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If you want to help curb global warming here are 5 simple IT things that everyone can do, plus 3 additional things you may want to consider.

Easy things anyone can do:

  • Set you monitor to go to sleep when you are away for extended periods on time - A computers screen saver is not designed to save energy; it’s designed to save your screen from ‘burn in’. That’s why it’s a good idea to set your monitor to go to sleep after you have been away for more than 10 minutes.
    To do this: Right click on your desktop and select Properties, go to the Screen Saver tab and click on Power…, and now change your Turn off monitor setting to After 10 mins.

  • Switch to an LCD monitor - If you are not already using an LCD monitor you may want to look at upgrading to one. An LCD monitor uses around one fifth of the power of an equivalent sized CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitor.

  • Recycle your unwanted electronic goods – Believe it or not it’s relatively easy to recycle things like cell phones and computers. You can drop off any brand of old cell phone to a Vodafone store for recycling or if there isn’t a store close to you, you can freepost it to them (Click here for more info).
    eDay 2008 is another way you can easily recycle all your old cell phones and computers. eDay is a free drive through event set up in 12 locations throughout New Zealand, where you can take all you e-waste in for recycling (Click here for more info)

  • Curb your phantom electricity use – Many items left plugged in and switched on at the wall, such as cell phone chargers or laptop adapters, can use power even when there is no cell phone or laptop attached to them. If you are not using them unplug or switch them off at the wall.

  • Print economically – If you’re printing out a draft document you can save ink and paper by: using the printers draft or economy mode, printing only in black and white, and by printing on both sides of the paper. You will need to check your Printer Properties to see if it has these options.

Other things you could consider

  • Telecommute from home – Rather than drive into the office everyday you could reduce your carbon emissions by working remotely from home and only coming into the office on the days you need to. There are quite a few different IT options available for remote working to learn about our free Report Working report click here.

  • Take advantage of video conferencing software – If you drive or fly around a lot for meetings you may want to consider holding video meetings instead. As well as saving fuel, video meetings save you time and are much more convenient. There are a few different video conferencing solutions available, which is right for you will depend on what you need to be able do it the meeting. To learn more about Microsoft Live Meeting click here.

  • Buying a new computer or laptop? You may want to consider energy efficiency in your purchasing decision. The EPEAT (Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool) allows you to look up which Desktops and Notebooks are the most energy efficient. Click here for more info.