Federal employees are urged not to leave computers running

Three information technology companies have joined to encourage federal employees and others to save energy by turning off their electronic equipment in the evening before they head home.

As part of the campaign, Citrix, HP and Intel designated Wednesday as National Power IT Down Day. The companies got more than 2,600 employees from more than 100 government entities to commit to turning off their computers, monitors and printers at the end of the day. If they do, the government will conserve about 34,000 kilowatt hours of energy on Wednesday, which will translate to about $3,400 in savings according to estimates from Citrix.

The companies will calculate participation and donate a portion of the savings to the American Red Cross of the National Capital Area.

"If we have visibility on the user side, it opens a new potential for cost savings," said Tom Simmons, area vice president of Citrix Federal. "If people could add a new habit to their daily ritual it could have a tremendous impact."

Cathy Martin, director of HP's government marketing organization, said this was an opportunity for the company to demonstrate its commitment to environmental responsibility.

"It sends the message that individual actions people take really make a difference in our footprint," Martin said. "From a federal government perspective there's a real opportunity for them to take the lead and set a good example and drive procurement policies and, of course, legislation and regulations to help encourage energy-efficient practices."

While turning off electronics seems like a minor step, supporters of the initiative say it's one of many measures that can make a difference. The companies estimate that if 1 percent of the government's 1.8 million civilian employees powered down their equipment, the government would save more than $23,000 daily. John Johnson, assistant commissioner for integrated tech services at the General Services Administration's Federal Acquisition Service, said GSA is pursuing opportunities to go green through strategic initiatives, green data centers and procurement policies.

"In the meantime we can all save energy by powering down that equipment that's not being used," Johnson said. "The government is a very large energy consumer to the tune of about $480 million a year from IT equipment. If we exercised discipline to power down when not being used it can help contribute."

GSA brought attention to the power down issue several weeks ago by awarding a contract for power management software called BigFix as part of its SmartBuy procurement program, which allows agencies to purchase commercial software at discounted rates. Agencies now will be able to buy BigFix licenses for $3 per computer. The software powers down computers automatically and has been estimated to save $50 annually on each machine.

By promoting both individual responsibility and taking advantage of technology solutions, agencies expect to both save money and make their mark as environmental leaders.

"Initiatives like the Power Down campaign help to inform individuals and corporations and government that by doing simple things every day you can make a significant contribution to the energy savings initiative," Johnson said. "Back that up with innovative products and services like BigFix ... and couple that with data center optimization initiatives like we're pursuing, and you find you've made a tremendous difference in the amount of energy you consume."

Simmons said Power IT Down Day will be an annual event starting this year and Citrix, HP and Intel will continue to reinforce awareness throughout the year.