

Source: Computer TakeBack Business Insights Ltd

It is important to note that one vital aspect that must be considered when using any

disposal or recycling service is security. It is essential for organizations to either

completely wipe sensitive, personal and competitive information from hard drives and

other storage media prior to disposal, or ensure that their disposal service provider does

it to the required standard and level of security required. Any goodwill or business

benefit generated by adopting a green recycling and disposal strategy towards IT

equipment would be quickly wiped out by a PR disaster, whereby undeleted sensitive

information turns up on recycled equipment.

47

Energy-efficient PC design

One of the most significant costs for operating IT equipment over its lifetime is that of

energy consumption. While procurement decisions are often driven by more immediate

factors, such as cost of initial equipment purchase, the cost of the energy required to

operate the hardware over its lifetime and the cost of energy wasted by, for example,

leaving office PCs on overnight is becoming an increasingly important procurement

consideration for enterprises as the cost of energy continues to rise.

As a result, the major PC manufacturers, such as Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens, HP, Apple and

Lenovo, now offer a growing range of energy-efficient, high-performance desktop PCs

and laptops within their product lines. Indeed, there are so many claims and counter-

claims for energy-efficient machines that it can be daunting trying to make the right

procurement decision. However, there are a number of national and global energy

efficiency and environmental benchmarks, standards and labels that are invaluable in

guiding the decision-making process.

Claims regarding the level of savings to be made vary widely, depending on a number

of factors, including: usage patterns, the desktop applications running, power

management settings, power supply efficiency, and so on. However, the following

sections attempt to define more accurately the cost savings that energy-efficient PCs

can offer enterprises of all sizes.

Cost savings provided by energy-efficient processors

At the heart of this new-generation of energy-efficient PCs and laptops is an on-going

race between the industrys two largest semiconductor manufacturers, Intel and AMD,

which are locked in a head-to-head battle to develop increasingly low-powered (i.e.,

they consume less energy), high performance processing components for use on the

desktop.

48

A few years ago, the only factor that mattered was the outright speed of a processor,

however, as organizations realize the growing cost of operating inefficient IT

equipment as energy prices soar, that perception is starting to change, with energy

efficiency and performance per watt increasingly considered to be equal to

performance factors. But a new generation of energy-efficient processors mean that

organizations can now have energy efficiency and performance.

Intel introduced its Core 2 processor brand in July 2006, and has since added the Solo

(single-core), Duo (dual-core), Quad (quad-core), and Extreme models. It was

specifically developed to meet demand for increased performance from PC users

running multiple, intense software applications simultaneously, while reducing the

amount of energy consumed and heat created.

The chipset uses new 45nm manufacturing technology (compared to the Pentiums

65nm), with hafnium-infused Hi-k transistors, which allows increased processor

performance by doubling the transistor density, improving efficiency and speed, and

increasing cache size by up to 50%.

Due to the lower frequencies the processor operates at, the processor requires less

energy. It incorporates Intelligent Power Capability, which the company claims

optimizes energy consumption by the processor by turning on computing functions

only when they are required. Intels new processors are designed for smaller and

quieter desktop business PCs.

At the same time, the processors are equipped with digital thermal sensors, which

measure the maximum temperature on the processor board at any given time. Intels

Quiet System Technology, meanwhile, regulates the system and processor fan speeds,

meaning that system fans spin only as fast as needed to cool the system. In turn, slower

fans generate less noise.

AMDs Athlon 64 X2 and Sempron processors are designed to improve energy

efficiency without compromising performance. The family falls into two categories:

49

energy-efficient desktop processors and energy-efficient, small form-factor desktop

processors. Compared to AMDs standard desktop processors, which draws 89 watts,

the energy efficient Athlon processors need either 65 or 45 watts, depending on the

model.

The 65-watt processors include six types of Athlon 64 X2 dual core processor: model

numbers 4800+, 4600+, 4400+, 4200+, 4000+, and 3800+. The 45-watt processors

include one type of Athlon 64 X2 dual core chip, the model 3800+, one type of Athlon

64 single core, model 3500+, and three types of Sempron, models 3400+, 3200+ and

3000+.

Both manufacturers claim that their processors draw significantly less energy than

standard processors and chipset families, resulting in marked cost savings. Other claims

include reduced cooling requirements, quieter operation, lower wattage idle states, and

so on. However, while newer processors undoubtedly are more energy-efficient than

previous generations, few independent tests are able to verify these claims as so many

variables are involved.

