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

■ Government procurement: Federal, state, and local governments spend
tens of billions of dollars annually on energy-consuming products, which
means that thousands of opportunities exist to reduce government energy
use through the purchase of energy-efficient products. Government
procurement programs help raise awareness of new-to-market energy-
efficient products, increase comfort levels as efficient products are put
into use, and reduce costs of manufacture through economies of scale.
The federal government is required by law to purchase energy-efficient
products unless these products are proven to be not cost-effective. The
government has developed energy performance specifications for more
than 70 types of products.

EPA has begun to address the energy performance of equipment in data
centers by supporting development of energy-performance metrics for
servers. In addition, governments and utilities are exploring program
mechanisms for promoting improved efficiency.

EPA Recommendations on Ways to Promote Data Center ptg
Energy Efficiency

The EPA recommends that a mix of programs and incentives is necessary
to achieve a significant portion of the potential savings identified in their
report. The EPA believes improvements are both possible and necessary both
at the level of the whole facility (system level) and at the level of individual
components. Although it is not possible to optimize data center components
without considering the system as a whole, it is also true that efficient com-
ponents are important for achieving an efficient facility. (For instance, effi-
cient servers generate less waste heat, which reduces the burden on the
cooling system.) Nevertheless, the greatest efficiency improvements will
likely result from a comprehensive approach, given that there are opportuni-
ties for improvement in many areas of the IT equipment and infrastructure
systems.
Based on a review of a range of incentives and voluntary programs that
have been used in other sectors, and considering the unique aspects of the
server and data center market, a number of recommendations can be made to
pursue improved energy efficiency in the near term. These recommendations
include the following: