Monsanto Goes Green
Monsantos global data center was built as a typical data center and it was over forty years old. Some aspects of the facility were beginning to show its age, also the data center was getting way too crowded for comfort, and that was when a project was evolved where it was decided to look at building a new data center.
As a result of Monsantos green culture and the companys commitment to environmental conservation, justification for the project was not a difficult task for the companys CIO.
At the onset, it was decided to see if we could build a data center for the future, which meant that the data center would lower operational costs and decrease power consumed, and would also enable growth for the company by using innovative techniques in terms of spacing out the data center.
When we began designing a new $21 mn data center about five years ago, it was a decidedly green effort from the word go.
The 40,000-sq-ft facility, which was completed last July, was designed with a 17-ft floor-to-ceiling span to promote airflow and eliminate the need for power or cooling units on the data centers floor. And the glass screen that covers the front of the building isnt just aesthetically pleasing: it can withstand the wind force of an F3 tornado and screens 60% of the suns rays, thus, lowering the demands on the buildings cooling systems. The data center has also been built to withstand category 4 earthquakes as well.
The carefully planned facility initiatives would result in savings of around 27% energy consumed as compared to a conventional data center. Apart for this, there was a large-scale focus around infrastructure rationalization/consolidation with the increasing use of virtualization. Over the past three years, Monsanto has eliminated 334 servers, and it is running just 16 Windows- and Linux-based machines today. Around ten global data centers were consolidated into one single hub and this has helped us realize energy efficiency savings as well.
Monsanto has also committed to purchase 10% of the total energy consumption at its headquarters from renewable sources such as wind power, and has a concerted effort to work in an efficient and effective telecommuting model.
The data center was completed in the second half of 2007 and saves more than 25% of building energy, compared to a conventionally designed data center. We also anticipate receiving Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design (LEED) certification this spring, making it the first LEED registered data center in the state of Missouri, and the third LEED certified data center in the country.
Migration of most servers and services has been completed from the old data center to the new data center and the teams in India were part of the global data center upgrade project.
Some Takeaways
Green data centers result in a win-win situation where the environment issue is addressed and the costs of operations are also brought down.
By making simple investments in terms of the type of glass procured, the height of the ceilings, the physical location of servers, etc, you can derive significant costs savings in terms of energy consumed and reducing operational costs.
By strategically looking at areas like physical data center consolidation through virtualization, significant savings can be realized for the company as well as for the environment.
(Anand Kumar. The author is regional lead, IT at Monsanto. Published in Dataquest)
When Suns Rays Went Greener!
Sun Microsystems have built programs in which their servers and software programs are configured to provide more eco-friendly and more efficient platforms.
No, we are not bringing a new discovery on the rays of the ubiquitous sunshine but solely on environment-friendly decisions taken by Sun Microsystems that have reaped rich dividends. Much before the color green became the flavor of IT communities across the world, corporations such as Sun Microsystems had initiated systems and processes that only led others to follow, giving a first-mover advantage for this over a two-decade-old entity that prides in its prowess of operating in the open source arena.
Rich Green, EVP, Sun Microsystems, says: Our eco-green efficiency covers a wide variety of thingsour Niagara 2 microprocessor with its throughput per watt is just unparallel in the market. Even if you look at Solaris and Dtrace, its all about getting more efficiency in the existing platforms.
Green also went on to mention the intricacies of working on a Dtrace platform where one achieves a 30% performance escalation in flat two and half hours of working in Dtrace, which reduces power consumption by at least 30%. We have built programs in which our servers and software are configured to provide more eco-friendly and more efficient platforms, points out Green.
Giving credit to the culture at Sun, Green says: One reason we started early is that a lot of work which we did all these years has been about efficiency, whether its past performance or voltage or software performance, and this is just another step. Application of efficiency and good design has become the epicenter of this enterprise.
With developers worried most about the time-to-market in every application they develop, the concern for most corporations is the path to be taken from having a concept to developing a market around, building an ecosystem over it, and having a user base that would give a competitive advantage.
Typically, the company that starts first gets the advantage. Because of this rapid time to market, developers tend not to look far ahead and so they are not thinking about what happens if I am actually successful in getting this application to the market and I track a whole bunch of usersthe technology that I am employing currently helps me to address challenges later, whether its performance or scalability, and from a Solaris perspective, states Ian Murdock, VP, Developer and Community Marketing, Sun Microsystems.
Murdock adds that promoting environment-centric initiatives or technologies is the same as taking the right technological decisions upfront which allow the company to augment in scale throughout.
With green technologies becoming increasingly important, Gartner Research stated that by the end of 2008, companies across the world would make public statements in their financial results on their carbon emission norms, and Sun Microsystems continues to lead the way on this front.
(Prasad Ramasubramanian. Published in Dataquest)
The How and Why of Green Data Centers
Over the past year or two, green data centers have turned into a big concern for Indian enterprises. Here is examining a few aspects of going green.
As soon as it was out that Dataquest would be coming up with a story on green data centers, people started calling, emailing, and cajoling us to include them or their clients in the feature. Few stories in the recent past have created such an interest, especially before it was even penned.
This interest and attention got us thinking and we started working on the story with greater zeal and vigor. While much of the calls till now were from the vendor side, we decided to speak to a few CIOs on the subject as well. Not surprisingly, even CIOs seemed to be quite interested in going green. For the CIO community, the main issue was not the “green” as we often talk about (ecological, environment, etc) but the “green” as we love and cherish (namely the rupee and dollar). The challenges faced by the CIOs are two-fold-on one hand cut costs and on the other do more. They are virtually walking the tightrope. It is in this scenario that green becomes important and green data centers vital.