The following graph uses data drawn from industry and vendor sources to compare two

older generation processors (one each from Intel and AMD), and how they compare

with two of the new-generation of energy efficient processors from the same

manufacturers in terms of cost savings. While the figures will vary from machine to

machine and situation to situation, they provide an insight into the levels of energy

efficiency of the two generations of processors compared to previous generations.

50

Figure 2.3: Estimated annual cost savings from new energy-efficient processors compared to older generation processors

tel Pe

ntium

570

Athlon

64 60

00+

Intel

Core

Duo

AMD

Semp

ron

50

100

150

200

Estim

ated

ann

ual c

ost (

)

tel Pe

ntium

570

Athlon

64 60

00+

Intel

Core

Duo

AMD

Semp

ron

50

100

150

200

Estim

ated

ann

ual c

ost (

)

Source: Compiled from industry sources by Business Insights Business Insights Ltd

Both of the energy-efficient generation of processors can provide significant

reductions in energy costs. Precise energy cost savings offered by new Intel and AMD

processors will vary around a large range of variables, including PC model,

applications running, usage patterns, and so on, but it is clear that they offer significant

savings over older, cheaper iterations.

Over the lifetime of a machine, and across an entire IT stock of hundreds of PCs, these

cost savings quickly become a critical consideration in the purchase of desktop

equipment. While a PC with an older, cheaper processor may at first appear to offer

value for money, these apparent savings would be quickly superseded by the energy

efficiency of newer processors over the lifetime of the equipment. This is without

51

considering, of course, the environmental savings they provide in terms of reduced CO2

emissions by more prudent use of electricity.

Multicore processors

The latest energy-efficient processors from Intel and AMD make use of multicore

technology. A multi-core processor combines more than one independent cores into a

single integrated circuit a dual core will have two cores, while a quad core will have

four. The latest generation of energy-efficient PCs and servers take advantage of

multicore processors from the likes of AMD and Intel.

A multicore processor can essentially multi-task, which means that it can run two

applications (for a duo core processor) simultaneously. At the same time, the use of, for

example, two cores requires less power for operation than two similar single core

processors, and takes up less space on an integrated circuit. Hence, multicore

processors provide greater performance at lower power consumption levels.

The majority of new-generation PCs therefore are likely to use multicore processors,

which is another factor to look for when procuring energy-efficient desktop hardware.

It is also important to note that it is not just a matter of considering purchase cost

(single core processors are noticeably cheaper than multicore versions), because

multicore processors are likely to provide more processing power per watt of energy.

Over the lifetime of the machine, and over a stock of PCs, this is very likely to more

than cover the cost premium of the initial cost.

Estimated cost savings provided by energy-efficient PCs

The PC processing unit and monitor are two of the more power-hungry devices on the

desktop, accounting for around two-thirds of ITs total energy consumption

photocopiers and printers consume another 25%. The price of hardware has come down

so much that companies will spend more on energy to run computing hardware, such as

PCs and servers, than on purchasing them.

52

Regardless of price, the cost of running a typical PC has a significant impact on the

environment, in terms of carbon footprint especially when spread across an enterprise

of hundreds and even thousands of machines.

It is estimated that a typical desktop PC with a 17-inch LCD monitor requires about

100W to operate 65W for the computer and 35W for the monitor and, if left on

24x7 for one year, will consume around 874 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity.

Taking UK government figures (which estimate that 1kWh of electricity produces

0.51kg in CO2 emissions), then that single PC is responsible for 445.7kg of CO2 being

released into the air equivalent to driving around 1,000 miles in an average car.

Across a distributed environment of 1,000 PCs, that is a significant impact on the

environment.

However, a new breed of energy-efficient PCs, laptops and monitors now offer the

opportunity for enterprises to significantly reduce their energy consumption, and

therefore costs, on the desktop, as well as their carbon footprint. Most are based on the

new-generation processors from Intel and AMD outlined in the previous section, but

also incorporate further energy-saving enhancements, such as form factor (size of the

unit), power management features, and specific design features such as optimized

cooling.

Most of the leading vendors, including Dell, Lenovo, Fujitsu-Siemens, Apple, HP, and

others offer energy-efficient business desktop and notebook computers and monitors.

As noted in the following chapter, most of them are now benchmarked under a range of

standard rating and labeling programs, such as Energy Star and EPEAT (see next

chapter for a full explanation). Most PC vendors now offer online calculators that

purchasers can visit to help them assess and compare the amount of energy savings that

the various models offer over non-energy-optimized versions. However, the following

table has been compiled by Business Insights from a variety of vendor and industry

resources as a rough guide to the potential savings provided by energy-efficient PCs

and monitors.

