Articles from baselinemag.com

Joe Parrino isn’t kidding when he says that a green data center is a critical part of running a business well. In an era of spiking energy prices and oppressive cost pressures, squeezing out savings through energy efficiency is nothing less than a mission for the United Parcel Service (UPS) facilities engineer. “It’s just as important as any other business operation,” he says. “We have an obligation to the company and to the world to reduce consumption and boost efficiency.” UPS has delivered in a big way. Since 2006, when the company formulated a strategic plan for energy efficiency and green IT, it has trimmed its energy footprint by nearly 18 percent. Among other things, UPS has made changes to its data center, embraced server virtualization, and developed a strategy for dealing with server refreshes and other equipment. “We’ve already grabbed the low-hanging fruit, but the job ... (Read Full Article)

IEmerson Electric, a $20.9 billion technology manufacturer, offers a glimpse of the future of green IT. The firm’s 35,000-square-foot global data center, located at its St. Louis headquarters, is 31 percent more energy efficient than traditional data centers, and it is home to Missouri’s largest solar array—a 7,800-square-foot rooftop array with more than 550 solar panels. The $50 million state-of-the-art facility has already earned two high-profile industry awards for environmental responsibility: LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and a 2009 Beyond Green High-Performance Building Award from the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council. More importantly, it’s trimming energy costs by $5 million annually. (Read Full Article)

As energy prices remain high and threaten to spike on future demand, a recession lingers and corporate sustainability is pushed into the strategic mainstream. Organizations are increasingly cognizant that green IT is no longer a marketing strategy pitched at the granola crowd, or a luxury for executives with a conscience. Here’s what it takes to make energy efficient IT pay off: (Read Full Article)