Power’full’ Argument
End of December 2007, Dataquest had kicked off the coverage for green IT with a three-city event hosted in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi. At all the three events, the participating CIOs from some of the most well known enterprises ranging from one of the biggest banks in India to a small call center discussed and debated on one thing-power, or, more precisely, electricity. Considering the erratic power supply in the country, where even metros are not spared from load-shedding, energy consumption is a big issue.
To display the pattern of energy usage, Sandeep Nair, MD, Emerson Network Power India, shares a graph that displays the levels of energy consumed by the computing and the overheads in a typical data center.
According to Nair, the energy usage seems to be evenly split between computing (52%) and overheads (48%). “The growth in installation of blade servers and computing requirement is pushing the heal loads per rack to extreme density racks with heat loads to more than 15 kW/hrs, which is driving cooling challenges of data centers,” he says.
Ganesh Mahabala, regional director, India and Saarc, VMware, also touches upon cooling costs. “In a tropical country like India, companies mainly rely on air conditioning to keep servers at the right temperature. The more powerful the machine, the more cool air needed to keep it from overheating. Energy costs, now about 10% of the average IT budget, could rise to 50% in a matter of years unless companies take radical measures, and CIOs are well aware of this,” he says.
And not to forget, there is still a very valid environmental cost to it all, as Rajesh Saha, country manager, Enterprise Systems, Syste
ms and Technology Group, IBM India/South Asia, reminds us. “With global temperatures on the rise, many environmentalists are calling for significant reduction in the generation of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels. Commercial electricity consumption is a major factor in rising atmospheric CO2 levels, and data centres are a significant, and growing, part of the problem. Worldwide, data centers are reported to consume 40 tW/hrs of electricity each year, producing an estimated 17.2 bn tonnes of CO2 emissions. This is a concern for all and needs to be addresses by all parties involved,” he says.
Need to Go Virtual
|Once the CIO has analyzed the energy consumption pattern and chalked out a strategy, there are quite a few ways to address the issue. Of the many ways, virtualization is gaining immense ground over the past few years. In a typical scenario, enterprises will have a host of servers, often one for every enterprise-wide application, or racks and racks of storage containing archaic information. Virtualization of software or server can be of immense help as companies can then consolidate their infrastructure.
In fact, a virtualization device or a software application can track the server space and remap applications to different physical locations as necessary. With virtualization, information can be made location-independent and can be redirected across multiple I/O devices and platforms. Little wonder then almost everyone from Cisco, IBM, down to Emerson, HDS, emphazised the need to go virtual.
According to IDC estimates, un-utilized server capacity equates to approximately $140 bn, or more than 20 mn servers. Also, the fact that at 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted annually per server, these un-utilized servers produce a total of more than 80 mn tonner of CO2 per year. This is more than that is emitted from Thailand and more than half of all countries in South America. “Besides the effect on the company’s bottom line, virtualization is positively impacting the environment. Gartner estimates that 1.2 mn workloads run in VMware virtual machines, which represents an aggregate power savings of about 8.5 bn kWh-more electricity than is consumed annually in some small countries globally for heating, ventilation and cooling,” says Mahabala.
Nonetheless, Sumit Mukhija, national sales manager, Data Center, Cisco India and Saarc, warns against the virtualization fad and talks of holistic virtualization that encompasses all the different aspects rather than just piece meal. “A key aspect of data center greening is virtualization. Where organizations rolled out server virtualization they became memory bound on their servers, then I/O bound, and then CPU bound. But without virtualising their network and without virtualising their storage, the full benefits of overall efficient resource utilization cannot be realized. And therein lies the key to data center transformation,” he says.
Storing Better
Another big area that requires CIOs attention is storage. There has been a massive spike over the years in the amount of data that flows through an enterprise these days; with virtually everything going digital, the growth has been phenomenal. Also, due to compliance issues, companies are required to store archaic and old data for longer periods of time. It is a daunting task. Initially, companies went in for either bigger or better storage racks. Result, rooms’ choc-o-block with redundant storage. Not only does it consume humongous amount of energy in terms of usage and cooling, but is also a headache in terms of maintenance.
“Over the years, storage of data has become highly inefficient, with low utilization, over allocation, stranded storage, too many redundant copies, low access speeds, inefficient search, and disruptive movement and migration. The actual utilization of storage is less than 30%, and 70% of data over 60-days-old is rarely referenced again. Continuing to buy more of the same old storage architectures will no longer be an option. Buying faster storage processors with larger capacity disks on the same 20-year-old architectures will not solve the problem of inefficient use of storage. New storage architectures will be required to meet this demand for greater efficiency,” states Vivekanand Venugopal, director, Products and Solutions, Apac, Hitachi Data Systems.
And it is not only the storage rack that sucks power but a number of other peripheral devices as well, like Shyam Gopal, regional manager, India and South East Asia, Brocade, points
out. “Many devices have a ‘fair’ level of energy drain in the networked storage space. The SAN Director, which is at the core of the network, is traditionally a significant consumer of power and heat emission. Historically, many organizations have installed Directors in specialized racks that take up more than one floor tile just to allow proper ventilation via the usage of heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Ironically, these HVAC systems at times may consume even more power than the equipment they are trying to cool,” he states.
Analysis of a typical 5,000-sq ft data center shows that demand-side computing equipment account for 52% of energy usage and suppluy-side system account for 48%
Meanwhile, Jim Simon, director, Marketing, Apac, Quantum, talks about the need for something as simple and easy as data de-duplication using efficient storage mediums like tape libraries. “Data de-duplication technology reduces space, power, and cooling requirements enough to make it practical to use disk as a retention medium for weeks or months without breaking the operational budget. However, as data needs to be retained for multiple quarters and years, and the demand for fast recovery diminishes, the most effective retention medium for most users is tape. Tape cartridges in a tape library consume power at lower rates than any disk system, and tape cartridges stored in a vault consume the least of all, as well as provide the lowest aggregated storage cost per GB,” he says.
