Keep IT Green and Clean

As part of our green initiatives, BTPS has put together (Keep IT Green and Clean) to educate our customers about the environmentally responsible use of computers and related products, with news, tips and other resources on green computing and energy efficiency.

Green Computing Or Green IT:
Green computing or green IT, refers to environmentally sustainable computing or IT. It is "the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems—such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems—efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment.

Green Computing Practices:
Some common green computing practices include turning off the monitor when it's not in use or using more energy efficient monitors like LCDs instead of the traditional CRT monitors, volunteer computing or file sharing practices, virtualization of servers, using more energy efficient and less noisy cooling systems (like using liquid cooling systems instead of the conventional heat sinks and fans), temperature maintenance and regulation to reduce thermal shock wear and tear to computer parts, and increased online security measures through the use of firewalls, anti-spyware and anti-virus programs to reduce the increasing amount of eWaste on the Internet and on other networks.

Organizations:

 EPEAT:
EPEAT® (the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) is the premier environmental rating system for electronic products, designed to help you easily evaluate, compare and select environmentally preferable products.

EPEAT is a worldwide standard, used by global companies, governments and consumers to ‘green’ their electronics purchasing. By using EPEAT to select environmentally preferable products, individuals and organizations can reduce their own environmental impact while also helping to build consistent worldwide market demand for more sustainable IT products.

 Green Electronics Council:
GEC was founded in 2005 to bring focus to the special issues of electronics and sustainability, and to find constructive paths forward. Soon after GEC’s founding we were selected by stakeholders to manage EPEAT, the green electronics “certification” and purchasing system that has created a $60 Billion market incentive for greener laptops, desktops, and monitors.

National Center for Electronics Recycling
The National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 2005 that is dedicated to the development and enhancement of a national infrastructure for the recycling of used electronics in the U.S.

 Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse
The mission of the Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse is to provide a forum for information exchange among state agencies implementing electronics recycling laws and all impacted stakeholders.

EcoLogo:
Founded in 1988 by the Government of Canada but now recognized world-wide, EcoLogo is North America’s largest, most respected environmental standard and certification mark. EcoLogo provides customers – public, corporate and consumer – with assurance that the products and services bearing the logo meet stringent standards of environmental leadership.