Dell goes greener

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of Dell's commitment to be the greenest technology company on the planet, says Eco Geek.

The company has reported its largest single-year product recycling volume, recovering a massive 102 million pounds of IT equipment from customers - a 20% increase from the previous year.

It is also the first major computer manufacturer to offer Silver 80 PLUS-certified power supplies. The 80 PLUS certification means the equipment exceeds the power supply requirements specified by the EPA's Energy Star 4.0 standard, which requires the use of 80% or more efficient power supplies.

Ensuring servers stamp as small a carbon footprint as possible on the earth and in the data centre can encompass everything from making sure they are shipped in recyclable packaging to hiring an analyst who can predict the total lifecycle environmental impact, reports Network World.

As the price of power hits record heights, power reduction mechanisms shipping within an operating system should play a key role in any energy conservation plan.

Tests point to Linux as the winner of the green flag by margins that topped out at 12%.

Green IT may be seen as a marketing tool rather than a money-maker, but experts have found big savings in carbon-conscious technology. IT managers can instantly cut down data centre bills by following simple best practice techniques, says CIO.

"Power is easily the highest expense in data centres, followed closely by cooling," said Bevan Slattery, director of Queensland-based data centre operator PIPE Networks.

Slattery estimates that, on average, power accounts for 40% of data centre expenses, while cooling chews up about 30%.