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The Greening of IT
40 How Companies Can Make a Difference for the Environment

IT Technology Vendors

There is evidence that the continued focus on energy-efficient com-
puting has forced tech giants in Silicon Valley and other areas to collab-
orate more than ever before. This collaboration should result in a better
range of energy-efficient products (hardware and software), as well as
faster product turnaround. Companies are collaborating by discussing
what works and what doesn’t work, instead of everybody having to rein-
vent the wheel individually.
For example, competitors like HP, IBM, and Sun are sitting at the
same table to work out green standards with The Green Grid.
Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories such as Lawrence Berkeley
National Labs and Pacific Northwest National Labs are cooperating in
development of research and best practices for green IT. Government
agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are leading
the effort to standardize metrics to measure energy consumption.
Organizations are taking on the responsibilities that they can deliver
on—not worrying about turf. ptg

Data Center Design and Build Businesses

Several industry groups focus on data center energy efficiency. The
Green Grid is the most recently formed group, founded in 2007. Its pri-
mary mission is to further data center energy-efficiency initiatives. The
Green Grid is composed of IT equipment and component (power sup-
plies, microprocessors, and such) manufacturers, manufacturers of facil-
ity support equipment (CRACs, UPS, rack level cooling devices, and
others), and data center operators and designers. The group seeks to
drive the development of metrics that provide a meaningful measure of
data center energy utilization and performance, drive the development
of standard protocols to facilitate collection, sharing, and reporting of
power and thermal data from IT and facilities equipment, and design
and operating strategies that promote optimal data center energy use.
The Green Grid has published a collection of white papers on data cen-
ter metrics and data management. See http://www.thegreengrid.org/
home for additional information on The Green Grid.
Also, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has had a data center subcommittee