Adapting to Climate Change and considering the options for Remote/Home Working

While people are looking for ways to mitigate climate change, we must also address looking at ways to adapt to climate change.

I have already listed the effects of climate change as stated by Met Check.

Towards the latter half of 2009 and earlier this year, the UK had quite a lot of snow which affected businesses and schools. I would say that from speaking to a few companies and friends, productivity was affected quite a lot as most could not travel to work. This was either because of the dangers to drive on the road, parents had to look after their kids at home or there was no suitable public transport available.

Green IT does look at remote working (home working) as an option to consider for employees. Perhaps more organisations and schools should look at planning for contingencies when people are unable to get into work or school. Despite it being a few days, the impact to providing services to customers and school children can be quite a lot,and affect the economy too. Some children even have exams in January. I did have a teacher say to me the children should enjoy the weather as it’s not often we get snow, but to have the option to provide lessons/teaching plans for a few hours on the school website would be useful to have too.

The storage of information, once again whether it’s actually on the business site or up in the cloud (cloud computing) does also need to be looked at to cope with possible severe weather conditions.

Just today I spoke to someone about sea level rises, this is something which appears to be affecting the south of the UK. Personally I feel we have had a good summer too, and no doubt ACs and fans were put on to cope with the heat in offices and schools. Not taking credit for something someone else said to me, but the window can be opened instead.  Reduced carbon emissions and costs too!

Can businesses and schools afford to not consider the option to provide remote/home working? Reduced travel, reduced carbon emissions and possibly more productivity due to the longer hours worked too.

Whether the Pakistan Floods are due to climate change, cannot really be said. It has been said that third world countries are more likely to suffer more extreme weather conditions though due to climate change.

DATE: 25/08/2010

Tripta Prashar

www.givingtimeandsolutions.com

Coventry Green Fayre Event

Coventry held its first Green Fayre event on Saturday 21st Aug.

Great turnout, despite the weather! I met some lovely people…..details of the local Green businesses who ran their stalls are listed here.

Useful reminder for me too – as much as we want to help make a difference, it can be only done one step at a time.

DATE: 23/08/2010

Tripta Prashar

www.givingtimeandsolutions.com

Printing tips – explaining the ‘why’ on how to print efficiently and be more greener

Those who know me well, know I like to be different!

Instead of the usual ‘please think about the environment’ – (which could mean anything really), I now have the following wording in my email signature. Hopefully explains the reason on why you should seriously think about printing and if you have to, then ways to do so efficiently.

By not printing this email and its attachment(s), you will help towards reducing more trees from being cut down. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and therefore help to counteract climate change and global warming.

Printing Tips – To reduce your costs and carbon footprint – print double sided, draft mode/quality and minimise the amount of colour printing you do. It will use less ink, less paper and reduced power consumption.

DATE: 20/08/2010

Tripta Prashar

www.givingtimeandsolutions.com

Business at risk from mountains of unstructured data

Now this is where I say my point has been kind of proven in one of my earlier blog posts on storing information in a structured way. 

The article below explains what happens with information which is held in a number of places and it also touches on business processes which need to be understood (and as I keep saying ‘communicated’) to all – ‘spend some time getting a handle on who has access to your file data, which users are actually using it, who owns it, and how to ensure that access is based on a business need-to-know.’

Click on the link to read the article - Business at risk from mountains of unstructured data

When looking to enhance or design new systems, as part of the Green IT Strategy, it is very important to ensure the current infrastructure is regularly maintained in an efficient way. Structure is very important, otherwise it will cause problems. This would affect both the regular storing and retrieval of information required, either manually or using automated processes. Time is valuable!

DATE: 19/08/2010

Tripta Prashar

www.givingtimeandsolutions.com

Hazardous wastes and their disposal to poor countries….A Global Graveyard for Dead Computers in Ghana (RoHS)

Following on from my previous blog post on knowing ‘what items can be recycled and reducing waste ‘, Rien Dijkstra shared some information with me on what could possibly happen to equipment which people want donated to charities.  Rien is one of the authors of the Greening IT book – so a big thanks for helping to raise more Green IT awareness Rien!

