How Your IT Department Can Exercise Good Corporate Social Responsibility Through Green Practices

Good environmental practices are essential aspects of corporate social responsibility, and in the IT industry, these benefits are especially worth going after. That’s because an inefficient data center can easily suck down thousands of dollars’ worth of extra electricity. Curtailing that usage by implementing green IT methods will bring about instant savings, provide a large benefit for the environment, and can result in good public relations points. Here are some ideas for reducing your IT department’s environmental footprint:

1. Recycle old computer parts. Computers contain toxic materials like lead and cadmium, so it’s important to handle them properly when it’s time to get new equipment. Recycling keeps the noxious substances from contaminating groundwater or air. If you have enough volume, you may even get paid for the scrap parts you take to private recycling companies.
2. Use software to control energy usage. Software can control whether hard drives remain spinning, adjust fan speeds, and more. An office with a large number of computers can save an amazing amount of money by using this software to make sure that power usage matches actual computer usage. Setting it up is a breeze with our software training service, too.
3. Upgrade ancient equipment. CRT (tube-type) computer monitors can last for years without breaking down, so companies are often tempted to keep them around even after upgrading other systems. Alas, this is a mistake. LCD monitors are much more efficient to run.
4. Recycle Office Paper. Even when efforts are made to reduce paper usage, a corporate IT department will generate plenty of waste. Put recycling bins next to every printer to catch discarded printouts, misprints, and other such papers. Add more bins at other strategic points to make it easy to recycle all paper rather than throwing any away.
5. Turn off equipment during off-hours. Some offices never turn off their photocopiers, desktop workstations, or other equipment. Make a practice of turning this equipment off during the hours the office is closed. In a large company, shutting things down during the off hours could easily save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month.

While the financial benefit of these practices is sure to catch the eye of the accounting department, that isn’t the only reason to implement them. Lowering electricity usage helps the environment by reducing the amount of emissions that are generated by power plants, and recycling old equipment helps to prevent pollution from reaching the groundwater or getting into the air. Recycling unneeded paper reduces pollution and helps reduce deforestation, and recycling old computer parts helps keep toxins out of the groundwater and air.