Now playing: First fully searchable online "Green IT" product listing
By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 4/24/2008 10:06:00 PM
By visiting www.softchoice.com, IT purchasers can access search functionality that makes it easy to identify and acquire the world’s "greenest" technologies.
The initiative results from a strategic alliance among EPEAT, a system to help purchasers evaluate computers and monitors based on their environmental attributes; CNET Channel, a provisioner of on-demand technology product information; and Softchoice.
“Making environmentally responsible purchasing decisions is a key concern for our customers,” says David MacDonald, president and CEO, Softchoice. “We are committed to doing our part, and to giving organizations the information they need to make the best choices possible—for their business and for the environment.”
New search filters on www.softchoice.com allow identifying which of the roughly 350,000 products in Softchoice’s database are environmentally preferable products registered under the EPEAT greener electronics program—an anticipated 1500 SKUs.
According to some estimates, the global use of technology contributes roughly the same carbon emissions as the entire aviation industry. Without decisive action, the negative impact of IT on the environment will continue to increase dramatically in the coming years.
“If the 70 million PCs expected to be sold in the U.S. in 2008 were to meet the standards of EPEAT Silver, we could save enough energy to power over a million homes,” says Melissa Quinn, Sustainability Programs Manager for Softchoice. “Clearly the effect of deploying more environmentally responsible technologies is significant.”
In addition to the EPEAT listings, Softchoice also offers a Web portal holding additional information on products and best practices that can help organizations reduce the impact of their IT operations on the environment.
The Softchoice EcoTech Web site (www.softchoice.com/ecotech) includes information on improving data center efficiency, PC power management, and technologies to offset travel and reduce paper consumption.
