Green innovation to boost Irish economy

The Irish government has revealed details of a research drive under which competence centres will be set up to help industry build a smarter, greener economy, says Independent.ie.

The minister for enterprise, trade and employment, Mary Coughlan, says that among the areas covered in the research initiative are nanotechnology, microelectronics and IT innovation, manufacturing using composite materials, manufacturing process technologies and energy efficiency in factories, and new technologies in bio-energy and bio-refining.

Some 64 companies were involved in the planning for these competence centres, including multinationals like Medtronic, Intel, Xilinx and Seagate.

Motorola promised its future mobile phones will continue to have an environmentally-friendly focus, according to MobileShop.

As part of the company's latest Corporate Responsibility Report, attention is drawn to the manufacturer's recent green endeavours - such as the creation of the world's first carbon-free certified handset.

Earlier this year the firm added to its line of devices - which include the ROKR, RAZR and Aura lines - the Moto W233 Renew, which uses recycled water cooler bottles in its production.

As organisations look to demonstrate corporate social responsibility and reduce carbon emissions, the British Computer Society, in conjunction with QA, is rolling out a foundation certificate in green IT, says Public Technology.

The qualification provides candidates with the necessary understanding of best practice in the burgeoning area of green IT.

BCS qualifications director, Pete Bayley explains: "Organisations need to know how to comply with ever tightening legislation, how they can create significant cost-efficiencies, and how to balance the internal and external economic drivers they face."