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What does it mean to "go green"? It's on the news, in the media, inside our homes, the internet and even technology. Everyone is becoming more concerned about how to sustain the environment for the future. Mid-size companies around the world are looking for ways to make their Information Technology (IT) departments more environmentally conscious. According to several studies IT accounts for 2.5 percent of energy use and carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.

Many companies are trying to find ways to minimize their carbon footprints without minimizing their profits. In today's environmentally conscious society, there are many things to consider. How can IT professionals find ways to "go green" and still make "greenbacks"? Here are some tips for going green in the IT department.

* Create a sustainability plan. Define what sustainability means to your department, this will help to get everyone on the same page. Try to implement practices that will help to achieve your sustainability goals.

* Be Reasonable! Your IT department cannot go green overnight. You have to consider all the factors and know what you are willing to change and what you are not.

* Refit your server room. Server rooms need to be refitted to conserve energy. Heating and cooling costs can be reduced drastically with these refits. This will not only help to reduce the carbon footprint, but also increase overall profits because of efficiency.

* Hardware recycling. Implementing hardware recycling is another potential way to help the environment. Computers and their components end up in landfills all over the country. Refurbishing can reduce the amount of computer "trash".

* Travel Reduction. Mid-size companies should try to reduce traveling costs by telecommunication and video conferencing. If it can be solved over the air ways instead of traveling companies will save money on travel arrangements, hotels and other travel expenses, while reducing carbon emissions.

* Storage Consolidation. Consolidating storage areas will help mid-size companies reduce the amount of space that is needed for their IT departments and make the space they do use more efficient.

* Reducing electricity. Saving electricity will mean that a measurement of IT electrical consumption must be done. There are now programs available to help companies take these measurements and in turn to reduce their energy consumption.

* Power Down. It has long been a myth in the IT world that computers use less electricity if they are left on. This is not

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