Ask the experts: How can IT directors help cut spiralling carbon emissions?

Our panel of IT leaders provide their opinions and ideas on major issues affecting technology in business. This month, we take a special feature-length look at green computing

Computing recently reported that research from analyst Gartner showed the world’s data centres are responsible for the same volume of carbon emissions as the average European country. How can CIOs - and the UK government - help reduce carbon emissions from IT?

BT is engaged in an ongoing drive to reduce its carbon footprint, using innovative technology to improve environmental sustainability. BT has already reduced emissions by 60 per cent between 1996 and 2006, and now aims to extend that reduction to 80 per cent by 2016 ­ the equivalent annual carbon emissions produced by 143,000 cars.

BT began the project with an assessment of 90 legacy data centres. Combined, these data centres had 11,000 server racks powered by an average of 3,000 watts per rack and 25,000 physical servers.

By using leading-edge technologies such as fresh air cooling, improved efficiency in energy transfer from the street to the data centre and virtualisation technologies, BT has saved £3.8m in electricity costs in nine months.

BT has also reduced overall power consumption by one per cent. Although this may sound small, BT consumes approximately 0.8 per cent of the total power in the UK and is one of the largest buyers of green electricity on the planet. BT’s data centre initiative reduces power consumption, reduces the amount of capital deployed in building data centres and improves resiliency by simplifying the power distribution systems.

JP Rangaswami, chief information officer, BT Global Services

The simplest way to reduce data centre power consumption is to stop using air conditioning compressors when outside air can be used instead. That may seem scary but there are three main reasons to be careful about using outside air in a data centre: temperature, humidity and pollution, especially particulate pollution.

In terms of temperature, the average air temperature in central England is just over 10 degrees centigrade, so for most days it is suitable. Technologies such as
air-side economisers are now available that can deliver air at the right humidity and temperature, leaving your energy intensive compressors to just work at the times that the air temperature or humidity is too high.

John Proudlock, transformation director, Vertex Financial Services

Gartner calculates that business IT and telecommunications contribute about two per cent of carbon emissions worldwide. That might not sound like much, but it is about the same as global aviation and if left unchecked it will
grow faster.

It is also a conservative number for IT which excludes consumer electronics devices, like set-top boxes. Broadly speaking there are three areas where IT leaders can help. First, reduce the direct impact of IT operations by setting specific targets for electrical efficiency improvement and equipment lifecycle management.

Second, propose ways IT and communications systems could help to better monitor, measure, manage, curtail and control polluting business processes.

Finally, for those who are truly visionaries in long-term industry and public policy, consider IT as a possible way to re-shape societal behaviour to meet environmental goals. For example, do we really need planners to permit more large out-of-town shopping complexes now that e-commerce is so well established?

Mark Raskino, research vice president and Gartner fellow

Latest estimates calculate that energy consumption globally from IT accounts for two to four per cent and in the UK between 10 per cent and 12 per cent. IT definitely has a role to play if the UK government has any chance of hitting its ambitious climate change goals.

CIOs must work to reduce the environmental impact of computing right through the business from back-office data centres to the corporate desktop. Carbon audits, reconfiguring data centres, deploying equipment with power consumption sensors, upgrading power supplies all help but only scratch the surface of what needs to be done.

Long-term goals around server and infrastructure virtualisation, data centre outsourcing, thin client computing, tough supplier benchmarking and even building incentive schemes that reward IT for low energy consumption, should appear on the CIO agenda.

The UK government has a role to play and should give closer consideration to actions currently in play by a number of US states and public utilities that offer fiscal incentives such as tax credits and energy-efficient product rebates.

Euan Davis, principal analyst, Forrester Research

Many CIOs are already helping their companies lower their carbon footprint through encouraging greener working practices from staff, using collaborative working technologies to reduce travel requirements and using technologies like virtualisation in the data centre to lower their emissions ­ as well as their energy bills. Other CIOs are switching to using renewable energy in their data centres and many are looking at a range of techniques to recycle the heat generated in data centres in their offices, or even nearby premises and communities.

However, while some companies are keen to reap the advantages of their green credentials, wide-scale corporate commitment may be still some way off. While the environment is well and truly on the CIO’s agenda, financial pressures from the business mean that competing priorities get in the way. As it so often does, it all comes down to cost.

Ollie Ross, head of research, The Corporate IT Forum

Having recently relocated our London office we invested in a new data centre facility. Efficiency was obviously high on our agenda in terms of power, hardware and space, and affected our procurement decisions. A CIO has the power to control such decisions and to weigh up the benefits of doing more, based upon their understanding of the priorities and complexities of the business.

There are other initiatives IT can champion with far greater impact on eliminating waste and reducing energy consumption than would be possible within our data centre. With every employee using a PC, campaigning to switch off equipment at the end of the day, planning efficient printing systems and working with charities to recycle redundant hardware have significantly reduced resource consumption and waste. If businesses are really to reduce emissions, the data centre is only part of the picture.

Jeff Roberts, chief information officer, Norton Rose