Sustainable IT
What We Do
Sustainable IT is a joint effort between the Sustainability and Energy Management Department and IT Services, and has the goal of reducing the University's greenhouse gas emissions from the computing infrastructure. As a bridge between IT and Facilities, we are able to take a holistic look at energy usage by IT, and are working on projects that target both the machines and the buildings they are in.
Stanford University has a significant information technology infrastructure — faculty, staff, and students have approximately 35,000 computers on their desks and there are an estimated 6,000 servers used for administrative and research computing across the University. When as much as 50 percent of the energy footprint of a server is the result of the cooling required to keep it running, factoring in facility savings is critical.
Sustainable IT is working across three areas to enable energy savings: personal computers and office equipment, data centers and server rooms, and enabling energy savings through the use of IT.
Opportunities to reduce energy usage through IT are substantial and within reach. From choosing smart power supplies and enabling desktop power management, to redesigning data centers and server rooms, the upfront costs of these efforts have a short return on investment in energy savings alone. And, Stanford's leadership and leverage in IT innovation and implementation give the University an edge among peer institutions.
More Information
For additional information about Sustainable IT, see SustainableIT.stanford.edu, or contact Joyce Dickerson. For more information about Sustainability and Energy Management, see Sustainable.stanford.edu.
