Happy holidays to all.

Green computing or green IT, refers to environmentally sustainable computing of IT. It is “the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems—such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems—efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment. Green IT also strives to achieve economic viability and improved system performance and use, while abiding by our social and ethical responsibilities. Thus, green IT includes the dimensions of environmental sustainability, the economics of energy efficiency, and the total cost of ownership, which includes the cost of disposal and recycling. It is the study and practice of using computing resources efficiently.”

As the text explains, green IT is about all aspects of computing, including not just servers and PCs but much else besides. Committing to green IT entails thinking about how one can squeeze greater energy efficiency from all computing resources, right from their point of purchase — when one decides to favor, let’s say, a “green” PC or printer over another product — all the way through to the disposal of the product through recycling.

What we would emphasize, as we always do, is that green IT is not just good for the environment. Fortunately, it’s good for your bottom line, too. You can save a lot of money with energy-efficient computing.

That makes green IT a business priority as well as an environmental imperative.

Those of you with organisations located outside Toronto Hydro’s jurisdiction might be wondering whether the program is available elsewhere in Southern Ontario. Fortunately, it is.

Also offering the DCIP is PowerStream, the second-largest municipally owned electricity distribution company in Ontario. PowerStream delivers power to more than 315,000 residential and business customers in 11 Simcoe County and York Region communities.

PowerStream explains why data centres need your attention:

Data centres account for 2% of the worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the growth of data centre energy use is quickly outpacing the growth of other commercial building types. Energy and space efficiency will address constraints to growth, reduce operation costs, support internal green initiatives and help Ontario meet its environmental targets.

Like Toronto Hydro, PowerStream explains the benefits of the program. It also notes that those who participate in DCIP also can take advantage of PowerStream’s Electricity Retrofit Incentive Program, which provides additional incentives for approved measures completed outside the DCIP project scope.

PowerStream says savings accrued in conjunction with the program incentives can provide payback in less than two years. It also notes that total annual savings in electricity alone could reach as high as 30%.

If your organisation is located within PowerStream’s jurisdiction, we urge you to visit its DCIP web page to learn more about the program and how you can benefit from it.

A PowerStream project application for the Data Centre Incentive Program can be found here.

Yes, printers and their cartridges are known more for the environmental damage they wreak than for their green credentials. Still, if one must buy and use a printer — and we all do — you might as well do so in a manner that is least harmful to the environment. If you can save money in the process, even better.

Earlier this year, PC Magazine introduced its “PCMag GreenTech Approved” designation for single-function and multifunction printers, such as those with scanning and other capabilities (often called “all-in-one” printers).

The criteria that PC Magazine applied to its designation process included waste minimization, relevant certifications (such as Energy Star), scanner-specific issues, packaging and recycling, and vendor commitment to green issues.

Product ratings, including a list of GreenTech Approved printers and scanners, can be found at the PC Magazine website.

The Data Centre Incentive Program (DCIP) provides a positive contribution to your company’s bottom line by encouraging and rewarding the reduction of electricity demand in data-centre operations through the implementation of energy efficiency projects.

We encourage you to learn more about the program at the link above. In our view, DCIP Is a great way to contribute to the health of Southern Ontario’s environment while boosting your organisation’s bottom line. The program can result in electricity energy savings as high as 30%.

Any organisation with a green strategy — as well as any company looking for long-term energy savings — will want to consider participation in the program. Toronto Hydro’s DCIP web page explains the program, defines qualifying “data centres,” sets out eligibility criteria, delineates measurements and metrics, and provides a detailed overview of how the process works. It’s all there, including a helpful video, easy-to-follow charts and diagrams, and answers to specific questions.

Why act now? As Toronto Hydro says:

There is no better time to start “greening” your data centre in Toronto. Projects may increase your operating efficiencies, increase electrical capacity, reduce equipment footprint, minimize environmental impact and reduce energy-waste. Toronto Hydro’s financial incentives not only enhance your ROI in Year 1, but lead to continual energy cost savings.

So go take a look.

For our part, Verdint Solutions will be making its customers aware of the program and how it can contribute meaningfully to an already impressive ROI in Green IT solutions.

That doesn’t mean we won’t keep you informed about what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how we think our products, technologies, and solutions can benefit you. You can count on that. When we have something useful and valuable to offer — in word and deed — we’ll let you know about it.

In doing so, however, we’ll keep the focus where it ought to be: on you, the customer. That focus occasionally will guide us away from our own narrowly defined interests and toward issuance of advisories and recommendations that extend beyond our solution portfolio. That’s as it should be.

We look forward to making this a forum that you trust and value, as well as one where you’ll participate with your own comments and observations.

We look forward to your feedback.