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Understanding current energy use is crucial in assessing progress. Gartner advises against relying on vendor-provided ﬁgures for PC hardware draw and instead advocates the use of a simple power meter, which will provide a basic understanding of how much it costs to power PCs and the savings that organisations can accrue if they start managing their power states.

A policy document should start with a statement of enterprise intentions linked to a set of goals and key performance indicators (KPIs), such as increased energy efﬁciency, highest vendor environmental standards and

Companies often set unrealistic goals for PC energy reduction. A blanket goal of ‘50% reduction’ sounds good but may be unachievable because different parts of an organisation will have different starting points and be able to implement different practices. It is important to deﬁne localised goals for speciﬁc target user groups or business units.

Free tools to manage power settings are available but may not always be effective. Power management tools can support the enforcement of policies on energy use and reduce energy consumption without compromising security and desktop support. Although power management tools are relatively inexpensive and often fully recover their costs in energy savings, they should still be budgeted for.

Many companies have been

disappointed by a lack of impact on their monthly power bills directly attributable to a PC power efﬁciency program. However, even when power savings

PCs and associated peripherals account for almost one third (31%) of the energy consumed by information and communication technology (ICT), giving businesses plenty of scope for efﬁciency savings. Here, Gartner suggests 7 steps that every business should take to improve the environmental performance of PCs throughout their life cycle.

LG Electronics has joined forces with desktop virtualisation specialist NComputing to lower the cost and environmental impact of computing for a wide variety of organisations from schools to internet cafes and telesales departments.

as many as 10 users to share the processing power of a single desktop PC, thus saving the cost of buying and running 10 separate computers. For a simpler installation, LG’s monitor has embedded NComputing circuitry so that the user’s keyboard and mouse can be plugged directly into the screen. In conventional installations, these accessories must be attached to a separate plug-in box.

LG estimates that customers of LG Network Monitors with embedded NComputing desktop virtualisation technology can lower their computer hardware costs by 60%, electricity costs by 80% and maintenance costs by 90%. Reducing the number of PCs required saves space and lowers heat emissions for a more comfortable working environment, while the ability to power the monitors via Cap 5 and 6 LAN cables instead of a separate power line gives great ﬂexibility in space planning.

are negligible, the ability to report on emission reductions will become increasingly important. Gartner advises enterprises to purchase a power auditing program, typically included as part of a power management tools package.

Different PCs have very different power consumption levels and equipping users’ systems with the right conﬁguration and capacity can be an important step in reducing electrical usage. Although newer PCs and monitors are more efﬁcient, companies should not use power savings as an excuse to replace systems earlier, but should ensure that when systems are replaced, power management features are implemented as part of the deployment process.

PC disposal is probably the toughest issue to deal with because it can involve additional expense, particularly in the current economic downturn, when markets for recycled materials have crashed. Enterprises should carefully balance their environmental principles with the potential costs.

The full Gartner report ‘Seven Steps for Greening PCs’ is available on Gartner’s website at

One of the ﬁrst organisations to take advantage of LG’s solution is Barry Island Primary School inWales. Its new networked ICT solution uses LG Network Monitors and virtual desktop software to provide all children with a monitor, mouse and keyboard at their desks.

Teachers now have the ability to monitor each pupil’s work from the host PC without needing to go to each individual computer. By easily switching between screens, they can also showcase a pupil’s work to the entire class via an interactive whiteboard. Furthermore, the ability to provide computing at pupils’ desks at low cost has removed the need for a separate ICT suite, enabling Barry Island Primary School to create a new classroom for 30 additional pupils.