Ifgict Concept

IFGICT Built Environment

Green IT

Information Technology (IT) offers many benefits including increased productivity, access to information, and convenience. However, the production, use, and disposal of computers require large amounts of energy and resources. Green IT enhances the sustainability of computing through manufacturing lower impact materials and products, reduced energy consumption of data centers and computers, and better recycling and end of life management.

Patterns of Use

Electricity Use by U.S. Data Centers, by End Use1

Network Equipment, 5% • Data centers in the U.S. consumed 61 billion kWh of electricity in 2006—1.5% of total Storage Devices, 5% electricity consumption—at a cost of $4.5 billion.1 • The peak load on power plants associated with servers and data centers was about 7 Servers gigawatts (GW) in 2007. Updated technologies can reduce server energy use by 25% 40% Data Center Electricity Use, 1.5% or more, while using best management practices with existing equipment can reduce energy use by around 20%.1 • Computers and office equipment accounted for 15% of the total electricity consumption Site Infrastructure 50% (211 billion kWh) of office buildings in 2003.2 U.S. Electricity Use (Other), 98.5% • In 2011, 76% of households in the U.S. had a computer or a tablet, compared to 51% in 2000.3 Globally, 488 million smartphones, which have capabilities similar to computers, were sold in 2011, up from 174 million in 2009.4 • From 2005 to 2009, the proportion of primary household computers that were laptops doubled, rising from 22% to 44%. More than 14% of primary household computers were used 10 hours or more a day in 2009.5

Energy and Environmental Impact

Power Used by Office Equipment 28

Copier Laser Printer Terminal Server Desktop Computer Portable Computer Fax

0 15 11 50 55 77 75 75 185

• Approximately 74.5 billion lbs of CO2 equivalent emissions are released annually due to electricity used by U.S. servers &...