Reducing our environmental footprint
IT at the University is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions through the electricity that powers our equipment:
- Servers and desktop computing each account for roughly 25% of our electricity use
- Research computing accounts for roughly 50% of our electricity use
We need to reduce the environmental impact of these activities to reach our sustainability targets.
What is sustainability?
"A means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society, its members and its economies are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems, planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals for future generations." – Wiktionary
As a member of The University of Manchester, there are a number of steps you can take to help us reduce our impact on the environment.
For more information about the University's overall sustainability policy, please see the 'Environmental Sustainability Policy Statement':
Guidance for staff
IT procurement advice
The PSS procurement team can offer advice on how to make sustainability requirements part of your invitation to tender.
In brief, we avoid asking for specific certifications (e.g. ePEAT Gold) and express the same idea more generally. For example, we might ask suppliers for evidence that their products can easily be reused or recycled.
Research computing advice
Some users are required to keep their computers running 24/7 because of research computations. As an alternative, we can provide you with access to a computational shared facility that provides effective and efficient computing.
Working remotely
If you need to keep your computer on in order to work remotely, you can register for our 'WakeIT' service. Wake IT lets you wake up your computer remotely and put it to sleep when it is not in use.
