The Green Computing Summit

On December 5, 2007, FCW Events (affiliated with the Federal Computer Week) held the inaugural Green Computing Summit in Washington, DC to bring together representatives of the public and private IT sectors and discuss ways of making data centers “greener” while remaining cost-effective and efficient.

IT professionals from federal, state, and local governments, as well as public policy organizations, met with their industry counterparts and suppliers to explore how public agencies can adapt private sector innovation in areas such as energy efficiency and e-cycling programs.

Federal green initiatives

The federal government, as the largest IT client in the market, is seeking to lead the move to energy-efficient, cost-effective, environmentally-conscious IT polices and procedures. Initiatives such as the pending change in federal acquisition regulations (Executive Order 13423), the EPA report on energy management, and Executive Order 13148 “Greening the Government through Leadership in Environmental Management” send a message that “going green” is a priority for federal IT.

The Green Computing Summit created an opportunity for government IT managers, such as CIT’s Adriane Burton, DCSS Director, to assess the direction of green initiatives in the federal sector and to learn more about the companies offering and implementing green equipment and policies. In light of NIH’s commitment to reducing its energy consumption by 20 percent by the end of fiscal year 2015, NIH IT managers need to be aware of tools such as the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), featured at the Green Computing Summit.

EPEAT and other topics

EPEAT offers assessment of an electronic product’s environmental attributes and impact for the entire life cycle of the product (EPEAT website at http://www.epeat.net). Executive Order 13423 (PDF) requires the use of EPEAT recommendations for purchases of federal electronic products.

Aside from discussing EPEAT, speakers at the one-day summit focused on how an awareness of environmental effects might change energy management, equipment disposal procedures, data center consolidation, and other related data center business processes. They also offered expertise on existing and developing green IT policies and programs, important technologies such as virtualization, and what issues shape business and government decisions to embrace greener alternatives.

Upcoming Green Computing Summit

The next Green Computing Summit is scheduled for May 20, 2008, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC (http://events.fcw.com/).