Green IT & Green Hosting

The founder of Green IT in the UK is throwing down a challenge to business

21/06/11

If you are responsible for IT or budgets for IT within your business, then you might want to take a deep breath before you read further. Phrases like ‘brutal ICT sector’ and ‘dirty power junks’ feature heavily.

We have gone to the very top of the Green IT tree to find out what more we should be doing to further the cause of environmental awareness within UK business.

Catalina McGregor is the woman widely acknowledged to be the originator of the idea of Green IT in this country. She was guest of honour at Green IT magazine’s recent Green IT awards at London Zoo .

McGregor chairs the body that is writing and setting new standards and targets for the UK Government for Green ICT. She is also the person at the United Nations responsible for liaison with the OECD, EC and EU to promote co-operation and best practice on Green IT and, just as important, she knows the private sector inside out, having worked previously as head of e-business and e-commerce for Richemont Luxury Group, the owners of a vast international investment portfolio.

At the Green IT Awards, Catalina was asked some searching questions by iomart Hosting on the key issues surrounding green IT right now. Her answers certainly don’t pull any punches.

What are the challenges UK business faces relating to Green ICT?

McGregor: Data centre costs, software applications, hardware refreshes, new comms contracts continue to be abstract concepts sadly for many board members. But we are responsible, and we need to adapt and improve the way we communicate our knowledge and prioritisation to senior management, if we are proposing a green ICT scheme. We need to clarify much better that we can sweat our assets for longer and re-deploy those funds onto other smaller, incremental projects, rather than a total swap-out, which could be an expensive proposal and often a painful experience for users at the end of the wire.

This takes considered thought; and more time spent on strategic green development is invaluable. One of my biggest areas for extra ICT focus in 2012 is estate infrastructure and IT coordination. Few IT staff appear to be working successfully with estate management teams; they seem often to be divided by a common language. My message is that we need to recognise we are virtually using the same software reviewing and monitoring data centres as we are for estates monitoring power and other settings.

What more could UK business be doing on the Green ICT front?

McGregor: This answer is going to hurt. We seriously need to stop collecting data, unless it’s making money for the company. We do not need to be storing so much information and holding it for ten years. We need to stop being afraid of hitting the DELETE button. Just do it with surgical precision and demonstrate the savings in equipment and data centre costs as you achieve your goals."

Is Green ICT high enough up the agenda of UK business?

McGregor: "Often, financial directors are unsighted or have absolutely no idea what the opportunities are for ICT. I can understand why this has been the case for some, but, in the current climate, CIOs should be more courageous and take their FDs through the variety of proposals they may be considering. It is important the FD both sees and hears what the cost benefits are and not simply be brought in at the last minute for a new procurement when several smaller green ICT adjustments can make such a significant difference, both in terms of performance and savings. The FD will watch your back, if they have been involved in reviewing the same set of choices you have been facing and they can talk about it in the coffee room with other board members. This has seriously helped my CIOs get the job done."

Are there any other countries that the UK should be looking to for examples of good Green ICT policy?

McGregor: "The UK lost its position of prestige about 10 months ago, but we were not surpassed by a country and this will surprise you – we were surpassed by the State of California, which can simply no longer meet electricity and user demands, and had to change yesterday. Japan is also phenomenal; they even offer deferred tax arrangements for businesses, which really can make the changes we need for Green ICT practical, including the green power to run it. The US Environmental Protection Agency is still the champion for its procurement policies with both EnergyStar and the EPEAT Family, which have expanded recently to cover printers, screens and TVs. That means, for the first time, we can request end-to-end EPEAT in a tender."

How should ICT as an industry play a role in reducing carbon emission?

McGregor: It was very difficult when we first approached this subject at COP 15*. The ICT sector was quite simply not on the radar, but was consuming more power than several countries combined. I would like to ask our ICT community today to consider a new stripe to add to our already brilliant progress. We need the new generation of ICT leaders to step forward and ask the question: “Where is my power coming from?” If we can combine our brutal ICT sector pressure to deliver a mix of local renewable, we will alter the fate of our energy sector. I am asking for that strength from you, to build into your SLAs a year-on-year increase in the provision of renewable, and to look to the Environment Agency, which has now achieved a 100% renewable provision for both IT and estates. We are the single most dynamic sector in the world and, a few years from today, we want to be seen as the sector that played hard ball to get clean power full stop and not be labelled dirty power drunks.

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