Govt plans drive ICTs into neutral

Thu 17 Jul 2008 at 4:48 PM

The government has announced plans to ensure all its Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) go carbon neutral.

By taking 18 separate steps, the Home Office has claimed it can cut 20 per cent of the CO2 generated by government offices.

Cabinet Office minister Tom Watson said: "We won't achieve this just by offsetting but by making serious changes to the way we do business."

Call centres and businesses that use large amounts of computers have been encouraged to follow its lead and turn off equipment when not in use, and introduce double-sided printing.

By turning off every PC in central government outside of working hours, the office has calculated it would save up to 117,500 tonnes of CO2 each year.

Office jobs in Manchester and call centre jobs in Liverpool would equally benefit from adopting similar eco-measures.

John Higgins, the director general of computer industry trade body, Intellect, welcomed the initiative.

He said: "The hi-tech sector around the world has demonstrated that it can make its own products more energy-efficient and use technology to generate wider carbon savings."

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