ComputersOFF.org is hosting a virtual Green IT Week from June 1-7. This is an issue that’s of particular importance to me. Having been an IT director, I know how much power the combined laptops, desktops and servers of an organization can consume, and how much pollution is generated by the disposal of computer hardware (see this post, and this one as well).

I’ve written about this topic since 2004. Here are three of my articles that deal with saving energy in IT:

• A guide to saving energy
• Ways in which companies waste money and energy
• American habits

Green IT deals with two things:

1. Electronic Waste: Minimizing the negative impact of information technology use on the environment, and
2. Energy Efficiency: Using information technology to help solve environmental issues

They’ve put together a few facts that help to drive home their message, so I’m going to quote them below.

By turning off your computer each night or when not in use (i.e. lunch times, weekends, when in meetings at night) for a year you save as much energy as it takes:

• to run a clock radio for 1,392 weeks
• to make 9,280 bags of microwave popcorn
• to wash 464 loads of washing
• to use your blow dryer for 5,568 hours
• to vacuum for 464 hours
• to produce 3,480 plastic bags
• to run your microwave 24 hours a day for a week
• to boil your kettle for 24 hours a day for 268 days

By turning off your computer tonight when you leave work you will save as much energy as it takes:

• to run a clock radio for over 3 weeks
• to make over 20 bags of microwave popcorn
• to wash over 1 load of washing
• to blow dry your hair over 12 times
• to vacuum for over 1 hour
• to light a 100 watt light bulb for over 10 hours

For both companies and individuals, there are some really easy actions they can take to reduce their energy use, including:

• Turning off computers, games consoles and TVs when they are not in use
• Setting your computer to “sleep” after 15 minutes of inactivity (this reduces the power it uses because “sleep” mode is a lower-energy use mode for the computer to operate in)
• Turning devices off at the power point (because even in standby mode your appliances are using electricity)
• Buy green energy (to help push electricity suppliers to convert from coal based production – which creates greenhouse gases and requires mining – to sustainable technologies like wind power)
• Buy and use a laptop instead of a desktop computer. Laptops only use 190kW (average) of electricity per year.

Want more of these neat factlets? They also have 100 Green IT Tips. They’ve put together a video as well, where various celebrities endorse the cause.

Make sure to check their website from June 1 to June 7 for more good info about Green IT.