‘The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, agreed to in 1989 and now adopted by a majority of nations, was meant to stop the dumping of toxic waste in poor countries. But rules get complicated when the waste arrives as a gift. ‘

Click here to view the pictures on the website link sent to me – ‘A global graveyard for dead computers in Ghana’.

One of the slides shown on Greenpeace’s findings, list a number of toxic substances found in the computers. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) restricts the use of six hazardhous materials in the manufacture of electrical equipment. These are lead, cadium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ether.   A few possible symptons which affect human health for each are listed below. This is why it is very important to make sure equipment no longer needed is recycled or reused, and to also ensure it is disposed of legally….. the right way.

1. Lead -  anemia, slow development in children

2. Cadmium -  kidney problems,  general weakness

3. Mercury – brain damage, chest pain

4. Hexavalent chromium – asthma attacks, liver damage

5. Polybrominated biphenyls – skin problems, liver problems

6. Polybrominated diphenyl – abdominal pain, thyroid disruption

DATE: 19/08/2010

Tripta Prashar

www.givingtimeandsolutions.com

Knowing what items can be recycled….reducing waste

Other than the three chasing arrows (Mobius strip) which is a universal recycling symbol, the picture shown below also symbolises theitem can be recycled.

I am still finding that some people just place unwanted items in their bins  (not necessarily the right one too!), yet are not aware either of the WEEE regulations or the fact that certain items contain hazardhous/toxic substances. For electrical equipment, there is a WEEE symbol shown with a big cross placed on a bin.

The option to recycle can be carried out by either sending it back to the manufacturer (check your warranty) or there are a number of suppliers/shops who specialise in recycling.

Having spoken to both local and UK national based printer suppliers, they have policies in place to ensure equipment is disposed or recycled legally. Printer ink cartridges can be recycled/refilled and some suppliers even offer incentives to organisations to encourage people to reduce their waste and recycle more.

The article ‘Doing the right thing with your unwanted IT equipment’ already covers ways to dispose of your unwanted IT equipment.  Unfortunately, there are still some people who take the hammer to the hard drive, before considering the options they have to dispose of it, mainly due to the information held on it. There are companies in the UK who ensure data is wiped out securely. I would recommend checking what policy is in place where you brought the actual equipment and also request a data erasure/removal report.

There are software products to erase data used by certain companies which meet the HMG Infosec Standard 5, which have been tested and passed by CESG who are the Government’s IT Security Group. A product I know about is used by a recycling charitable organisation (for those who want to donate their old equipment to charities) and also a well known retailer in the UK who sell lots of technical equipment!

Reduce waste – avoid sending items to landfill – recycle more. You wll also save costs as well as reduce carbon footprint.

DATE: 17/08/2010

Tripta Prashar

www.givingtimeandsolutions.com

Microsoft: Green IT Means More Than a Low PUE | Computing | GreenBiz.com

Useful article below on how to understand how ‘green’ the Data Centre is.

Microsoft: Green IT Means More Than a Low PUE | Computing | GreenBiz.com.

Incidentally, PUE stands for Power Usage Effectiveness. Also explained quite well in chapter 4 of the Greening IT book, which touches on Data Centre Infrastructure Efficiency (DCIE) and Data Center Productivity (DCP) as metrics and processes to determine whether the existing Data Centre can be optimised.

DATE: 12/08/2010

Tripta Prashar

www.givingtimeandsolutions.com

The importance of having an energy management system/environmental policy – ISO 14001 and BS EN 16001

Having an Energy Management System in organisations is necessary, as it will help provide a structured and standard framework to help cut costs and carbon footprint.

