Green IT Whitepapers
The following whitepaper can be viewed by clicking here.
Embodied Carbon – the truth about IT’s carbon footprint - Whitepaper which looks at the carbon emissions involved at every stage of the IT equipment lifecycle, from mining the raw materials to final disposal. Published Jan 2010.
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All very sensible advice.
The UNEP study diagram is interesting. The only thing I’d disagree with is “ever-shortening lifespans” – we are observing customers who are increasing PC refresh cycles from 3 years to 4, 5 or 6. Extending the operational life changes the balance between operational and embodied carbon.
The problem I have had in the past is finding consistent numbers concerning embodied emissions in IT manufacture.
There are various studies into “A PC” or “A Laptop”, but most are old (PC design has moved on considerabley), some aren’t clear whether they include a monitor or not, and if so whether it’s (old) CRT technology or modern (TFT) flat-screens.
When it comes to servers, printers or other IT equipment, there have been even fewer studies.
All the same, the general conclusions are clear. As PCs are progressively designed to use less electricity in operation, the sustainability focus should shift to manufacturing and disposal activities.