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IT Going Green

Information Technology is Green

Facts About Our Green

IT is concerned about the environment and implements many things to better our community. The World Community Grid is an organization that strives to find a cure for cancer, AIDS, and other health issues. IT helps by:

  • Utilizing the World Community Grid during the computer's processor idle phase; http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org
  • Currently running over 3600 instances of the World Community Grid at Marist College's main campus, as well the extensions sites. Marist has been a leading WCG contributor since 2005.
  • Accumulating 1,416,488,178 points, which equates to over 2,100+ years of computing by the middle of June 2009, that we have shared with the World Community Grid;
  • Marist ranks second in the world for using idle processor time for computational science.

Things We Are Doing to Go Green

  • To support our green initiative, Information Technology has begun using 30 percent recycled paper in all computer labs, and has achieved more than a 50 percent reduction in paper usage since installing the duplex option on all lab printers in 2007. This upgrade has saved approximately 800,000 pages, or more than 150 cases of paper per year. Further, our staff has worked hard to consolidate the number of servers in use, thus helping to reduce the College's carbon footprint. In addition to server consolidations, power monitoring has been enabled on Marist's IBM BC12 mainframe, and a power audit of all systems is underway.  A power monitoring system was installed in the Enterprise Computing Research Laboratory to track power usage.

  • Green Things IT is Doing

  • IT collects printer cartridges, such as laser, jet ink, and ink cartridges to ship to a recycling center.
  • IT separates and recycles bottles and paper.
  • IT recycles outdated hardware and data tapes.
  • Our Digital Production Center reuses paper by making various sizes of scratch pads.
  • IT saves hundreds of thousands of pages of paper by not printing, but archiving data.
  • IT recycles cardboard packaging.
  • Energy efficient Lenovo LCD monitors
    • Energy Star 4.0 compliant
    • TCO.03 compliant
    • EPEAT Silver compliant
  • Monitors go into "Standby" or "Sleep" after being idle for a period of time allowing them to use minimal power.
  • Energy efficient Desktop PCs
    • EPEAT Gold Rated
  • All Labs duplex (print on both sides)
  • Labs and any offices on campus who acquire their printer paper from our Digital Publication Center use paper that is 30% post-consumer waste.
  • Software as a Service is used where appropriate, where services are delivered via a virtualized cloud of technology resources.
  • Faculty, staff, and student self-service systems have eliminated many paper based processes and moved them fully online.
  • Web conferencing is used where appropriate.
  • Creation of an online RideShare application for our faculty, staff and students has resulted in lowered gasoline consumption and reduced transportation-related greenhouse emissions.
  • When computers are removed from the classroom they are rebuilt and granted to local non-profit organizations for reuse.
  • Server reduction, as well as energy use reduction, is mandated as a performance criteria for managers. So far, 10 large servers have been retired and the entire web infrastructure has been moved to our IBM mainframe. Since this mainframe is extremely green, the gross reduction in Kilowatts and BTUs has been a one-for-one yield.
  • Changed from a cube-based furniture interior design to a collaborative workspace, resulting in a 38% floor usage increase (accommodating 8 workstations where there were previously 5).
  • Raising the HVAC temperature in the Data Center has resulted in the condensers power cycling less frequently netting energy savings.  Also in the Enterprise Computing Research Laboratory, free cooling is used on lower temperature days, allowing the colder air outside to cool this room instead of additional power running through the HVAC unit.
  • Saving almost a million pounds of Carbon-Dioxide and over 45,000 gallons of gas by hosting orientations on iLinc from May 2005 to the present.

Future Plans to Stay Green

This year's offering from Lenovo to our incoming first-years includes a wide range of Energy Star 4.0 compliant laptops.

The X300 laptop is the "Greenest ThinkPad ever." In addition, ThinkPad X300 is the first Lenovo notebook rated EPEAT Gold for low energy use and minimal impact on the environment. It also meets the European Union's Reduction of Hazardous Substances standards. And it is Energy Star 4.0 qualified.

The X300 uses 25% less energy than previous X Series models. What else makes the ThinkPad X300 so "green"?

  • Energy-saving low voltage processors, LED backlit displays and solid state storage drives
  • Arsenic-free glass / Mercury-free displays
  • 90% recyclable packaging (by weight)
  • And much more

Environmental Commitment

Lenovo is committed to protecting our natural environment; our products have long been known for being environmentally friendly. And now we're especially proud that our latest notebooks carry the new Energy Star 4.0 label attesting to their superior efficiency and low emissions.