Green evangelist to call for big changes in computer use to aid environment at ITWales conference

Computer users throughout Wales and the UK must dramatically change the way they plan, buy and use IT systems if they are to help reduce the planet's carbon emissions, according to a speech to be given at the forthcoming ICT Forum Wales conference by leading 'green evangelist', Richard Barrington.

Mr Barrington, who is Head of Public Policy at Sun Microsystems UK, an advisor to the DTI, the Parliamentary IT Committee and a member of the Government's Business Task Force on Sustainable Consumption and Production, will present his views in the annual BCS (British Computer Society) Business Lecture, delivered as part of ITWales' ICT Forum Wales 2007 conference programme in November.

According to Mr Barrington, the global information technology industry is currently responsible for around one billion tonnes of carbon each year - exactly the same amount as the global airline industry. However, Mr Barrington also believes that the IT industry could reduce its carbon output to just 200 million tonnes - an 80% drop - by looking more closely at business' heavy reliance on high-powered desktop PCs.

"About 10% of the UK's total energy consumption currently relates to power running through IT equipment and we would like to see this reduced to just 2.5%," commented Mr Barrington. "A typical desktop PC will consume around 120 watts of power and our aim is to get this figure down to just four watts by encouraging a different approach to the way computer networks are designed and the way in which computers are currently used."

Mr Barrington will argue that few of us - especially within an office environment - have any real need for high powered PCs and instead should look towards 'shared' or 'co-operative' processor resources which would require less packaging, less power consumption and crucially, a working lifespan almost double that of existing desktop systems, which currently have a renewal cycle of approximately five years.

"Longer working lives for computer equipment means less waste, less landfill issues and by encouraging a more network-centric, co-operative approach to processing power, we will be significantly reducing the overall demand for energy," continued Mr Barrington. "IT systems have already dramatically changed the way we live our lives, but we now need to consider ways in which we can change our use of IT systems in order to minimise their environmental impact."

Richard Barrington will deliver the BCS Business Lecture 'ICT and Climate Change - Saint or Sinner' at 6.30pm on Thursday 15th November, at the Village Hotel on Swansea's SA1 Waterfront.

ICT Forum Wales is the biennial festival of technology-focused events developed and organised by ITWales. The two-week long pan-Wales programme, running this year from Monday 12 November to Friday 23 November, centres on the role technology has to play in driving forward business development, economic growth and community regeneration. The events have been developed to highlight relevant and useful technology applications and ensure the smooth and safe integration of these into day-to-day life. A wide range of high profile speakers, including leading industry experts, will present at ICT Forum Wales events.

For further information on the ICT Forum Wales 2007, including locations, programmes and guest speakers, please visit www.ictforumwales.com or call ITWales on 01792 513384.

For more information, contact Michael Erskine or Andrew Smith at MGB PR on 01792 460 200 or email michael@mgbpr.com.