Gopal, talking about the economics of green storage, says, “Due to tightening purse strings across India, many companies are sensitive toward their IT expenditure. However, many companies do not realize the extent of cost savings that come hand in hand with green storage solution initiatives and how it can create more efficient data storage management. With increased uptake of energy efficient storage products in data centers, many companies can decrease their energy consumption by up to over 20-30% and benefit from cost savings,” he adds.
Even though there seems to be a lot of awareness and interest among Indian enterprises in terms of ‘greening the data center’, there is also a certain amount of distrust and reluctance. Many CIOs claim that vendors are peddling their ‘ware’ under the green garb. “For most of these companies, from server to storage and others, green is a way to sell more. And right now it seems to be a very fashionable way to do it,” says a senior IT head at one of India’s leading banks.
At first look, the claim does not seem to be unjust considering the glut of “green” equipment in the market. Scores of white papers, case studies, facts and figures seem to add to the confusion. Some say that consolidation of hardware is the key, while others state that software-based solution is a key aspect. All this loud green marketing is making the CIO sceptic.
But vendors dispel the charge. “Going green is not at all a gimmick. The growing cost of energy is painfully evident for IT managers, who, in turn, are insisting that vendors put as much emphasis on product design for greenness as more traditional features such as performance and reliability,” says Simon from Quantum.
Whereas Durgadutt Nedungadi, director, Marketing & Alliances, Technology Solutions Group, HP India Sales, talks of how ‘operating energy-efficient green data centers has become a priority for Indian CIOs’ and the challenges faced by them. “One chief concerns is lack of standards and information-sharing. We believe, industry groups are making progress on establishing best practices, but end-users are struggling with the complexity and scope of the challenges in their facilities. The biggest stumbling block one comes up against in transitioning from the existing data center to green data center is how to do it. There are financial implications also attached to it. Companies with servers or storage virtualization deployments face low data center spending. Other challenges for data center managers are tough internal service-level agreements, continuing data center expansion, and staffing issues,” he states.
Rather than scepticism, the lack of policies to guide the process is the real reason why companies haven’t implemented green IT initiatives, states Nedungadi.
In conclusion, it has dawned upon us that the issue of a ‘green data center’ is too big and too critical so as to be covered in a single story, thus there will be more stories on the same subject in the coming ‘green IT’ segments of the magazine. So all of those who missed the boat this time, and the ones we could not write about, well, need not worry, there is still a lot more to come. Keep those mails coming. We don’t intend to rest till all the data centers are green in some ways or the other.
(Shashwat DC. Published in Dataquest)
The green movement is not about technology now but economics
CIOs nowadays are facing a rather perplexing scenario; on one hand, computing requirements of the company are shooting through the roof and on the other hand, they need to also pinch the pennies by bringing down the ever-increasing operating costs. This modern challenge is really testing the CIO mettle.
Of the many solutions, good ol mainframe could possibly be an answer. With virtualization and consolidation being the key, mainframe could play an important role in greening the data center, asserts Jim Stallings, general manager (Enterprise Systems Division), IBM Systems & Technology Group, who looks after the System Z line. In a tte–tte with Dataquest, he speaks about the numerous challenges faced by enterprises and how they could be better managed. Excerpts
How relevant is the Green issue when it comes to data centers?
My role allows me to hop across the globe talking to our enterprise customers; the number one discussion these days is power, cooling, or energy consumption. Reducing the demand for energy and greening the data center is a part of that. CXOs are not much interested in the technology, but rather the economics of it. They want to know how much money do they spend on energy. Sometimes thats a difficult thing to figure out and once they find out, they are completely stumped. What they are most surprised about is the rate of growth, especially the future projections. These companies head honchos are looking for ways to cut the ever-growing running costs and also have a better ecological footprint. The big question becomes what can we do about it?
One solution is to use more energy efficient servers. What many of them have concluded is that they have to re-look at the way a data center is designed and run, where it is located, etc. There is a need for a new approach and I see that happening. The green movement, so as to say, is not about technology, rather economics.
How is System Z a part of that solution?
Gartner surveys show that over the past ten years, the number of servers going into the data centers is up 800%, power and cooling cost is up 400%, and system administrative cost is up 600%. So it isnt about acquiring the technology, it is managing it, cooling it, and conditioning the environment. This is where a mainframe scores, a System Z scores. There is a lot of discussion around consolidationcan I get large servers to replace Mini 100s, that will not only eliminate the cost of managing multiple servers but other factors like cooling, floor space, etc?
The mainframe represents cornerstone virtualization and has massive consolidation property. The current system (Z10) runs twice the speed of predecessor, has 70% more capacity, and can take 1,500 x86 boxes and swallow them down to one mainframe. So just think of the real estate and the floor space. It uses 85% less energy than these 1,500 x86 boxes, so customers can get an immediate benefit by going mainframe.
What are the biggest challenges faced in terms of greening the data center?
The CIO deals with this issue in multiple dimensions. First, there is the technology, waves of new platforms or applications that CIOs have to choose from. There are large pools of data. They need to embrace new innovation, simplify environment, sharing applications, and create dynamic environment in small stages.
How has been the response so far from India?
Very encouraging. We are doubling our sales on an annual basis, and some of the most respected Indian companies are our clients, like Satyam, HCL, TCS, Cognizant, etc.