The British Standards Institute (BSI) is a leading global provider of standards and best practice solutions that support the needs of businesses in the UK and worldwide.  There are two standards which help develop more sustainable processes,  doing so by identifying weak areas where energy is being wasted. These are ISO 14001 (EMS)  and BS EN 16001 (EnMS). The main objective is to ‘continuously’ allow the whole organisation to improve energy efficiency. Companies can see at least a 30% reduction in their energy bills by implementing the BS EN 160001 standard, as proven by Morgan Lovell who are participating in the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) legislation.

My company Giving Time and Solutions Ltd are an authorized affiliates of BSI (not owned or operated by BSI).  The information below has been provided by BSI to me, and it helps explain the similarities and differences between the two standards.

• ISO 14001 allows for the implementation of an Environmental Management System to achieve and demonstrate sound environmental performance, which more often than not will include some form of energy management.
• BS EN 16001 focuses on the systematic management of energy through the implementation and use of an Energy Management System .
• Both ISO 14001 and BS EN 16001 follow a version of the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology.
• They both comprise  of requirements and neither standard publishes any absolute requirements for energy / environmental performance, leaving it up to the company implementing the management system to determine just what exactly they want to get out of it.
• Both are audited and certified by external third parties.
• BS EN 16001 has been structured as such in order to facilitate its ease of use, either as part of an integrated environment & energy management system or simply as an independent system implemented by those already familiar with the ISO 14001 approach.
• As part of the similar structure between the two, the clauses of BS EN 16001, although not entirely the same, have been aligned to those of ISO 14001; this allows both standards to be used for the same management system with ease.
•  Due to its focused nature, BS EN 16001 is able to go into far greater depth than ISO 14001.
• The requirements for energy aspects, for example, differ greatly from those of environmental aspects; they are far more prescriptive in order to ensure the management system delivers in increasing the company’s understanding of how they use energy and thus providing opportunities for improving energy efficiency. The organisation must conduct an initial review of its energy aspects, updated at regular intervals, which are required to contain information on past and present energy consumption, estimated future energy consumption, and the identification of people who can lead to significant changes in energy consumption. The requirements for environmental aspects on the other hand are much more generic in order to encompass the wide range of environmental aspects that can apply to an organisation.
• For awareness, training and competence, BS EN 16001 requires that each level of management is trained in the field of energy management for the purposes of setting objectives and targets, ISO 14001 does not mandate this.
• Monitoring and measurement is one of the areas that differs the most from ISO 14001. Once again, whereas ISO 14001 is highly generic due to the variety of characteristics that can be applicable, BS EN 16001 is able to prescribe much more specific requirements, such as the requirement for an energy metering plan.
• Requirements for operational control differ from ISO 14001 with the inclusion of the need to take energy into consideration in purchasing, design, change or restoration, etc.
• The requirements for nonconformity, corrective action and preventative action are one of the few instances in BS EN 16001 where the requirements are actually less prescriptive than ISO 14001, leaving it up to the organisation to determine how best to act on a non-conformance.

In addition to the ways in which BS EN 16001 and ISO 14001 are structurally similar, they share many common elements in their requirements as well.

• The requirement for organisations to identify relevant legal requirements is common between them, as is how objectives, targets and programmes are to be established, as is the requirement to control documents and records. The clauses may be worded differently between the standards, and there may be an additional requirement here and there, but the intent is the mostly the same.
• This allows these clauses to easily be aligned when implementing a combined EnMS and EMS. It would be easy to envisage operational control procedures applying to both BS EN 16001 and ISO 14001 in a management system rather than separate procedures for each standard. A robust legal register under ISO 14001 would more than likely include those applicable pieces of legislation relating to energy aspects due to how they are concerned with the reduction of greenhouse gasses.
• Even where aligned clauses have very different requirements, they could still be managed by one integrated part to the system. Energy aspects, even though they differ vastly from environmental aspects, could still be included with them. An energy management programme could from part of a larger overall environmental management programme.

  Both BS EN 16001 and ISO 14001 can be used by organisations wanting to manage their energy usage. But when do you which standard? Or do you use both?

