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This week we found articles reconfirming the financial savings of green IT practises in data centres as well as a challenge to the readiness of cloud computing.  We also found an article discussing the use of wikis in corporate environments and the launch of two new certifications - one for e-waste and one for managed service providers. 

This week there has been a significant focus on e-waste and the environmental impact of manufacturing.  Significant reports on Chinese e-products manufacturing sector and the Greenpeace ranking for electronics manufacturers were released this week.  Across all articles there was a theme of calling for more action from electronics vendors.

Last week there was a focus on the impact that Green IT can have in the global climate crisis abatement strategies, political discussions on government actions as well as Gartner sharing data center best practises.  On the social side of things, FastCompany discusses a 'people-powered Internet".  These were our favourite articles and resources.

I recently had the privelege of attending a forum where Bob Willard of Sustainability Advantage gave the keynote address.  This is the second time I have had the opportunity to hear Mr. Willard speak and he certainly has gift for simplifying the business case for sustainability.  I have also referenced his books The Sustainability Advantage and The Next Sustainability Wave in many writings.  Along with his ability to simplify and quantify the business of sustainability, Mr. Willard also has a sense of humor. 

In a recent article titled "Is Green IT Your Emporor With No Clothes", Forrester associate Doug Washburn posits that "technology is not green and never will be."  Washburn adds that although the technology itself is not green, enterprises have much to gain from greening initiatives including financial and environmental performance improvments.

An article published earlier this year titled "Green carrots needed for IT chiefs" by Tim Ferguson on silicon.com has raised the issue of IT department's not being fiscally responsible for the energy consumption of their equipment.  We often come across the complaint from facility managers that IT managers are not motivated to implement energy saving programs because it does not affect their budget positively (generally there is a cost and the benefits are gained by another department).  The article points to a survey completed by Quocirca that found "less than one

On July 15, 2008, IDC, an IT research organization, release the criteria and the first 5 organizations to be certified under their new asset recovery  certification program.  Dell, HP, IBM, Intechra and Redemtech were the first U.S. companies to receive the seal of approval under the guidelines IDC has developed.

Have you ever wondered what goes into the development of the ENERGY STAR specifications and when the specifications change?  We did, so we did some research and here's what we found.