(Shashwat DC. Published in Dataquest)
LEED rating is a tool for buildings to reduce their impact on the land
Across the globe, LEED ratings have become synonymous with green buildings. Formulated in 2000, leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) rating system has gained immense credit across the world for promoting sustainable architectural techniques and the green building movement. The LEED rating was formulated by the USGBC (United States Green Building Council) and has over 14,000 member organizations from every sector of the building industry.
LEED ratings have gained immense favor in India as well, with a growing number of LEED rated projects coming up. In fact, the ratings for Indian buildings have been modified to suit the ecological and environmental needs and requirements of the region. Tom Hicks, vice president, LEED ND and International, USGBC, has been at the very forefront of the movement and oversees the development and implementation of all LEED rating systems. In a detailed interview with Dataquest, Hicks talks about the evolution of the LEED ratings and the numerous benefits that come along with green buildings. Excerpts
How is the concept of ‘Green Building’ relevant to the issue of climate change? How can green architecture aid in the bigger fight for survival?
In the US, buildings account for 39% of carbon dioxide CO2 emissions per year, more than any other sector. While buildings are part of the problem, they are also part of the solution. The LEED green building rating system is an immediate and measurable way to make an impact on climate change and is a tool for buildings to reduce their impact on the land while at the same time combat global climate change.
How did the idea of green building evolve and how has the movement grown over the years? If you could briefly talk about the way it has been aligned with the CDM of the Kyoto Protocol, namely earning of carbon credits?
The concept of green building has been around for years, but we realized that there was not a common definition for it. That’s where the LEED rating system came into the picture. USGBC was founded in 1993 to bring together professionals from every sector in the industry and to create a common definition for green. USGBC has grown by leaps and bounds since it launched the first version of LEED for new constructions in 2000. More than 11,000 buildings nationwide have registered with LEED, and nearly 1,400 have been certified as green. That number translates to about 7% of the commercial construction market, and with the growth we have been seeing; we expect the number to grow closer to 10% by mid 2008.
In addition to that, 500 homes were certified during the two-year LEED for homes pilot, which ended in January 2008 when the LEED for homes rating system officially launched. There are more than 11,400 homes that have registered for LEED for homes. Carbon reduction has always been a priority of the rating system, and in November 2006, USGBC unveiled its own climate commitment, requiring that all LEED projects reduce CO2 emissions by 50%. USGBC also offers certification rebates for all building that achieve a platinum LEED rating.
Talking about USGBC, can you briefly talk about the evolution of the LEED certification process and how it came into play?
USGBC has actively solicited feedback from architects, designers, and contractors who use LEED, and increasingly developers, financial institutions, and corporations have also allowed us to evolve the LEED system, making it as flexible and adaptive as possible but still retaining its technical rigor and its practicality.
The rating system undergoes a process of continuous improvement parallel with USGBC’s efforts of continuing to incorporate recent advances in science and technology. In 2009, we shall launch our LEED v3 that includes a continuous improvement process of LEED to create a more flexible and adaptive program, and will allow USGBC to respond seamlessly to the market’s evolving needs. Particular focus areas will include technical and scientific innovations that will improve building performance; the applicability of LEED to the marketplace, in order to speed market transformation. And the customer experience, to ensure that LEED is an effective tool for the people and the organizations using it.
There is a special certification in India known as LEED India; in what ways is it different from the global LEED certification? What are the local factors that have been incorporated in LEED India?
The Indian GBC has licensed LEED from the USGBC and has adapted the LEED for new construction rating system and the LEED for core and shell rating system for India. Some specific changes have been to site local and national standards when available such as the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun (for endangered species) standard reference in sustainable sites credit 1, and to add credits such as the credit for water efficient in air-conditioning systems for water efficiency credit 2.
USGBC has partnered with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for the formation of IGBC (Indian Green Building Council), are you looking at partnering with other organizations in India?
We actually didn’t partner with CII to start the Indian GBC. This movement began within India and once the founding group was formed they worked with the World GBC. The World GBC works to help groups in other countries form green building councils. We work closely with the Indian GBC and other GBCs to share best practices and to learn from each other.
Finally, since you are one of the leading and most recognized voices in the green building movement, how do you see the movement turning out in the next few years? What according to you would be the challenges and do you think we are equipped to face them?
At Greenbuild 2006, our annual conference and showcase for the latest green building products and technologies, I announced our ambitious goals for the industry: By 2010, there will be 100,000 LEED certified commercial buildings and 1 mn certified homes. By 2020, there will be 1 mn LEED certified commercial buildings and 10 mn certified homes.
I think the biggest obstacle that has come our way is education; in addition to pushing market leaders forward, we also have to raise the rest of the market up. There are still misconceptions about green building, which according to me is understandable. It’s a new way of thinking and a new way of doing things, and change is scary to many people. But the alternativesitting back and doing everything the way we’ve always done it, for the sake of feeling safe is not an option. USGBC’s primary role is to educate and inform the public about the social, economic, and environmental benefits of green building, and to provide the industry with the knowledge and tools it needs to realize these benefits. In addition to LEED, we offer dozens of workshops, online courses, and reference guides.
(Shashwat DC. Published in Dataquest Magazine)
Architecture with a Conscience
With the advent of green architecture, productivity and environmental harmony, both seek to be impressed.
Rising sea levels, unpredictable weather patterns, depleting ozone layers: what have these to do with architects and building designers? A lot. If statistics are to be believed, data from the US Energy Information Administration illustrates that buildings are responsible for almost half (48%) of all GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions annually. Seventysix percent of the electricity generated by US power plants is supplied to the building sector. The building sector in India is also growing at a rapid pace and stands as the third largest consumer of energy after industry and agriculture.
