Govs pledge to buy greener hardware for state governments

If you’re a hardware vendor and “energy efficiency” isn’t high on your product-feature list, you’re risking losing some valuable customers — perhaps as many as 50, with names such as Kansas and Minnesota.

The National Governors Association (NGA) today announced a partnership between the NGA chair’s Securing a Clean Energy Future (SCEF) initiative and the Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI) to spur deployment of more energy-efficient computers and servers in state offices and agencies.

Two governors, NGA Chair Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, have committed to the partnership thus far, and they will work to encourage their 48 peers to follow suit.

The move would certainly have eco-friendly benefits. Moreover, it would result fewer wasted tax dollars. Underutilized hardware can spell costly waste. For example, powering down PCs that aren’t in use can result in as much as $45 in energy savings per system and $30 per monitor, per year, according to Energy Star.

“The average desktop PC currently wastes half of the power it receives,” said Gov. Pawlenty in a written statement. “Having states increase the energy efficiency of their computing equipment will save consumers and taxpayers money, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.”

Under the terms of the agreement, these states have committed to reducing energy consumption from a majority of their computing equipment by:

– pledging to purchase high-efficiency computer equipment that meets or exceeds federal Energy Star ratings;

– optimizing existing computer systems by educating employees about more efficient and effective computer power-management strategies, such as better using hibernation and sleep modes;

– and ensuring in subsequent years states purchase computing equipment with increasing levels of efficiency.

Beyond preserving precious tax dollars, the initiative could spur citizens and merchants to embrace more sustainable practices themselves, observes Bill Weihl, co-chairman of the CSCI board of directors and Google’s green energy czar. “[Their] actions will provide leadership for residents and local businesses looking to implement effective emission reduction policies,” he said in a written statement.

CSCI, an initiative started by Google and Intel, brings together manufacturers, businesses, organizations and individuals to significantly increase the energy efficiency of computers and servers. The group is led by representatives from nine board of director companies, including Dell; Electronic Data Systems; HP; Intel; and Microsoft.

For more information about the SCEF Initiative, go to nga.org/ci. For more information about CSCI, visit climatesaverscomputing.org.