Computing giants join forces with WWF
The alliance has been created to promote energy-efficient computing and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54-million tons a year. Others committing to the scheme by forming the Climate Savers Computing Initiative include Dell, EDS, IBM and Microsoft.
The goal is to set aggressive targets for energy-efficient computers and components, and promote the adoption of energy efficient computers and power management tools.
“Today, the average PC wastes nearly half of its power and the average server wastes one-third of its power,” said Urs Holzle, the senior vice-president for operations at Google. “The initiative is setting a new 90% efficiency target for power supplies, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54-million tons per year and save more than $5,5bn in energy costs.”
By 2010, the initiative would have cut greenhouse gas emissions to the same degree as removing more than 11-million cars from the road, said Pat Gelsinger, a senior vice-president of Intel. “Computers have helped us make huge strides towards a more efficient world today, with reduced travel, more productivity and online transactions. But, with today’s latest energy-efficient technologies, we can do even more,” said Gelsinger.
Businesses and individuals can join in by buying energy-efficient computers and committing to better power management. The website www.climatesaverscomputing.org will help consumers learn how to take advantage of their existing computer’s power-saving capabilities such as sleep and hibernate modes, which can cut energy use up to 60%.
The initiative licensed its name from the World Wildlife Fund Climate Savers programme, which encourages companies to reduce their carbon footprint.
“This is the first time our Climate Savers programme has been applied to an entire sector, engaging manufacturers, retailers, and consumers,” said senior vice-president John Donoghue.
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