Thus a certain amount of responsibility lies on the architects and designers to postpone the ravages of carbon footprints on this planet. Green architecture seeks to minimize the negative impacts that a building leaves behind. Also, thanks to the Internet, the concept of green architecture is no longer mere
textbook knowledgemany architectural practices have become sensitive to the growing need to adopt methods, processes, materials, and products to construct buildings that are in harmony with nature.
What is a Green Building?
Some of the salient features of a green building are minimal disturbance to site conditions, use of non-toxic, recycled and environmental friendly building materials, efficient use of water, efficient use of energy through eco friendly appliances, usage of renewable energy, and the use of intelligent building management systems. It is also important to monitor the quality of indoor air for human safety and comfort.
Processing and transportation hassles can also be minimized by using local natural resources, in turn lowering economic and environmental costs. Moreover, using any natural material (be it stone, glass, lime or mud plasters, rammed earth, bricks, tiles, untreated wood, cork, paper, reeds, bamboo, canes and grasses) is considered environmentally healthy and sustainable in the long run. Development Alternatives World Headquaters, New Delhi has used recycled waste flyash bricks, mud compressed bricks, and ferro cement roofing in its construction. The trilogy of reduce, reuse and recycle is also important to achieve material efficiency.
Water efficiency for one aspect can be achieved by using low flow faucets and dual flush systems in toilets. More importantly in todays scenario of water scarcity, rainwater harvesting should be an integral part of every buildings architecture to minimize the quantity of water that runs off. In ITC Green Center, Gurgaon, there has been a 40% reduction in potable water use by the implementation of this method. Moreover, they use treated grey water for flushing and landscaping.
Conserving Energy
The most important aspect of green architecture is energy efficiency. It is not just energy savings, but its more to do with energy management, efficient use of energy, daylight harvesting, HVAC integration, and energy generation by green means. This would help minimize operational costs and conserve energy. In CII Godrej GBC, the first green building in India, fresh air to the AHUs is precooled in the two wind towers that sit on either sides of the building. Precooling reduces the load on the air conditioning system, and saves 60% of the energy required for cooling as compared to other buildings of similar size. Building orientation, and insulation of roofs and walls has also become important in this context. Lawn trays, made out of recycled plastic protects against heat ingress through the roof, while providing a green and pleasing surrounding.
In Wipro Technologies, Gurgaon, the traditional inward looking haveli inspired the basic design for the building; a typical Indian rural home with a central courtyard that uses ancient architectural wisdom to build a comfortable and environmentally friendly edifice. The central courtyard acts as a microclimate generator that reduces energy consumption; an important factor to consider when constructing energy efficient buildings.
Some of the unique green features of NEG-Micon, Chennai are 100% day lighting, wind energy, insulated walls, green lawns, waste recycling, as well as building maintenance through green products and consumables. There is a 50% saving in overall energy consumption as compared to a normal building, as well as an 88% reduction in lighting consumption.
Olympia Technology Park, an IT workspace located at Guindy, Chennai, has been awarded the leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) gold rating by the US Green Building Council. The LEED rating system is considered the yardstick for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.
A Global Phenomenon
From generating solar power from a small residential window, to having solar farms; and from saving energy by applying EMS (energy management systems), to saving harmful emissions they all go towards creating a green environment.
Besides energy efficiency, creating a workplace that is environmentally friendly is a growing, global phenomenon. Increasingly, buildings are going green and the benefits of this step for the environment as well as corporations and their employees are numerous. Sick building syndrome has been attributed to poor air quality caused by air-tight construction and the off-gassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from such things as finishes, adhesives, furniture systems, wall coverings, office machinery, and in some instances, molds. The release of harmful VOCs (such as carcinogenic urea formaldehyde) is one of the biggest concerns when choosing products and materials for interior spaces.
In Grundfos Pumps, Chennai construction methods on a green building was not that different as compared to a normal building, except that a lot of documentation had to be done from the time of choosing the site to commissioning the building. In terms of materials used, they differ when compared to a normal building, in that, Grundfos had to use some recycled materials and materials with a low VOC (volatile organic compounds) content
S Srinivas, senior counsellor, CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre says, [that] apart from saving on operating costs, adopting environmentally friendly technologies and practices in the building sector can address sustainability issues, as well as contribute to the conservation of national resources.
The Indian industry is gradually recognizing the role of environmental management as a tool to enhance competitiveness. Be it a residence, a retail space, a hotel or an IT office, the awareness to go green is evident. Articles are being written about it, debates are being aired in the audio-visual media; programs are being themed around it. But this growing awareness has to be complemented with the education of manufacturers that should come under a common umbrella like greenguard or ecomark, bodies certifying green materials and products. Moreover, it is important to have some sort of recognition and encouragement from the government so that this positive movement in environmentally and socially responsible architecture does not stop at just being a gimmick.
(Soma Majumdar. The writer is manager, Design Resources and Marketing, DFC, Design For Change, Bangalore.)
Carbon trading seems to be a very promising mechanism for effecting climate change
Almost everyone present at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) held in Bali, late last year, was in a state of nervous excitement. The constant bickering and political deal-making had nearly extinguished the hope for a real and constructive roadmap. At the center of it all, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary, UNFCC was said to be close to crying when it seemed that the parties were not able to come to an agreement on the substance of future negotiations.
Bali was a very emotional moment for everyone at the conference. It was supposed to finish at 5 pm on Friday and at noon on Saturday… we were still not done and that was a very tense moment. People were wondering, including me, whether we would be able to reach agreement on the Bali roadmap before time ran out. I was tired and hadnt slept personally for the past two nights. But I am glad that we made it in the end, he recalls. And that was indeed a moment of triumph for the newly elected executive secretary of UNFCCC.
Recently, when you had visited India to attend the Sustainable Development Summit, you had stated that you wanted to find out how India wanted to combat climate change. Were you able to get the answer you had desired?
