Central government departments will be
carbon neutral by 2012 as the government promises to reduce
energy consumption and offset the remaining emissions.
The government also called on private companies and individuals
to follow its example set in its Greening Government ICT strategy
announced today.
Government CIO John Suffolk said
going green will pay for itself. The strategy outlines simple
steps that businesses and government departments can take.
"IT is not a cost issue. It does pay for itself because when you
turn something off and reuse technology that is a cost saving," he
said.
The government has committed departments to being carbon neutral
throughout the entire lifetime of IT, including manufacture and
disposal, by 2020.
Central government departments are being advised to take steps
such as turning computers off after work, re-using IT equipment and
cutting power consumption in datacentres.
The government said just turning off computers outside work time
will reduce CO2 emissions, every year, by the same amount as if you
took 40,000 cars off the road.
The plans also include using low power CPUs in equipment,
reducing the number of printers, using thin client technology and
using virtualisation in datacentres.
Cabinet Office minister Tom Watson said, "It is not just about
the government. I hope the steps we are taking today will be picked
up by private companies and individuals."
IT suppliers association Intellect will support the government
with its plan.
"Intellect's public sector council has agreed to form a
dedicated task group to focus on the issue," it said.