ZDNet UK Green IT Toolkit

MIT spin-off stores sun's energy to power the world

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Martin LaMonica) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:09:02 +0100

Newly formed company Sun Catalytix says the only way to bring energy to the world's poor is by capturing and storing solar energy in distributed fuel cell systems

Copenhagen's Christmas tree lit by pedal power

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Martin LaMonica) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:39:02 +0000

With international climate change talks a week away, the host city has taken its Christmas tree off-grid with a rack of bicycles powering LED lights

Warning over cloud computing's environmental costs

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Kable) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:39:02 +0000

A report by university IT organisation Jisc says technologies used to connect to the cloud are highly energy inefficient

Wave energy generator pumps power to Scotland

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Martin LaMonica) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:57:02 +0000

The Oyster converter makes electricity using a simple design of a flap moved by waves that pumps water underground to an onshore hydro-electric turbine

Wind turbines suspended after flaw discovered

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Carly Newman) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:17:01 +0100

Manufacturer Quiet Revolution remotely shut down its entire network of QR5 turbines after its safety system discovered a fault

Who cares about green IT? Not us!

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:18:11 +0100

Who cares about going green? Apparently, datacentre managers don't, if this story is to be believed. It reports research from Gartner showing that "while energy management is the top...

Government invites bids for £22m marine energy fund

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Andrew Donoghue) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:29:01 +0100

The Carbon Trust will administer the fund, which is intended to stimulate the development of renewable-energy technology

IBM dives into 'smart grid for water'

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Martin LaMonica) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:56:02 +0100

IBM is leading an effort to design IT systems to monitor and analyse water use, with a view that governments and businesses will need to better manage water resources

The environmental impact of downloading

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:23:27 +0100

I downloaded the portableapps.com portable applications suite on a USB stick today. I did the same thing the day before yesterday, and I had mislaid it somewhere in the midst of the plethora of...

Researchers devise energy-aware internet routing

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Marguerite Reardon) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:41:01 +0100

Researchers say they have developed a routing algorithm that can help big internet companies reduce their energy bills by millions of dollars

Green electronics Epeat registry expands worldwide

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Martin LaMonica) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:44:02 +0100

Epeat certification, which rates electronics on a variety of environmental factors, will be available to tech gear sold outside the US

ICT causing gov't to miss green targets

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Matthew Broersma) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:42:01 +0100

A Commons committee report has pointed to information and communications technology as one cause of the government's failure to meet its own carbon reduction targets

High court cracks down on WEEE waste dodge

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Matthew Broersma) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:33:02 +0100

Schemes that collect electronics waste for manufacturers that want to comply with environmental laws cannot deliberately amass more than their fair share, the court decides

How green is your data centre?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:59:30 +0100

Data centre management is all about power and cooling - most data centres seem to have the data side of things sorted. It's the energy draw that hurts the budget most. Well, that's close to the...

Intel seeds five energy start-ups with $10m

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Martin LaMonica) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:10:02 +0100

The chip giant's venture arm is boosting its presence in smart-grid technologies and low-power computing through a series of investments

Cisco braced for torrent of smart-meter data

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Martin LaMonica) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:17:02 +0100

The networking giant anticipates that utilities will bulk up datacentres to handle a deluge of data from smart meters

More energy must go into making devices efficient

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Wayne Lyons) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:38:02 +0100

The technology exists to make devices far more efficient, but a number of factors are standing in the way, says Wayne Lyons

Samsung exec: Enterprise ripe for green disruption

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Andrew Nusca) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:57:02 +0100

The enterprise is ready for a 'disruptive' approach to innovation when it comes to adopting green technology, according to Samsung Semiconductor's Jim Elliott

Energy-rating system introduced for servers

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Martin LaMonica) — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:35:02 +0100

After years of development, Energy Star ratings for enterprise servers are set for release on Monday, which will give buyers a 'starting point' for comparing efficiency

Legislation sets out battery-recycling rules

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:11:01 +0100

The new legislation describes how battery producers must aid the collection and recycling of waste batteries

Fujitsu Siemens explains its 'zero-watt' PC tech

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (David Meyer) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:18:02 +0000

A year after it introduced its 'zero-watt' monitor, Fujitsu Siemens made the same claim about its new PC. ZDNet UK spoke to the company to find out what it means

'Napping' datacentres could save 75pc of energy

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Chris Jablonski) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 08:35:02 +0000

Researchers at the University of Michigan are using an energy-conservation method called PowerNap to put idle servers to sleep when they are not in use

London 2012 targets green-tech to cut costs

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Nick Heath) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:26:02 +0000

The Olympic Games in 2012 will rely on green technology to control costs and waste amid the financial downturn

HP and the African e-waste problem: Round 2

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:36:02 +0000

I have been tracking the issue of illegal dumping of old tech in Africa for a while now and reported HP's first efforts to investigate this issue last year: ...