To a large extent yes, in the sense that I had some rather interesting conversations while I was last in India. I believe that India is working on a national climate change strategy, which the prime minister told me would be ready in June 2008. The intention of this strategy is to develop a sectoral focus on different sectors of the economy and different parts of the country. So that the myriad challenges (climate change) can be broken down in manageable pieces. India is also in the process of assessing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while at the same time searching for a way to forward itself in terms of cleaner development and in June of last year the Government of India had also commissioned a study from TERI on the possibility of introducing carbon tax to reduce emissions caused by the usage of fossil fuels. Last year, Indias president suggested also that 25% of the countrys power should come from renewable sources by 2030.
Lets start with the role played by developing countries in combating climate change. How can they match the needs for growth and poverty eradication with those of environmental concerns?
I guess this is a challenge that all of the developing world faces, on one hand there are clear overriding goals, economic growth and poverty eradication. But at the same time while they are experiencing the impacts of climate change, they are also confronted with issues of energy security, concerns over energy prices. In many countries, specially the ones that use coal on a large scale, there have been concerns over air quality as well. In all, there are really a number of drivers that are inspiring developing countries to engage on this issue, and I suppose, the overall challenge is, if you can achieve economic growth and eradicate poverty without making the same mistakes that many countries in the West have made.
Do you perceive the same change as China in India as well when you interact with government officials and corporate companies here, as India happens to be the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world?
As a country, yes, India is the 5th largest emitter of green house gases but that is because of a specific border that was drawn many years ago and probably if Pakistan and Bangladesh would have still been part of the country then, India would be even higher on the ladder of emitters. Partly, it is a matter of how borders are drawn, and that I think is an injustice that is often rightly pointed to India as maybe the 5th largest emitter, but if you look at the per capita emissions, then India is one of the lowest in the world. But I also think that India is confronted in many interesting challenges, if I am not wrong, I think close to 400 mn people in India do not have access to electricity at all. That then poses the question, if part of your economic growth and poverty eradication challenge is to provide these people with access to modern energy sources, how are you going to do that. Are you going to do that by extending the electricity grid, relying more on coal as a base for power generation or are you going to rely more on decentralized networks, solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy, etc. That is one example of the challenge that I think this country is facing.
You have ardently supported carbon trading, through the CDM, how would you rate its success thus far?
Carbon trading really has taken off in a big way, as the market was estimated last year to be of the value of around $60 bn and the clean development mechanism within that had a value last year of around $5 bn. So if you look at the pipeline of projects, then there are 316 Indian projects in the pipeline at the moment, which gives India the largest overall share of around 33% of all registered CDM projects. So thats a mechanism that has really taken off, and has dual benefits. On one hand it allows countries to achieve emission reductions quite cheaply while for the developing countries the benefit is that they receive injection of technology and allows them to change the direction of their economic growth.
You have also spoken actively about private investments: They will have to go where it has not gone before. Intelligent financial engineering will be the key. But considering the fluctuations in the carbon market and little uptake by consumers of low carbon footprint (high cost) products, what is going to drive these investments?
What you refer to is fast changing, if I look at the way petrol prices are rising in Europe then I sense that people are very conscious of what it costs them to fill up their tank and that is already influencing the choice that they make when buying a car and how much they drive. I also have a feeling that electricity prices are influencing the sort of appliances that people are purchasing and that the purchasing behavior is changing. We know that in order to provide the energy that is necessary to propel this change and an economic growth to take place, about $20 tn will be invested in the energy sector over the next 25 years and part of the climate change challenge is to ensure that the $20 tn is invested in clean technology rather than polluting ones.
What is your message to non-polluting industries like the IT services sector? How can they benefit or survive in the new world? What strategies should they employ?
These are the companies that by and large have a low carbon footprint if you compare them to energy intensive companies. So I think that the growth in the economy that is trying to constrain its carbon emissions in the IT sector is much better positioned than many energy intensive industries and if you have seen a recent UNEP report issued last week, that the market for new and clean technology is growing enormously and in that sense I think the IT industry is very well positioned to profit from many of the opportunities that are emerging.
(Shashwat DC. Published in Dataquest)
IT companies have the potential for generating CERs
It is quite ironical that India, the worlds fifth largest emitter of green house gases (GHG) is also the leading supplier of certified emission reductions (CERs). Experts estimate that Indian companies that have jumped in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) bandwagon could generate 500-600 mn CERs or nearly a quarter of a global traded total of 2.5 bn units by 2012. So it was but natural that some form of carbon trading should take place in India. And this is precisely where Indias leading commodity exchange market, MCX, comes into the picture.
Thanks to relaxation in trading norms, earlier this year MCX launched futures trading in carbon, making it the first such initiative in Asia. MCX entered into a strategic alliance with Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) in September 2005 to initiate carbon trading in India. In an interaction with Dataquest, Joseph Massey, DMD, MCX, demystifies different aspects of carbon trading and speaks of ways in which Indian companies could benefit from the situation.
What exactly is carbon trading?
The emission trading system (ETS) is a well-recognized approach to emission reductions. The ETS works on the cap-and-trade principle, where all signatory countries are allowed to trade their transferable allowances with other participating countries. For instance, in order to comply with the targets, Annexure I countries that are falling short of their target are likely to buy carbon permits either from other Annexure I countries with surplus allowances or with certified emissions reductions (CERs) generated through clean development mechanisms (CDMs) from the developing countries (non Annexure I).
Specifically, countries that have to incur high abatement costs with regard to reduction of GHG emissions would prefer to buy carbon permits rather than undertake more expensive abatement control measures to enable compliance with Kyoto Protocol. Countries that enjoy low abatement costs undertake measures to meet their Kyoto commitments and sell their excess emission allowances for a price.
