Firms waste
shedloads
Companies could save around £25 a year on each PC simply by turning
them off every night.
A survey shows that if company's pulled finger
and turned off their PCs every night the UK would save £300 million a
year. According to the 2009 PC Energy Report released today by 1E and the
Alliance to Save Energy, only 27 per cent of UK workers power down their
computers at the end of the workday - although that number compares favourably to the situation in the US, where only 10 per cent do
so.
The bods behind the study say that despite spiraling energy costs
and the environment playing an increased role in the corporate agenda, much
further action is required by both individuals and employers. The IT
industry generates 2 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions, and of this
apparently up to 39 per cent is created by PCs and monitors. Turning them
off could save a lot of polar bears.
If an average UK business with
10,000 computers leaves them on all night for one year, it will cost
£168,000 and emit 828 tonnes of CO2, the report said. It is a doddle
to do. Policies can be set up to power down machines or maximise energy
savings by placing machines into lower power states without interfering with
end-user productivity, desktop maintenance or upgrades, the report said.