As you ponder a new
graphics card, power supply, or motherboard for a PC upgrade, or
select among turnkey notebook, desktop, or server PCs or other
office equipment, it's essential to select items that are
EPEAT-compliant. Likewise, you can use ENERGY STAR rating
information to predict the annual energy costs for the devices you
plan to acquire. You may even be able to argue for modestly more
expensive and capable equipment on the strengths of the energy costs
they'll save during their productive lifetime.
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Note: On January 24, 2007,
President Bush issued Executive Order 13423 requiring all
federal agencies to buy EPEAT-registered green electronic
products for at least 95 percent of their needs. |
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Certainly, this
combination of positives — low environmental impact for toxicity and
lower energy consumption and costs — offer all kinds of payoffs.
Beyond the feel-good side of "being environmentally friendly," it
saves money and provides a better ROI (return on investment). This
is as potent a combination to businesses seeking to boost their
bottom lines as it's for agencies and institutions seeking to
stretch their funding further in times of ever-tightening budgets or
shrinking tax bases or donor pools.
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Spread the word |
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| Putting an energy conservation program in place requires
buy-in from upper management and education for employees.
Teach them how and why energy conservation is vital to the
organization and how they can help. Efforts that help further
a conservation program include: |
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Buying 80-percent-efficient power supplies,
which help to lower air conditioning costs because they
generate less heat in the work environment |
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Adjusting the thermostat |
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Turning off unnecessary lights at night |
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Placing paper recycling bins in key
places |
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| Use email, the intranet, and staff meetings to disseminate
information, and consider holding brownbag training sessions
over lunch to accommodate employees' busy schedules. |
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Energy-efficient computing |
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