The A to Z of green IT

Government

If saving the planet isn't good enough for the boss, explain he might also be saving the company a bunch of money by getting greener. In the UK, the government is busy working up a Climate Change Bill with the aim to reduce UK carbon dioxide emissions by 60 per cent through domestic and international action by 2050.

Green IT from A to Z

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A is for Abroad
B is for Blades
C is for Carbon footprint
D is for Data centres
E is for Energy sources
F is for Freecycle
G is for Government
H is for Homeworking
I is for Ice caps
J is for Jobs (Steve)
K is for Kilowatts
L is for Landfill
M is for Mercury
N is for Nanogeneration
O is for Offsetting
P is for Paperless office
Q is for Queen
R is for Recycling
S is for SmartPlanet.com
T is for Travel
U is for Upgrade
V is for Virtualisation
W is for WEEE
X is for Xmas
Y is for You
Z is for Zero emissions

This will be based on a system of carbon budgets - which is simply a limit on the total quantity of carbon dioxide emissions a company can churn out over a specified period of time.

It has been proposed each carbon budget period should be five years long - starting from the beginning of 2008. Businesses that use less than their carbon quota will be able to trade carbon with those exceeding their emissions target.

And as a result, as one MP recently warned, the IT industry will need to change from power-hungry to green-hungry in a short period of time.

But it's not just about legislation. IT is responsible for about one billion tonnes of CO2 emissions each year - between two and four per cent of global energy - and the public sector is the biggest user of IT in the UK, spending around £12bn per year. As a result, the UK government is looking at how new technologies can help reduce energy consumption and allow more flexible working.