Apple selling used products online in China

editorial@zdnet.co.uk (Anne Dujmovic) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:34:02 +0000

The company has launched an online store in China selling refurbished products in an aim to boost its business there

Google emits rebuttal to carbon claims

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:02:05 +0000

Reacting swiftly to a Harvard academic's claims that two Google searches produce as much greenhouse gas as boiling a kettle, the company has posted a blog on the subject. "We thought it would be...

Are LCDs really greener than CRTs?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:55:34 +0100

New research this week from the US has shown that levels of a greenhouse gas emitted during the production of LCDs and flat-screen TVs - is actually four times higher than previously thought. ...

Apple carves out a new case for manuacturing

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:54:08 +0100

A wonderful rumour is circulating in the Applesphere, regarding a brick. The Apple Brick. The phrase itself has been around for a while, although nobody outside the company had any idea what it...

Out of the cardboard box thinking on green data centres

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:50:45 +0100

A lot of companies out there would like us to believe that data centres can somehow be green. But as one data centre builder admitted to me this week, "Anyone who claims they have a green data...

Confessions of an IT Eco-Sinner

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:26:38 +0100

Just working my way through an excellent book called Confessions of an Eco Sinner by Fred Pearce. The gist of the book is that rather than just come all preachy about the state of the planet -...

Back to The Thirties

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 08:50:38 +0100

Saturday 2:28 AM Xwindowsjunkie Power & Light is running. Standard AC power went down at about 2AM. Reliant Energy wasn't so we've dropped back to the 1930's. That's when a lot of farms in the...

Running a WEEE recycling plant

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:18:47 +0100

IT-Green is currently undergoing some major changes and I guess it's fair to say that being one of 2 directors, I'm in the driving seat (not to blow my own trumpet or anything) . Lets get one...

Come talk to us about datacentre efficiency

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:02:27 +0100

I read every post made on ZDNet UK by our members, and every day it's brought home to me what a wealth of expertise there is out there among our users. Of course, it's the cornerstone of the...

Is the WEEE directive in trouble?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:13:43 +0100

The directive was introduced to little fanfare in the UK about this time last year. A large number of reprocessors jumped on the WEEE bandwaggon, hoping to make quick and "profitable" exercise out...

Is Dell being paid to be green?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:34:17 +0100

Following from an earlier post around Dell's claims this week that it had achieved 80 PLUS Gold power supply certification for a server product, I have done a bit more digging (well, reading...

Dell trumpets green moves, Greenpeace begs to differ

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:25:02 +0100

The computer maker has announced today that is has become the first in its industry to achieve 80 Plus Gold-certification for a server product. Dell claims this is the latest sign that it's on its...

Of painters and programmers

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:36:13 +0100

If you happen to read this blog then let me issue a caveat up front. I am NOT suggesting for one minute that the skill set needed to be a painter and decorator is in any way akin or at a similar...

Teleworking: Truly green or just naive?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:48:05 +0000

I'm sat in the European Green IT Summit at the Sheraton Hotel in London, listening to a remarkable range of speakers and hearing people sat around me nodding heads in agreement. What has emerged as...

Easynet's green Rally cry

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:42:17 +0000

Its a good job that the majority of our press releases arrive by email these days as if we were still back in the times when snail mail predominated then the sheer volume of missives detailing the...

OLPCs land at ZDNet Towers

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:44:09 +0000

We are now the proud, if temporary, possessors of no fewer than four OLPC XO laptops. The XO is Nicholas Negroponte's brainchild: a machine that, he and his team hopes, will change the way...

Bringing Computer Aid to Cuba

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 10:54:47 +0000

Its too late to sign-up unfortunately, but I am sure IT charity Computer Aid would bite hands off for more donations for its annual charity cycle ride which kicks off next month. Last years event...

Homebrew Cosy Cottage - A High Tech Old House

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:15:53 +0000

In my previous blog I outlined our plan to free energy from the air to heat my dear old cottage in an environmentally friendly way. Our goal is to install an air source heat pump - essentially...

