http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/i/5252/?cid=3

Adopting greener ICT practices and principles such as improving the energy efficiency of data centres has saved the UK government an estimated £1.26 million in costs over the 12 months to March.

The government's green ICT strategy also saved an estimated 232,000 tonnes of CO₂, according to the first annual progress report on the strategy from the Cabinet Office, Greening Government: ICT Strategy.

The strategy, published last October, committed government departments to reduce waste and incorporate green practices and principles to the whole ICT operation.

According to the update, of the 20-plus ministerial departments, some 12 completed an assessment of how well they are doing on the green ICT strategy, including three of the largest - the Department for Work and Pension, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the Ministry of Defence, which alone account for the largest proportion of governmental ICT energy use.

The green ICT delivery unit (GDU) responsible for pushing forward the green agenda says it will be vital for government departments to build on the "solid progress" made so far.

In the future, one of those priorities will be the energy performance of data centres. Ten departments estimated their current average Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) for their data centres at 1.87, well above the government's target of 1.5.

According to the report, these ten departmental data centres are responsible for some £17.5 million in energy costs and 101,000 tonnes of CO₂.

The GDU says it will continue to "review and refresh" the government's green ICT strategy, including more transparency in carbon emissions and the associated costs, which will enable "greener and more sustainable government business operation".