The goal: power reduction. Sounds simple, but in the IT world, where equipment is notoriously power-hungry, it will take the best and brightest working together to craft a solution that is as business friendly as it is environmentally sound.
Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI) was formed in 2007 to do just that. CSCI brings together IT powerhouses, including CSC. Their goal is to promote development, deployment and adoption of smart technologies that can improve the efficiency of a computer's power delivery and reduce the energy consumed when the computer is in an inactive state. By 2010, the group seeks to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions from the operation of computers by 54 million tons per year, leading to a 50 percent reduction in power consumption by computers.
CSC became a board-level member of CSCI in December 2008, joining Dell, Google, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft and the World Wildlife Fund to help shape the young organization. John Glowacki, CSC's chief technology officer, was appointed to CSCI's board of directors, and recently hosted members at CSC's Falls Church headquarters for the quarterly meeting.
As a member of the board, CSC has agreed to and must prove compliance with stringent power policies. CSC has also committed to adopting policies and practices to increase power efficiency throughout the company, as well as purchasing power-efficient products. The initiative maintains a list of approved products that is even more stringent than that of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"CSC doesn't manufacture hardware, but we manage a lot of hardware that consumes a tremendous amount of energy," says Glowacki. "Our work with Climate Savers is a big step in the right direction as we grow our GreenWay program."
Notes Candace Labelle, program director for CSC GreenWay, CSC's clients want a partner that does more than simply talk about being Green. "As part of the bid process, many of our clients ask us to prove our own commitment," she says. "Day to day, on a global scale, countries are introducing environmental regulations, around carbon trading for example, and our clients have to prove not only their own "Green-ness," but that of their supply chain, which includes CSC."
More than 300 companies and organizations have joined CSCI since its launch in June 2007, and thousands of individuals have pledged their support.
"This movement is building momentum, and CSCI is an organization a lot of companies want to be a part of," says Glowacki. He believes that the Green movement is not just a fad, but a new way of doing business.
"Many of us remember the environmental movement of the 1960s and 70s. The difference then was you didn't have the synergy of business interests," Glowacki adds. "Technology is now at a point where business and the environment have converged. There are so many areas where we can be environmentally friendly and conduct business more efficiently."