Good intentions but little action on energy efficiency

The vast majority of IT chiefs regard improving energy efficiency as an increasingly important priority but relatively few have taken practical steps to reduce their energy footprint, according to a new report.

The survey of 200 UK IT managers from Intel found that while 69 percent think reducing energy consumption will become a bigger commercial priority in the next three years, less than a third had invested in more energy-efficient PCs. Furthermore, only 20 percent had undertaken an energy audit and only 52 percent considered energy efficiency important in their department, despite two-thirds recognising that energy efficiency is now a board-level issue for their company.

Experts speaking last week at an energy efficiency roundtable organised by Intel argued that this disconnect between good intentions and limited actions was being caused by a number of "myths" concerning the cost and complexity of deploying energy-efficient systems.

Their conclusion was supported by the survey's finding that the main barrier to adoption of energy efficiency technologies was the belief that they come at a premium cost. However, Catriona McAlister, senior consultant at environmental consultancy AEA, said that research had shown there was no correlation between an IT product's energy efficiency and its price.

Zoe McMahon of HP admitted that IT suppliers had to do more to raise customer awareness about the cost effectiveness of energy-efficient systems. "Having the [energy efficient] technology is one thing, but a lot of people don’t think it exists," she said. "There is a lot of education that needs to be done, particularly around the simple steps you can take like activating power management capabilities on PCs."

She added that with IT departments spending an estimated 70 cents on electricity for every $1 they spend on hardware, firms that do improve energy efficiency can see major cost savings. Gordon Graylish, vice-president of Intel for Europe, Middle East and Africa, advised that IT chiefs keen to move towards more energy-efficient products should take responsibility for their department's electricity bills – a situation that is currently found at only one in five businesses. "Today, the people buying the servers aren't responsible for the power they use," he said. "It's like saying, 'Go and buy a car and someone else'll pay for the fuel'."