•  Industry sectors which have high energy consumption but whose other environmental impacts are very low could benefit from implementing BS EN 16001 on its own. In this instance, the organisation may not feel it necessary to implement ISO 14001 as their main environmental impact is being effectively managed by their energy management system.
• However, industry sectors which have both high energy consumption and other significant environmental aspects and impacts, such as high levels of waste production or emissions to air or water would benefit most from the implementation of both BS EN 16001 and ISO 14001. This could be as part of an integrated management system, where the system covers all of the company’s activities, or as individual systems covering distinct aspects of an operation.
• Even if a company doesn’t have many significant environmental impacts other than energy consumption, they could still choose to implement ISO 14001 alongside BS EN 16001; companies with a keen environmentally friendly mindset, or where it is required by their supply chain.

 BS EN 16001 on its own can provide a great opportunity for organisations who want to reduce their energy consumption but until now have been unsure of how to do it. But it’s potential to be used in tandem with ISO 14001 can provide significant competitive advantages.

 Due to its focused approach to energy performance, BS EN 16001 can be used as a powerful tool by organisations with an existing management system conforming to ISO 14001 in order to fully control their environmental performance and benefit from the structure given by BS EN 16001 towards energy efficiency. Conversely, companies who need an EnMS to reduce their operating costs and comply with upcoming legislation can choose to implement it alongside an EMS in order to obtain the added benefits that would come with it.

 Simply by using BS EN 16001 and ISO 14001, organisations stand to have a great advantage over competitors and improving energy efficiency and environmental performance at the same time.

More information is available by clicking here….

DATE: 11/08/2010

Tripta Prashar

www.givingtimeandsolutions.com

To print or not to print…reduce costs and carbon dioxide emissions

I often see many footnote signatures in emails which read ‘’don’t print unless you really have to’ or ‘please think about the environment before you print’.

There is a lot of information on websites which explain why saving trees is important –reduces the carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere and therefore helps with climate change and global warming.

Someone from the bank said to me they could not see how they could actually stop printing. For example, the Certificate of Deduction of Tax document is printed and posted to the customer. These have to be possibly kept for Self Assessment Tax Returns and for HM Revenue & Customs who want to see the original copy. Sending these in an email would not be wise, due to security! Mind you, internet communication is not really considered secure.

I met someone yesterday who prints photo’s, flyers, leaflets etc on paper. What to do if not everyone wants digital copies? It’s always about giving choices, as not everyone will want the same thing.

When I questioned someone on having a colour and black and white printer, I was told there was often a need to print documentation such as presentations in a professional way for customers.

Another company mentioned they have to print their course notes in a glossy and colour format because there is a business need to do so.

There are a number of Green IT Tips for printing which I recommend to people when I’ve carried out a Green IT assessment. Most as I keep saying are common sense, but explaining the ‘why’ is important. Calculating the energy costs when printing (paper cost, ink cartridges,toner and hours of printing, printer power,etc) will clearly prove how high this can be. It does depend on which printer you have also, and again, not everyone turns the printers off during non-work hours. Putting it into sleep-mode overnight is what some organisations appear to do.

Also, I keep a lot of old printed paper I have to write notes on.  It’s also worth considering purchasing from shops who sell ‘green’ stationary. There are also printers which are ‘eco-friendly’, and have the Energy Star rating label, which means they are more efficient.

Printing less and doing so more efficiently will reduce costs (the electricity bill and also, it will help organisations with their business revenue no doubt!) and carbon emissions.

Incidentally, I would like to find out more from organisations who have a paperless office, as I am assuming the latter would be storing information efficiently elsewhere! 

The following websites are worth looking at for more information….

www.fsc-uk.org/wp-content/plugins/downloads-manager/upload/FSCUK-FactSheet-paper.pdf 

www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm

www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=can-trees-save-us-from-climate-chan-09-04-24

www.bing.com/reference/semhtml/?title=Paperless_office&src=abop&qpvt=paperless+office&fwd=1&q=paperless+office

DATE: 05/08/2010

Tripta Prashar

www.givingtimeandsolutions.com