IT's role in carbon reduction

Jan 21 2010 by Matthew Lamb, The Journal

OK, NOT everyone is equally enthusiastic, but the warnings of the potentially disastrous effects of climate change being shouted from the rooftops by scientists are now being taken more and more seriously.

Here at Waterstons, we’ve formed a green IT panel which meets regularly to discuss the issues and find innovative ways for our customers to monitor and reduce their carbon output using IT.

It is becoming increasingly clear that new technology will play an ever-increasing role in the drive to halt the effects of global warming. Indeed, the “green sector” is tipped to be a key element in our region’s future economic prosperity, in areas such as the development of electric vehicles, clean electricity generation and sustainable manufacturing.

Because the climate change that everyone is scrambling to curb happens over decades rather than days, it’s difficult for many to appreciate what difference they can make by their own actions. But there are of course potential short-term benefits of going green; essentially, by minimising the amount of energy consumed in our daily lives, we are not only reducing carbon output, but also saving money.

As the world economy recovers, oil prices are set to be pushed up higher and higher. One way that we can possibly make a difference is to consider remote working. This can reduce the need for travelling to work, saving on petrol costs and reducing pollution and you’ll also claw back wasted commuting time.

There’s some great technology out there to support you in this. You can have access to all your usual online resources; connect into your work PC, collaborate with colleagues online and use instant messaging to keep your team apprised of your progress.

These technologies proved invaluable here at Waterstons during the recent heavy snowfall, as they enabled us to provide a full service to our customers and continue progressing projects as normal, despite only a skeleton staff being physically present at the office.

One last thing: it’s worth making sure that your home IT equipment isn’t undoing all your good work by draining large amounts of power, costing you money and increasing your carbon footprint. Make sure you turn your PC off or put it in sleep mode, when it’s not in use. If you’re upgrading, consider efficiency ratings (which can usually be found on the manufacturer’s website) and remember that laptops consume less power than desktop machines.

Matthew Lamb is a consultant at Durham-based IT Consultancy, Waterstons Ltd