Green Notes

While it is natural to immediately gravitate towards hardware and energy centric dimensions of sustainability, eco- friendly computing in terms of the software used, applications and services tends to be an afterthought. Sure, there are software tools that help track emissions, provide better storage solutions, monitor alternative energy production, smart energy grid management etc but what about the actual software used? Can software be green in itself , apart from its functionality?

One way to go green on the software would be to choose a low resource version of open source software .Why? Open source is software for which the source code is completely accessible allowing users to use, change, and improve the software. The customization and free code help with resource optimization and cost reduction. Open source also tends to have a strong community backing of developers who collaborate on the development process further increasing efficiency and reducing work time. Since organic open source software is not tied to any vendor, it tends to be distributed online without the inherently wasteful stages in software purchase such as marketing presentations, quotes, contracts, postage material etc. E-mail transmission of documentation is also generally the norm amounting to lesser paper wastage. Use of good document management software further reduces the use of hard copy manuals. There is a significant number open source developers who telecommute as coding is mostly done in isolation lending itself better to telecommuting options which is another big energy save. Also low resource open source software can typically run on recycled equipment and less glossy hardware unlike the costly demands of most proprietary software that does not perform well on commodity hardware. Another way that your facility can contribute to energy conservation is to adopt an efficient open source, online CRM software to organize, track and maintain customer relationships. Once you have a good web conferencing software in place, there is less need for travel and expensive meet-ups for trivial matters on the pretext of finishing business.

Of course not all open source software is completely free of expense even though it does not usually come with the hefty price tags of proprietary software. Some of the commercial open source software vendors require additional fees for customer support and development. Additionally you might have to invest in one or more software engineers to help you with customization depending on the needs and size of your organization. For help with greening your IT strategy, choosing the right open source software to boost your efficiency and achieve pain free opensource migration, contact us at GreenRackSystems; sales@GreenRackSystems.com.

Electronic waste also referred to as e-waste or e-scrap generally consists of discarded, electrical or electronic devices due to their surplus, obsolete or broken condition. The e-wastes inevitably end up in land mines of developing and under developed countries to be dismantled under unsafe conditions. Due to the presence of harmful pollutants in E-wastes such as plastic, lead, cadmium, beryllium etc, their manner of disposal or even recycling is very important due to serious health and pollution risks. There have been several motivated programs that have been introduced by private companies and non-profit orgs to address this particular issue. Here are two that have surfaced recently:

1) The E-Waste Foundation: Based in the Netherlands, the foundation helps lower the amount of toxic e-waste that ends up in Africa. It has conceived a method of letting companies pay a fee to ship end-of-life electronics from Africa to Europe, where it can be more safely dismantled. By working with other collection groups and close monitoring, the foundation guarantees that the electronics would reach verifiable and credible recyclers. The certified recyclers have to follow the criteria set by the E- waste foundation to ensure that environmentally safe standards are met. They also have to fully disclose their processing methods for transparency.

2) Costco’s Trade-In and Recycle Program : Costco has teamed up with Gazelle, an electronics trade-in company, to provide Costco members a trade-in and recycling program. Powered by Gazelle.com, customers can exchange old electronic gadgets in return for a Costco cash card within ten days to be used at any Costco warehouse or at Costco.com. So you can literally turn your old electronics into your next week’s groceries and sleep better at night knowing that you did something good for the environment. For items that are not accepted through the program such as faxes, printers, and TVs, the Gazelle Web site provides information on where to find a local recycler. It will also evaluate the trade-in items to confirm the value. Gazelle removes all personal data from the old gadgets and uses Department of Defense approved software to perform all tasks in a controlled, secure environment. Shipping boxes are provided by Gazelle and free shipping is offered on all transactions with a value of at least $1.

For more recyclable options and green strategies, please contact our staff at Green Rack Systems/sales@GreenRackSystems.com