An interesting post on the BCS ethics blog discusses whether we should rely solely on ratings such as energy star?
http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.26787
“Is the Energy Star rating the be-all and end-all in terms of your green credentials? Melvyn Wray of Allied Telesis discusses the ways in which manufacturers can improve the green credentials of their products.”
The following fascinating chart plots sustainable IT interventions in terms of implementation difficulty versus impact. It was created as part of a study of strategies employed by universities and community colleges in the state of Maryland, USA by Suresh Balakrishnan and Donald Spicer (2008). The sizes of the bubbles represent the implementation stage and pervasiveness of the interventions (small = in planning and/or at few sites; large = mature and/or broadly in place). (Click on the graphic to view it at full size)
Analysis of Sustainable IT Initiatives in HE (source: Balakrishnan, S. & Spicer, D.Z. 2008. "Climate change, campus commitments and IT". Research bulletin, Issue 20. Boulder, USA: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research. Available from: http://www.educause.edu/ecar.
Susanne Dittke of EnviroSense sent the following video about how e-waste is being handled in Cape Town to me.
The University has set up its e-Waste Initiative with the help of the organisations featured in the video, such as WastePlan and the e-Waste Alliance.
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