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For the busy executive, "greening" the business can be a serious time sink. A simple desire to save energy and reduce the company's carbon footprint can get bogged down in a million decisions and a lexicon of unfamiliar terminology, and with an uncertain impact on the bottom line.
Recently I ran across a report just released by a couple of young analysts who saw the need to turn the blizzard of energy and carbon-reduction options into a clear, concise guide, and they have make it available for free.
The report breaks energy usage and carbon footprint into three major components: energy efficiency (including data centers, cogeneration and fuel cells), renewable energy, and carbon offsets. Each of these topics is its own mind-numbingly complicated universe, but the report provides a clear top view and drills down as far as you (or your energy, IT or financial gurus) might want to go.
The authors, Patrick Costello, a renewable-energy market analyst at ICF International, and Roshni Rathi, an analyst in the energy and natural resources group at Wipro Technologies, compiled the report in their off hours. They draw their information from hundreds of sources.
What are the most effective ways to make a data center use less energy? What the hell is server virtualization, or carbon usage effectiveness? Does it make more financial sense to buy your own solar panels, partner with a developer, purchase carbon offsets, or buy renewable energy certificates?
Take a look, or pass it on to the business leader who can make use of it.
