The UK Government have released their second annual "
Greening Government: ICT Annual Report" (UK Cabinet Office, July 2013). This 19 page report is available in
PDF and
Microsoft Word. There is also an ODT version offered, but I was unable to open the document. It is curious that the report is not simply offered as a web page. The document is better designed than
last year. Appended are the highlights. Curiously I could find no mention of education or training of staff in green ICT in the report.
4 Key highlights
Implementing
the strategy
Over
the past year we have made significant progress in implementing the
Greening Government ICT strategy. Not only have the roadmap and
maturity model been adopted across government departments, but these
departments now have plans in place to reach level 3 of the model,
the government target is to meet level 3 by 2015. The average green
IT maturity score for departments is now 2.9
compared to 2.4 last
year.
The
Green ICT Delivery Unit (GDU)
A forum of
government and wider public sector green IT sustainability leads.
It’s primary function is
to lead the development of the Greening Government ICT Strategy and
drive forward its implementation.
Progress
has been made in measuring our technology related energy usage and in
signing up to the EU Code of Conduct. The Green ICT Delivery Unit
(GDU) continues to drive efficiencies and is looking to modernise
ways of working using technology to reduce travel, improve
collaboration and find better ways to reuse and recycle IT equipment.
Data
centres
With
the increase in the use of online services for government
transactions, data centres are a key focus of the GDU and
government’s green IT strategy. Four
government departments have endorsed the EU’s Code of Conduct for
Data Centres
over the past year and a number of other organisations are
progressing towards this goal. In addition a number of data centres
used by suppliers to government are now registered as participants
under the Code.
Defra
is currently working to design guidance for buyers on effective
practice for procuring energy efficient data centre services and
ensuring sustainability has a high profile in contract management for
the increasing number of cloud hosting services being used. The
guidance has been discussed with Intellect, the UK industry body
representing
both larger industry players and hundreds of smaller companies, and
this is being coordinated with input from other government
stakeholders. There have also been discussions with the European
Commission via its EU wide Green Public Procurement process.
Recycling
and reducing waste
IT
Recycling
The GPS agreement was used to
dispose of 66,448 items, of which 33,514 were resold, generating
£405,881.68. A further 8738 items were able to be donated,
further reducing the items sent for disposal.
Recycling
of IT is key to achieving efficiencies and being greener. The
Government Procurement Service (GPS) offers organisations a method
for recycling IT assets. The service agreement has been used by
at least 33 bodies including schools, councils, agencies and
government departments.
Currently
work is underway in the GPS to refresh the service agreement to
increase the financial benefits. This will focus on money raised
from the recovery and sale of components plus that of rare and
valuable raw materials, and the sustainability benefits, for example,
reducing waste sent to landfill or for incineration.
Public
service delivery
In the
last year the Government Digital Service published the Government
Digital Strategy. This was followed by the publication of individual
digital strategies by government departments. These strategies are
fundamental to shifting government’s approach
to interacting with citizens and businesses. The shift will need to
be supported by the right technologies and systems to make the most
efficient use of hardware and power. Digital by default also reduces
the environmental impact of physical and paper
based processes by using technology to create more cost effective,
efficient and user-centred online services.
The move
to digital by default is crucial as shown by the shift to online in
HMRC which has seen more than 80
per cent of HMRC’s tax returns submitted via the internet. These
online submissions have resulted in a big paper saving alongside
cutting the carbon emissions by 760 tonnes. The use of different
channels like SMS for alerts, have also played their part in reducing
paper. Streamlining processes has also improved sustainability and
efficiency, HMRC now send one Tax Credits award notice to joint
households, for example, whereas previously each person in a
household would have received a separate letter.
Exploiting
collaborative tools
Departments
continue to maintain effective working whilst reducing business
travel by conducting their business via video, web and
teleconferencing. The Home Office extended to all staff members its
departmental contract for teleconferencing facilities (this was
previously only available to a small number of staff). MOD increased
its use of videoconferencing and teleconferencing as part of its
travel budget cuts and efficiencies. Peer-to-peer instant messaging
is now available and a peer-to-peer webcam trial is underway. These
tools and other methods of remote working were used to help reduce
travel by government employees during the Olympic games.
The
Public Services Network (PSN) continues to drive sustainable savings
and efficiencies by removing duplicate network connections, providing
simpler procurement and greater competition, and allowing public
sector employees to work in more flexible, collaborative ways.
PSN creates a common network of networks and a more open and
competitive telecommunications marketplace for the UK public sector.
It provides assured networks, based on industry standards, over which
government can safely share services, including many G-Cloud
services, to collaborate in new ways, substantially reducing the cost
of communication services across UK Government and enabling new,
joined-up and shared public services.
Partnership
This
year we have worked closely with colleagues in academia and are
grateful to the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)
for sharing use of its tools to record the use of energy from
operating ICT. We have also discussed our plans and sought and
received feedback from Industry through Intellect events. Colleagues
in local government and the National Health Service (NHS) sit on the
GDU and share knowledge about green IT which helps others learn
effective practices.
From: Greening Government: ICT Annual Report, UK Cabinet Office, July 2013
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