How can a company trade CERs?
Typically, compliance countries would pass on the baton to the manufacturing industries/ public utilities, and these companies would have to plan their existing and future emission status. For example, in the European Union (EU-ETS), certain industrial abaters of CO2 have allocated the installation-specific tradable allowances (called as European Union Allowances (EUAs)), indicating the amount of CO2 or equivalent gases they can emit during each year. The companies that are falling short of their targets are thus enabled to buy allowances from those who have surplus EUAs as per the EU ETS scheme or buy CERs/ERUs for compliance purposes.
What is the profile of companies that trade CERs?
Basically companies that are engaged in CERs generation are from sectors like the energy sector, energy distribution , manufacturing, chemical industries, construction, transport, mining, metals production, solvent extraction, Waste handling, Agriculture, and Afforestation and Reforestation sectors, among others. Simpy speaking, all sectors which are potential holders of CERs can trade in CERs.
Are there any IT companies trading CERs?
Chennais Olympia Technology Park is one of the first commercial buildings in India to go in for carbon trading.
IT companies have potential for generation of CERs as energy is consumed in offering the services provided by them. Any savings in the energy is obviously expected to lead to savings in GHG emissions into the atmosphere, which can otherwise be converted into CERs, if this can be documented and submitted as a project to the CDM Board. The CDM Board looks into the merits of the project and its additionality before approving the same for potential CER generation after its implementation.
What is the opportunity for IT companies? How best can they make use of it?
A growing number of Indian firms, irrespective of their size and industry, are generating or are in the process of generating CERs and are reaping revenues through another stream called carbon trading. IT companies, by adopting energy efficient systems, have the potential to earn CERs. In fact, many Indian companies have been at the forefront of innovation and green field projects that might get rewarded for adopting ecofriendly practices leading to reduction in GHG emissions. However, to qualify for the carbon credit trade a company needs to get its project evaluated from the National CDM Authority. Once approved by the national authority, the CDM executive board of UNFCCC finally gives its nod before the implementation and subsequent generation of carbon credits begin.
What is the future of Carbon Trading in India?
There is a large scope for India in emission trading, it being one of the leading generators of CERs through clean development mechanism. The potential for generation and sales of CERs should be sustainably harnessed by the ecosystem participants like India, to effectively tap the opportunities in EU ETS, especially the post-Kyoto Protocol implementation phase (2008-2012).
While the question of India continuing to enjoy the benefits of its Non-Annexure I status is debatable, I am sure that markets are the way to go as far as the question of GHG abatement is concerned.
Will Carbon trading be valid till 2012?
As per the current agreement among signatories of Kyoto Protocol the Emission Trading System would be in vogue till 2012. However, negotiations are on to extend the validity of the protocol beyond 2012 which we are sure would be successful given the reality of the socio economic impacts of global warming on countries.
(Shashwat DC. Published in Dataquest)
Unravelling the Carbon Knot
Everyone, even the IT sector, needs to join hands in the efforts to battle climate change. And there is a big possibility that they might be able to reap the rewards by just going green.
Legend has it that in 333 BC, Alexander (the Great), while holidaying in Gordian, chanced upon an intricate knot made of cornel bark. The knot supposedly held together an ox-cart to a pole. It was prophesied by an Oracle that the one who was able to disentangle the knot, would lord over Asia. After trying to sort out the ends, Alexander, in despair (though many claim it to be deftness), sliced the knot into half with his sword, producing the required ends and, in a way, finding the solution.
In a similar fashion, there is a complex puzzle that needs to be solved by mankind today. A knot that has got more complicated over the last century, especially in the past few decades. Unlike the one in Gordian, this knot is infinitely more complex and the stakes are much higher. Honestly, the survival of the human species is, to some extent, dependent on unravelling this knotthe Carbon Knot.
Carbon the Demon
Over the past few centuries, after the advent of the industrial revolution, we have been using nature with impunity and scant regard for ecological balance. In the quest for power and energy, companies have bored ocean floors or dug deep into mountains to find fossil fuels that drive almost everythingfrom a turbine wheel at an electricity plant to the wheel of our cars. But even as we use it, this fossil fuel (usually petrol and charcoal) relea
ses CO2 (carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere, leading to what we know as the greenhouse effect. The process has increased by a great extent due to the economic boom and the addition of millions of cars on the road year after year.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates, global greenhouse gas emissions rose by 70% between 1970 and 2004 and would rise by another 25-90% above the 2000 levels by 2030 without new restraints.
The IPCC report further states that world temperatures are likely to rise between 1.1-6.4Celsius by 2100, triggering more frequent floods, droughts, melting of icecaps, and threatening species extinction. Indeed, it is by far the largest problem that has been faced by the humans, and everyone needs to pitch in for the battle of survival, right from the government to the private sector to the individual. Even the non-polluting (direct emissions) IT sector needs to gear up and take a lead in unravelling the carbon knot, and set an example for the rest to follow. Not to mention a large amount of money can be generated by simply being green and clean.
And Came Carbon Trading
Labeled as clean development mechanism (CDM), and known more popularly as carbon trading, it has completely changed the way companies look at environment-friendly practices. There is little altruism, and more economic gains, that could be made out of CDM.
According to the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, all countries are required to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 5% (from 1990 levels) by 2012, else pay a price for it. A company that follows goof practices and savs on carbon emissions can change them into certified emission reductions (CERs) and sell them to companies in the developed world that are unable to achieve their emission cuts. This works wonders for Indian companies, and o
ver the past few years, many have traded CERs worth in millions.
