News

OGC urges public sector workers to conserve electricity through smarter PC use

Released on 21/05/2008

New pan-government framework to assist the switch-off of PCs when not in use could save up to £10.2 million per year

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has launched a new campaign to encourage the public sector to work smarter for the environment when using PCs. It is estimated that by switching-off PCs when not in use annual energy cost savings of up to £10.2 million and carbon emission reductions of up to 55,723 tonnes could be achieved.

As part of the campaign, a new pan-government deal for IT power management solutions, led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has been awarded for a system that allows the automatic shut down of PCs during non-working hours to reduce wasted energy. Called "Nightwatchman", the software also allows public sector organisations to monitor daily PC energy consumption and provides activity reports to show energy cost and carbon savings. The framework is a result of cross government collaboration sponsored by DCMS and supported by the OGC's Collaborative Procurement Energy and ICT team.

The campaign is part of wider OGC work on sustainability through its Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement (CESP), which was announced earlier this year. The CESP will help Government departments achieve their targets for reducing carbon emissions and waste across the Government estate. The campaign also ties into the Cabinet Office agenda for greening government IT.

Commenting on the new strategy, OGC chief executive, Nigel Smith said:

"The challenge to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions across the Government estate is only going to be met by a number of measures, with CESP taking forward a culture of change across all departments in sustainable operations and procurement.

"The new strategy to encourage public sector workers to switch-off their PCs together with the new deal for IT power management solutions will play a small but important part in meeting the Government's sustainability targets."
 
Public sector organisations wishing to access the framework can get more information by simply searching for "Nightwatchman" in OGC's easy to use Contracts Database.

Notes to Editors

New IT power management solution deal

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), in collaboration with the OGC's ICT, Energy and Sustainability category team have awarded a new pan-government IT power management framework to 1E. This deal is available to all public sector bodies from 2nd May 2008 for a period of four years, and allows easier access to contracting the services at a discounted rate.

The framework provides access to the shut down software, known as "NightWatchman", as well as other 1E products such as 1E WakeUp, which integrates with NightWatchman, to enable IT managers to 'wake up the system' to allow software updates, critical and security patches and operating system upgrades to be applied during non-working hours, and then shut down again once the upload is complete. These solutions can be obtained as a package or separately.

A report by National Energy Foundation (NEF) indicated that around 20-30% of computer users in Britain do not switch off computers.

Based on an estimated number of computers of around 1.13 million (source: Cabinet Office), in the public sector, by switching-off PCs when not in use annual energy cost savings can be made of up to £10.2 million and carbon emission reductions savings of up to 55,723 tonnes (based on £9 or 114.68KWh per PC each year being wasted).

About OGC

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) leads government departments and the wider public sector to make improvements in buying goods and services.  As an office of HM Treasury, the OGC works with central Government departments, and other public sector organisations, to ensure the achievement of five key goals:

• Delivery of value for money from third party spend;
• Delivery of projects to time, quality and cost, realising benefits;
• Getting the best from the Government's £30bn estate; 
• Driving forward the improvement of central Government capability in procurement, Project and Programme Management, and estates management through the development of people skills, processes and tools; 
• Assisting departments in the delivery of Government's policy goals on sustainability, innovation, equality and support for small and medium sized enterprises.

OGC is an expert in providing guidance and standards on procurement best practice, fostering productive partnerships and realising the benefits of collaborative solutions to meet the buying needs of the public sector.

It provides innovative ways to develop further central Government's capability in procurement, and leads the Government Procurement Service, which supports those operating as procurement professionals and those working towards gaining professional status within the civil service.

In March of this year the government announced the creation of a new Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement within the OGC alongside a new post of Chief Sustainability Officer, which will drive forward a culture of change across all departments in sustainable operations and procurement.

Media Contact:
Michael Dunning,
Media Relations Manager
T: 020 7271 1318
F: 020 7271 1345
M: 07771 815245
E: michael.dunning@ogc.gsi.gov.uk

Contact details:
OGC Service Desk
Tel: 0845 000 4999
E-mail: ServiceDesk@ogc.gsi.gov.uk