Local government IT managers are not doing enough to cut
carbon emissions, delegates at theSocitmconference were told last
week.
Tim Dawes, managing director of Nineveh Consulting, which
specialises in advising the public sector, said that, globally, IT
was responsible for 2% of carbon emissions, but IT directors had
yet to tackle the issue.
"We have responded by putting our heads in the sand. An
Economist survey showed that 50% of IT departments do not even
measure their datacentre
energy consumption," he said.
Dawes set out strategies that IT managers could use to help
reduce the carbon footprint of their organisation.
"Teleworking is not always beneficial. If one person with an
average commute stays at home with the heating on, and the offices
are open and heated as well, it adds to emissions. Unless you are
making a general move to teleworking and closing offices, do
homeworking in the summer and get them in the office in the
winter," he said.
Dawes added that most of the emissions from desktops were
produced in the manufacturing stage, so changing PCs frequently is
bad for the environment.
Laptops are more efficient than PCs, said Dawes. "If you have
staff using both, consider just giving them laptops," he said.
Dawes said that IT managers should carry out carbon return on
investment assessments of IT projects and set targets to reduce
emissions.