U.K. Environmental IT Leadership Team Holds First Meeting

OAKLAND, Calif. — The United Kingdom's Environmental IT Leadership Team met for the first time in London this month in an effort to help IT managers reduce their departments' carbon footprint and establish sustainable best practices.

The group was created because many IT managers felt confused from the various messages they received from vendors and government, said Trewin Restorick, director of Global Action Plan, a non-profit that works with businesses to help them cut greenhouse gas emissions in their operations, and chair of the Leadership Team.

"They were aware they could play a large role in environmental solutions but wanted to share their thoughts with others in this sector," Restorick said.

Members from nine public and private organizations, such as Sony UK Ltd. and the British Medical Association, met July 16 to determine short- and long-term goals. Restorick called the group's composition unique because it focuses on end users rather than vendors.

Aside from a few additional companies joining the board, Restorick expects to keep the core group small. "It is understood that all the information it gets will be shared with the whole (IT) community," he said.

Getting a grasp of the subject is one of the IT sector's biggest challenges, Restorick said.

"It's more of an awareness and understanding of what their impact is because we think it's fairly hidden at the moment," he said.

The first thing the group plans to do is begin research in the fall to determine the size of the carbon imprint of the U.K.’s IT sector. Some research suggests that IT operations account for as much as 2 percent to 3 percent of total carbon emissions, which is roughly the equivalent of air travel, Restorick said.

"Once IT managers are aware of that and start to understand the energy implications of their decisions, we’ll see some different approaches," he said.

The Board will examine the challenges and opportunities the sector faces in terms of reducing carbon emissions, as well as some solutions. For instance, some at the initial meeting suggested revamping server space to boost efficiency, or simply shutting down office computers every night.

The group plans to hold a debate forum with IT vendors so users can talk to them about what drives their environmental concerns. Its next meeting will take place in October, which Restorick expects will be attended by a government official involved in developing public policy. It will meet every three months.