Earth Day 22nd April 2024

Earth Day is an annual event to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22nd 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries.

On Earth Day, we are all asked to think about what we can do to lessen our impact on the environment and protect natural resources.

IT and the environment

The manufacture, distribution and disposal of IT equipment, as well as the daily use of computers in our lives, plays a large role in the greenhouse gas emissions, hazardous waste and natural resource consumption which is adversely affecting our planet.  

Reducing our environmental impact 

In Digital Technology Services, we have multiple projects aimed at addressing our environmental impact, along with a number of Sustainability Champions tasked with supervising initiatives. 

Device Lifecycle: Reduce – Reuse – Recycle

Image showing a computer with the words device lifecycle printed across the middle. An arrow encircles the computer to represent a circular process.

The Device Lifecycle programme started in 2020 as a method to send laptops to people quickly during lockdown, and evolved to form the basis of our device strategy. One of the guiding principles at the heart of the Device Lifecycle programme is Sustainability.

Reduce – the fewer devices you have, the smaller your carbon footprint. Device Lifecycle aims to provide every staff member with a single suitable device, which can be used either in the office, or at home as part of flexible working.

Fewer devices manufactured means fewer resources, like energy and materials, used to make and ship those new devices.

One of the reasons we have standardised on Microsoft Surface Laptops is that Microsoft have a commitment to sustainable resourcing and ethical working practices. Standardising on Microsoft Surface Laptops also promotes reuse:

Reuse – instead of laptops stashed unused in cupboards “just in case”, staff Surface Laptops should be returned to DTS so we can reissue them where needed.

This also means fewer new devices should be needed University-wide, as DTS can send suitable devices to where they are required.

Recycle – once the devices are no longer able to reused within the University, they will be collected by our specialised IT disposal company, who ensure that all components are recycled in the most sustainable ways possible rather than ending up in landfill.

Other projects:

Deploying virtual technologies and Cloud hosting

Over the last few years, we have dramatically reduced the number of physical servers on campus, thus reducing the space required and power needed to run and cool them. We have moved services and data storage to remote servers in the Cloud, and used virtualisation so that one virtual server hosts several services which once required multiple machines. As well as improving our energy efficiency, this has also enabled access to many more services off campus, a requirement for flexible working.

Switching off PC labs over holidays

We saved in excess of £6000 by powering off our computers in PC Labs over the Christmas holidays, so being environmentally aware also helps us to save money!

Managed Print Service

Printing requires a lot of power as well as physical resources (toner and paper) so we’ve amended the global settings on DTS managed printers to be more efficient. By default printers are set to print in black & white, double sided. All managed printers are set to standby mode when not being used.

Plus in conjunction with other areas:

We are also working with Estates to utilise our new Wi-Fi infrastructure to create heat maps of building usage for future space planning, and with the Sustainability team to trial timed power outlets to reduce power wastage out of hours.

What You Can Do

Why not take this opportunity to look at your personal carbon footprint and think about how you can reduce it.

You can also:

  • Shut down your PC/Mac/Laptop when you don’t need it
  • Turn the brightness down on your monitor, or switch off if not using
  • Turn off your speakers, scanners, ring-lights, etc. when you finish
  • Check power and brightness settings on your laptop
  • Check before you print – do you need to?
  • Engage with the Device Lifecycle team if they contact you!

Further information and contact

University of Reading Sustainability Strategy

University of Reading Sustainability – resource use, recycling and waste

This BBC News webpage has a good overview of Earth Day, what it is and what it has achieved.

More information about sustainability from Apple and Microsoft