[LINK] re: Computer Energy Standard Workshop, 8 February, Sydney

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

A star-sticker for IT boxes sounds good to me, and I think, one apparently
powerful (and very right wing) US industry lobby group appears to agree .. 

Eg, "Do more to encourage innovation of energy efficient IT, but don't set
rigid performance standards for computers and other energy-hungry devices.
The economy and environment stands to benefit from free-market policies.."

Also, as the article suggests, we could have 'Rudd-Rewards' or a "Garrett-
Gold" (with maybe a song) for companies with energy efficient IT solutions.

--
IT execs push for greener computing policies, technologies

Manufacturing Business Technology 
February 7  Michael Burnham, senior reporter 
<http://www.mbtmag.com/articleXml/LN741133615.html>

. Office computers, data servers and telecommunications devices consumed 
about six percent of U.S. electricity last year, nearly triple their share 
in 2000, according to a report published yesterday by the Technology CEO 
Council, a lobby group composed of Dell and nine other IT company CEOs. 
<http://www.cspp.org/>

So the solution for tamping the tech industry's explosive -- and expensive 
-- energy consumption is "greener" innovation, Dell and his counterparts 
explained yesterday at a luncheon two blocks from the White House.

Their message to policymakers: Do more to encourage innovation of
energy-efficient IT, but don't set rigid performance standards for 
computers and other energy-hungry devices. The economy and environment 
stands to benefit from such free-market policies, the CEOs contended. That 
is, fewer kilowatts consumed by greener gadgets would mean fewer 
greenhouse gas emissions spewed by power plants, the council's report 
concludes.

"This is not only a gigawatt problem, but it is a gigaton-of-carbon 
problem, and it takes solutions that are pervasive," underscored Applied 
Materials Inc. President Mike Splinter, the CEO council's chairman.

Efficiency gains in IT are already echoing throughout the economy, 
contends the report, which was produced by economists at the nonprofit 
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Every kilowatt-hour of 
energy used by IT today replaces 10 kWh of energy that would be used 
elsewhere. These gains are possible because of technologies such as e-mail 
and webcasts, which presumably displace the energy needed to conduct tasks 
in person, explained John Laitner, ACEEE's policy analysis director and 
the report's co-author.

But the report suggests that the IT industry has plenty of room for 
improvement.

For example, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative -- a nonprofit 
launched last year by Google and Intel -- estimates that standard desktop 
computers waste almost half of the power delivered to them.

And while some of the industry's biggest computer makers have pledged to 
cut the power consumption of their machines in half during the next few 
years, the Energy Department projects IT will still consume almost 9 
percent of the nation's electricity two decades from now.

"The good news is, we're far from optimal," Laitner said.

The Technology CEO Council released a second study yesterday that focused 
on where the industry sees the greatest potential for energy innovation.

One such technology, called virtualization, enables businesses to run 
multiple systems and operations on remote computers to reduce energy 
demand. To date, 1.2 million servers have been "virtualized," saving about 
8.4 billion kWh annually, the report notes.

While the IT industry has come under fire for building massive, energy
swallowing data centers to store and route the torrent of electronic 
information, the CEO council's executive director Bruce Mehlman said his 
group isn't wary of possible future federal mandates that could force the 
IT industry to curb its energy consumption or greenhouse-gas emissions.

"The IT industry will not be a target if it continues to lead in green 
enterprises and enable more energy-efficient economic growth," Mehlman 
added.

And the industry certainly doesn't need "one-size-fits-all" mandates for 
the design of IT products, Dell underscored.

"Customers care about the cost of energy, how much energy they're using 
and the emissions they're creating," he said. "The competitive forces can 
be very effective in driving innovation."

What the federal government should do, the CEOs said, is set "high goals" 
for energy efficiency and flexibility for IT companies to achieve them. As 
the nation's biggest energy user, the federal government should also lead 
by example by creating a model agency for energy-efficient technology use.

Yet another recommendation from the CEOs is for the White House to award
presidential medals to companies with energy efficient IT solutions.

"Industry is moving, the market is moving, but (they) could and should be 
moving faster," Mehlman said.


Tom writes:
 
> I wrote Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:00:27 +1100:
> >The Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) is holding a free Labeling
> >Workshop for Computers and Monitors, 8 February 2008 in Sydney.  ...
> 
> Greetings from the workshop in Sydney (near Macquarie University),
> which is now under the auspices of the Department of Climate Change.
> The new minister, Peter Garratt, is considering making the US energy
> star standards mandatory for computer and monitors sold from October
> 2009. There is a Fact Sheet and Technical Report available on the
> proposal. At the workshop are people from the Australian Government,
> Choice magazine, NEC, UNISYS, Australian Seniors Computing Club
> Association, Dell, Apple, HP, LG, and myself from the ACS.
> 
> The Minimum Energy Performance Standard would apply to corporate,
> private and government computer purchases. Energy rating labels
> similar to those on consumer appliances would be attached to computers.
> 
> The workshop has heard from the consumer's association, the
> government people and the consultants. Later we will hear what the
> computer company people have to say. I will be providing the lunch
> time talk at the workshop and proposing that a new category of "thin
> client" desk top computers of 25 Watts or less be added to the standard.
> 
> ps: I managed to get to the workshop on a bus, using a web based travel 
plan.
> 
> Links in my blog at
> <http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2008/02/reducing-computer-energy-use.html>.
> 
> Tom Worthington FACS HLM tom.worthington at tomw.net.au Ph: 0419 496150
> Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd            ABN: 17 088 714 309
> PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617                      
http://www.tomw.net.au/
> Adjunct Senior Lecturer, ANU
>


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