How To Go Green

By Kyomuhendo Esther Diana

WAYS TO GO GREEN

Using energy star labelled products

It is very natural for offices to go for cheap products, without giving much heed to their energy efficiency. However, in the long run, the energy-efficient products not only save costs but also help in achieving a sustainable environment.

To choose the best appliances for your office, you can always see for the Energy Star rating in them. Energy Star rating is given to the electronic devices according to energy efficiency, be it computers or servers.

E-waste Recycling

Recycling is the need of the hour. It helps in mitigating the damage to the environment by reusing non-biodegradable materials like plastic.

However, when green computing is concerned, recycling the e-waste from your offices becomes a necessity. E-waste is the non-functional electronic devices that are of no use. It can be a small item like a mouse or large appliances like monitors and printers.

The electronic devices are made up of various materials, including plastic and metals like iron, lead, and copper. Every electronic device, no matter how advanced, has a lifecycle. When these devices get damaged or outdated, they are thrown away.

However, the material of which these devices are made of can be recycled, saving the existing natural resources and reducing the production of plastic.

Hence, you should look for an e-waste recycler that will take care of all your electronic devices.

Remote Working

One would think how remote working fits into the scheme of things when green computing is concerned. But when you consider millions of vehicles on the road daily that spews large volumes of poisonous gases in the environment, it does not seem farfetched.

Green computing can be achieved when you work from home as the office space can then utilize fewer energy resources. You can make the argument that energy is utilized in the house as well. But consider this, with remote working policies, the offices need less space, thus minimizing construction and fuel emissions by large power generators.

Green computing is all about utilizing the energy to perform operations in the most efficient way possible. Remote working helps you in doing your office work sitting comfortably at your home using minimum energy resources.

Cloud Computing

Green computing comes as an aid to the environment as it helps in using the least amount of computing resources for doing the most amount of work. Let us go back to the general way of functioning before the introduction of cloud technology.

You had a computer at your office desk with certain specifications like RAM, storage, and processing power. As you turned on your computer to complete your daily tasks, power was consumed by it, whether you used the entire resources or not.

However, with new-age technologies like cloud computing and virtualization, multiple users can be accommodated on a single physical server. Since the server resource utilization is optimized, more work can be done on a smaller number of servers. Moreover, as all the hardware is at a remote data centre, the users can access their work on their smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Hence, the need for bulky computer systems gets eliminated, reducing power consumption significantly.

Take the First Step

Even a slight change in your mode of functioning in the office can have a significant effect on the environment. It can lead to the ripple effect that causes other businesses to follow in your footsteps. Apart from improving environmental conditions, green computing can also prove to be a lucrative solution.

In addition to the above-mentioned ways, optimizing data centres and reducing paper consumption can also contribute for a greener tomorrow.

BENEFITS OF GREEN ICT

• Lessened vitality utilization by green registering advances converts into low carbon dioxide emanations, which emerge because of the absence of petroleum derivatives utilized as a part of intensity plants and transportation.
• Conservation of resources means less energy is required to produce, use and dispose of products.
• Saving energy and resources saves money.
• Green processing includes changing government arrangement to empower reusing by people and organizations and to lessen vitality utilization.
• Reduce existing exposure in laptops such as chemical, cancer, nerve damage, and is known due to immune responses in humans.

In conclusion, at the simplest level, green computing is not a rocket science and certainly does not require large amounts of cash in case of up-front investment. As stated above, the active step for a green computing takes a little effort, yet low energy consumption usually changes to immediate savings.