Companies like Gujarat Ambuja Cement, Jindal Vijayanagar Steel, Indian Rayon & Industries, Triveni Engineering, Balrampur Chini Mills, SRF, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Birla Corporation, DCM Shriram, Oswal Woolen Mills, Tata Steel, Usha Martin, JK Cement, Birla Cement, Kalpataru Power Transmission, and others have already started projects under the CDM guidelines.
According to estimates, Indian companies that have hopped on the CDM bandwagon, from steel and sugar firms to utilities, could generate 500-600 mn CERs or nearly a quarter of a global traded total of 2.5 bn units by 2012. According to UNFCCC, the market for carbon trading has been estimated to be around $60 bn last year and is projected to grow in the coming days. India has become a power to reckon with in the CDM market. Till now, only energy-intensive industries have been making the most of CDM, but even IT companies stand to gain from the situation.
IT Goes Clean
While IT services companies may not contribute to climate change as much as, say, a coal mine, every single business should be concerned about climate change. Consumers increasingly demand climate-friendly products and services, and while businesses working against climate change will reap the early mover benefits, those who dont act will eventually lose market share. Not only from a marketing perspective, but also from the perspective of energy consumption, IT companies should be concerned about climate change as much as any other business, says Berenike Hartmann, marketing manager, Carbon Reduction Institute (CRI). In fact, Australia-based CRI has certified several IT companies as carbon neutral, for instance, Technically Yours (www.technically.com.au), Unlock Technology (www.unlocktechnology.com.au), and Vigilant Solutions (www.vgs.com.au).
According to David Cook, chief executive, the Natural Step International, companies need to first thoroughly assess their energy usage and then look at ways to cut them. So long we have been focussed on finding cleaner and better ways of generating power, but what we need to pay urgent attention to is using much lesser power than we currently do. Businesses need to examine everything they do. IT companies across the globe have been taking a lead in terms of energy efficiency and showing the path to rest of the world, he adds.
Internationally, IT companies have come out in a big way in reducing power usage. Recently, Google set up a huge solar power installation to power its infrastructure and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Other tech giants like Intel, AMD, Yahoo, Dell, Sun, HP, and Microsoft have joined hands in the Climate Savers Computing Initiative.
Meanwhile, there is some rumbling in India as well. Based on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Green 
Business Centre have come up with a national voluntary greenhouse gas program for India.
The first step for IT companies is to measure carbon footprint and then find ways to reduce it. IT companies use electricity extensively for servers and big data centers, so they could look at ways in which they could reduce the usage of power by various means like investing in renewable energy (like solar energy) or buying products that are more energy efficient. They can also look at the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, specific tools have been provided for the IT sector, for instance, on ways of cutting emissions from the use of electricity and business travel, says Pankaj Bhatia, business/climate change associate, WRI.
Bhatia further argues the need for Indian companies to pay more attention to climate change. Infosys is a global brand, and if Google and Microsoft have their climate change roadmap, why dont Infosys and other leading brands from India have one? IT giants from India should also come out with announcements to show they are working on green gas inventory and have a roadmap in place, he states.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Environment and Science, Technology and Industry directorates, there are many ways that an IT services can go green. Implement life-cycle audits of their production processes to identify areas where energy efficiency can be improved, including production of equipment used, the use of the equipment and final disposal of equipment. More generally, they should also be involved in improving the energy efficiency of the business environment in which they work in India and abroad, and efforts to use energy sources with long-term sustainability, says an official from OECD.
Raking in the Moolah
Not only from the perspective of climate consciousness, good climate practices can result in big money as well. Recently, Chennai’s Olympia Technology Park was one of the first commercial buildings in India to go in for carbon trading. IT companies have the potential for generating CERs as energy is consumed in the services provided by them. Any savings in the energy is obviously expected to lead to savings in GHG emissions into the atmosphere, which can otherwise be converted into CERs, if this can be documented and submitted as a project to the CDM Board. The CDM Board looks into the merits of the project and its additionality before approving the same for potential CER generation after its implementation, says Joseph Massey, DMD, MCX (read the complete interview for more details).
Companies like TCS, Wipro, and Infosys which employ thousands of employees could possibly show major reduction in carbon emissions by means of tele-working. If they are able to make a significant portion of their workforce, work from home, thereby reducing travel to and from office, and calculate the amount of energy saved, it could also qualify for CDM, agrees Vivek Kumar, associate fellow, TERI (Tata Energy Research Institute). 
It could be possible if they have done a thorough evaluation of their footprint and are able to prove that a significant amount of energy is saved. They could then be eligible for CER, he adds.
If Indian service giants were to invest in such an initiative and if it got approved, returns would be higher than the cost of the employees working from home. But sadly, Indian companies seem to be a bit tardy when it comes to climate change. Of the three, it was only Wipro that eagerly shared its plan and roadmap for the future, whereas global companies like Sun, IBM, and HP are carrying on green initiatives even in India.
Economics apart, is it possible for us to forget our cultural and national differences, and unite to combat the effects of climate change? Do we have it in us to be able to do so? No other option, says Allan Miller, principal project officer and climate change expert, International Finance Corporation (IFC), adding, Everyday, I dangle between hope and despair. There are times when I look at the numerous reports on glacial and Arctic ice melting; I feel that we have very little time on our hands. And then I look at the presidential candidates of the most polluting nations talking about climate change; I feel we might just be able to scrape through. I remember the last time we had come together successfully to plug the ozone hole. Likewise, the only way to solve the climate change crisis is globally, none else.
Two thousand and three hundred years ago, Alexander was able to solve the Gordian puzzle single-handedly, but it will take all of us to unravel the Carbon Knot that we ourselves have fashioned out of ignorance and indiscretion. Lets hope that we are able to unravel this knot as early as possible.
(Shashwat DC. Published in Dataquest)
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