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The thirst for power page 2
The three rules of Rangaswami for a green IT strategy are:
1 It is all about real carbon footprint reduction.
"Anything else is just kidding yourself. No smoke and mirrors - no planting trees elsewhere, buying offsets or trading capacity - the goal is the physical reduction of your own carbon footprint.”
2 Focus on hard work and results, not headlines.
“You must measure your footprint accurately, create a detailed resource inventory and analyse weaknesses. After that you need a clear and visible execution plan.”
3 It’s not just about the data centres.
“As a rough rule of thumb, the amount of energy used by distributed IT is the same again as what is used in the data centre. Improved cooling, power supply and space management are just the first steps, but not enough on their own.”
Carbon diets
Rangaswami also emphasises that any strategy must be long-term - BT’s next target date is 2020 to achieve an 80 per cent reduction in its global carbon footprint, based on a 1996 baseline. This is one of the most aggressive corporate carbon reduction targets anywhere in the world, and will include further advances in cooling, energy efficiency and airflow management at its 700 data centres.
He says: “It is like changing your lifestyle when asked to by a doctor. There are no quick fixes for these things, no wonder pills to make you slim - progress requires a strict regimen.”
This includes giving appropriate credence to the corporate social responsibility agenda. He concludes: “The next generation will value stewardship highly, so talented candidates are going to choose employers based partly on the values they hold and how visible and real those values are. Those in business who understand that people are their critical asset are going to have to line up with the right values.”
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