Conserving energy in an automated home - Part 1

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:26:26 +0000

In the same way that the saying youve got to spend money to make money works, sometimes its also necessary to spend energy to save energy. An automated home may have more gadgetry than normal...

One laptop per child available in developed countries too

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:01:10 +0100

It seems the rumours that the fruits of the OLPC project, or "$100 laptop" project as its also known, will be made available to consumers in developed countries is true after all. There seemed...

An Inconvenient Truth: A Convenient Option?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:38:49 +0100

So Im checking in for a BA flight this morning online and I notice that Im now being offered the chance to offset my carbon emissions. A return to the East coast of the USA results in 1.32 tonnes...

HP and WWF save polar bears

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 25 May 2007 15:12:52 +0100

HP is donating around $2m to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to help with climate change including collaboration between the IT company and WWF scientists in Europe into how tech can help reduce...

Microsoft's $3 software plan ignores hardware problem

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 01 May 2007 17:50:51 +0100

I had a mail this morning from Tony Roberts, chief executive of IT charity Computer Aid. The organisation takes old tech from the UK and refurbishes it for use in developing countries. (I recently...

IT industry as environmentally evil as airlines

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 15:59:48 +0100

The airline industry is the worst culprit when it comes to carbon emissions right? Wrong, according to a survey by analyst Gartner, the IT industry is just as bad responsible for two percent of...

Sod the environment - free cabs on Microsoft!

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 11:42:26 +0100

Microsoft has come in for some criticism over the environmental impact of Vista which some studies have shown to be the most resource hungry operating system the software giant has ever shipped....

A green PC from the Emerald Isle

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 19:15:05 +0000

A weekend with friends in Dublin put me in range of the Irish papers and a piece in the Irish Times (subscription only I am afraid) profiling a company behind a range of sustainable PCs. ...

PC World justifies environmental Vista claims

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 13:18:10 +0000

We were surprised by PC World's decision. to build an environmentally sustainable PC around Microsoft's Vista OS an operating system that has been widely derided for how power hungry it is. Also...

Computer Aid cycle challenge - Day five and six

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 11:10:42 +0000

It's over. We've managed to cycle 400km from Mount Kenya to Lake Victoria - including a trip down and a steep climb out of the Rift Valley - in just six days. Everyone is really happy to have...

Kenya IT Computer Aid cycle challenge!

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 12:05:35 +0000

Less than two weeks now till I am off to Kenya. Together with two colleagues from CNET Networks, Will Sturgeon and Helen Cooke, I'm taking part in a cycle challenge on 2 February 2007 to raise...

It's not just me who's confused by recycling laws...

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 18:10:07 +0000

God knows they have had long enough to implement the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, but it seems the DTI and the Environment Agency still haven't got their heads around...

Tech recycling law will hit in New Year

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:40:25 +0000

Green may be a vote winner but you wouldnt know it from the governments feeble attempts to enact the European tech recycling directive WEEE into UK legislation. Other states managed to roll...

Nigeria gets tough on waste tech

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:08:07 +0000

Nigeria is so concerned with the problem of e-waste being dumped in the country that the government has set-up a national committee to look into the issue. One representative interviewed by the...

Dreaming of a Green Christmas...

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 11:52:42 +0000

IT charity Computer Aid which takes old PCs from businesses and refurbishes them for the developing world has launched a Christmas e-card scheme . The idea is that in return for donating...

No $100 laptops for Thai kids

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 16:52:23 +0000

The Thai government has joined India in deciding to drop out of the $100 laptop scheme . Given the fun and games happening in Thai politics these days, there is a good chance that this could all...

A case of a little less conversation?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 17:28:19 +0000

I think it's heartening that IT managers are thinking about the environmental impact of technology -- and the board about the obvious business case for increased energy efficiency. However,...

HP: Greenwash or good intentions?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 17:27:29 +0000

The PC maker has pledged to clean up its environmental act again this time via a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund. Were not sure what the WWF actually brings to the sustainable IT party...

Energy company promises millions to customers for virtualiza...

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 17:06:05 +0000

[Live from VMWorld, Los Angeles] Green says: "Something I thouught I'd never do at VM World, bring on Roland Risser, the director of Energy Conservation at Pacific Gas and Electric" He's...

Saturday 10:16pm - Half way there?

editorial@zdnet.co.uk — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 22:21:09 +0100

So the data is safely migrated thanks to the IPD team in Singapore and we've spent all day tidying and cleaning and sprucing up the site ready for launch. Of course, like all construction...