53

This table is not to be read as a de facto guide for making direct comparisons between

PC models, but rather as a guide to some of the typical cost savings that PC

manufacturers are claiming for their new-generation energy-efficient PCs. For

example, there are some discrepancies in the usage patterns for Dell and Fujitsu-

Siemens, it is assumed that the PC is in use for 9 hours per day, with two hours of idle

time, while Lenovo usage patterns are not stated in their comparison calculator. Figures

for each model will vary according to a number of factors, including the applications

being run, usage patterns, power management feature settings, age of PC, and so on.

Table 2.8: Comparison of manufacturers estimated cost savings from operating energy-efficient PCs

Model Processor Annual Annual % cost Annual CO2 energy use energy cost saving* emissions** Lenovo ThinkCentre M52 with 17 CRT [standard] Intel Pentium D 845 kWh $84.50 - 431.0kg ThinkCentre A61e with Athlon 64 X2 17 TFT [energy efficient] Dual core 370 kWh $37.00 44% 188.7kg Dell OptiPlex 6X620 with 17 CRT [standard] Intel Pentium D 1,321 kWh $132.10 - 673.71kg OptiPlex 755 with 17 TFT [energy efficient] Intel Core 2 Duo 551kWh $55.10 42% 188.7kg Fujitsu-Siemens Esprimo P with 17 CRT [standard] Intel Pentium D 625 kWh $62.50 - 318.7kg Esprimo proGreen with 17 TFT [energy efficient] Intel Core 2 Duo 288 kWh $28.80 46% 146.9kg * Cost savings are based on an energy cost of $0.1 per kilowatt hour (kWh) ** CO2 emissions are based on UK Government figures, which calculated that generating 1kWh of electricity produces 0.51kg of CO2

Source: Compiled by Business Insights Business Insights Ltd

54

As shown in the table, vendors claim that energy-efficient PCs (in conjunction with the

use of power management features, and using TFT monitors instead of CRTs) can

almost halve total energy consumption costs on the desktop. If the figures for

individual PCs are multiplied across 100 or 1,000 machines, then it is clear to see that

switching to energy-efficient PCs, with power management features correctly

configured, and using TFT monitors can significantly reduce the annual enterprise

energy bill.

At the same time, the vendors claim substantial CO2 emission savings for new-

generation PCs compared to older, non-optimized machines in most cases, the figure

is again around the 50% level. On these assumptions, any enterprise switching just

three or four standard PC models (with CRT monitors) to energy-efficient PCs (with

TFT monitors) could annually save the equivalent CO2 emissions of a flight from

London to Cairo. Again, across a medium to large organization, this represents a very

significant potential reduction in CO2 emissions.

Estimated savings from PC power management

Some of the simplest and cheapest steps towards reducing energy costs and

environmental damage can be the most effective. Educating staff to turn off their PCs

and local printers when they leave the office, or ensuring that power saving

capabilities, such as sleep and hibernate, are correctly configured can add up to

significant savings. Research from Fujitsu Siemens Computers, for example, suggested

that more than one-third (37%) of workers do not switch off their PCs when they leave

the office at night. It estimates that this wasted energy costs the UK $217m every year,

not to mention the environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions. Across the US,

meanwhile, it estimated that similar behavior adds up to more than $1.72bn in wasted

energy and almost 15m tons of CO2 emissions.

However, even when PCs are in use throughout the day, organizations can make

significant savings to their electricity bill by ensuring that power management features

and modes, such as Idle, Sleep and Hibernate, are correctly configured. Todays

55

desktops and notebooks come with increasingly efficient power-saving capabilities

built in. It is estimated that utilizing sleep and hibernate during periods of

inactivity can reduce the amount of energy consumed by each unit by up to 6070%.

According to Energy Star, a joint program of the US Environmental Protection Agency

and the US Department of Energy to benchmark energy-efficiency standards for

electronics products, recommends that to maximize energy savings, PCs should enter

system standby or hibernate after 3060 minutes of inactivity, while monitors should

enter sleep mode after 520 minutes of inactivity. The organization estimates that these

settings can save as much as $75 per PC annually. The following table shows potential

savings from activating power management features in a typical PC / monitor set-up.

Table 2.9: Estimation of potential energy savings from power management Number of PCs 100 Current % of PCs with power management enabled 55% Future % of PCs with power management enabled 100% Cost of electricity $0.1 per k