juillet 7, 2009
The chain’s new IT strategy proves green IT isn’t all about the data centre, says a green IT consultant
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts recently announced a comprehensive green IT strategy that addresses technology infrastructure and IT operations for all 56 of its hotel properties worldwide.
A key part of the initiative, which is scheduled to roll out this year and be fully implemented across all properties by the end of 2009, is a centrally managed power-down schedule that automatically shuts down all internal desktops and laptops after one hour of activity.
Fairmont estimates the power management will reduce energy consumption by 2,692,683 KwH and save 1,356 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Fairmont’s strategy is a “great example” of where businesses can hit next, said Jessica Vreeswijk, founder and director of Vancouver-based green IT consulting firm TerraBytes Consulting. As a hotel group, Fairmont is not traditionally office-based and has a more distributed model with a different look and feel than most businesses looking at green IT, she explained.
“Most companies have been focusing their green IT on data centres and this is really proving that green IT can play a big part in a CSR (corporate social responsibility) strategy in an organization that doesn’t traditionally have a data centre,” said Vreeswijk.
Ensuring the power down by essentially “forcing” it to happen is an important part of the strategy, according to Vineet Gupta, senior VP of Technology for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. “Usually, it is left to the local hotels or systems people, and especially at international properties, it sometimes doesn’t happen,” he said.
Managing the workstations from one central location “requires a lot of effort,” said Gupta, but another major challenge in rolling out a global green IT strategy is getting everyone to understand its value. “In North American and Europe, green is very big. In Asia, it takes a bit of time to make sure everybody understands,” he said.
The development of donation standards is another component of the plan. Fairmont typically tries to ensure that equipment is donated to schools or there is some sort of recycling, said Gupta.
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Tags: energy costs, fairmont Hotels, Green audits, green it
