Innovation Enables Sustainable Growth

by ANDY CANHAM, President Sun Microsystems Canada

Andy Canham, Courtesy Sun Microsystems Canada

The green trend in technology is starting to show its age. Not for lack of potential, of course: the creation of energy-efficient, eco-friendly products could prove to be the greatest business opportunity of our time. As green ideals gain international attention, more companies are considering the environmental impact of their business decisions. Unfortunately, the market is full of green claims that might or might not pass the sniff test, and it’s often difficult to separate the supportable claims from the greenwash.

Here are some of the questions smart companies have been asking themselves (and asking us when we visit them) over the past couple years. Take note and see if they are relevant to your organization:

• Does the company have a track record of selling proven energy-saving datacentre technology?

• Is this a ‘one-off’ product or part of a complete, end-to-end solution that respects environmental concerns?

• Does the company have visibility into its supply chain, to know whether its suppliers are eco-friendly?

• Are the company’s suppliers adhering to eco standards set out by the Electronic Industry Code of Conduct?

• Has the company carefully considered product ‘end of life’ as a way to improve eco responsibility?

• Does the company have an established and forward-thinking commitment to eco responsibility as part of its overall Corporate Social Responsibility policies?

At Sun, we continue our long term commitment to building products that are dramatically more efficient and more eco-responsible – from product and packaging design to power usage and our global take-back and recycling programs.

For information on Sun’s eco responsibility, visit www.sun.com/eco.

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SAS Canada: Setting the Green Building Standard for ICT

by JASON GROSSE

As far as green building practices in ICT go, SAS Canada has not only set the standard they created it.

Standing in the reception area of SAS’s Toronto office, Jerry McDermott, Manager of Real Estate Development says the building is about more than just being green, it’s part of “an overall culture of wellness at SAS.”

“[We wanted to] Create the best possible place for employees to work … to keep people healthier … and keep them coming back every morning.”

According to McDermott, it has worked. He points to a 35 per cent reduction in sick days per person, per year, since the move in 2005.

Part of this reduction in sick days came from the improved environment within the building.

 McDermott points to the use of under floor-based air distribution systems which distribute conditioned air directly to where it is required and uses body heat and equipment heat to help warm and move the air. Other features include indirect overhead lighting combined with task-based lighting, LCD based monitors and over 90 per cent laptop use in the office, fully recyclable and recyclable flooring and construction, low-odour, non-toxic, flooring materials, and low-and zero VOC paints.

“We want to use the building as a tool to attract and retain high-quality staff,” says McDermott.

McDermott is happy to place a dollar figure on part of the savings. In comparison, he says, a typical commercial office building can use approximately seven watts per square foot to power the building and electrical loads where the SAS building is currently using 2.9 watts per square foot for all building and tenant loads including lighting and equipment.

“Based on our electrical bill for February and March we’re saving $30,000 a month in power alone.”

Another cost saving benefit is the rooftop rainwater collection system which collects rain, stores it in on-site tanks and recycles it throughout the low-flow toilets and urinals inside SAS. This adds up to about 160,000 free flushes annually for SAS and its tenants said McDermott.

As for the additional costs associated with the building, McDermott says the five to seven per cent initial costs are offset by the operating costs savings and the premium rents that a building of this type attracts.

“We’ve proven that these types of buildings pay back and the payback is huge for the investment.”

To view a presentation on SAS’s Toronto office, click here.

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Green IT / IT to be Green

by LYNDA LEONARD

Jeff Wacker, Chief Futurist, EDS

Jeff Wacker is the Chief Futurist for EDS. He’s been talking about the environmental implications for IT for a number of years now. But in 2008 it seems like the present has caught up to the future in a big way.

“We’re having to codify our green behaviour in ways that corporations haven’t seen before,” he said. Jeff is an in-demand speaker who addresses CIO Summits all around the world. “We always ask the participants at these events to identify their top ten concerns. Six months ago, and for many years past, green IT was either last or second to last on the list. Now it’s in the top two and will probably stay there for a while."

Jeff sees the issue as two pronged – as he puts it “Green IT” and “IT to be Green”. Green IT starts with the recognition that IT is a culprit in our environmental problems and needs to be fixed. “Current estimates suggest that 1.8 to two per cent of the world’s total electrical power is going to run computers,” he said. “And the expectation is that we’ll double that by 2010. We simply can’t afford this.”

Power-sucking data centres could be one of the biggest limitations to the natural evolution of computing. Jeff points out that the overloaded power grids of some major urban centres like London simply can’t accommodate exponential growth. This presents the need for better solutions than simply relocating data centres to the boondocks. “It’s the support systems for data centres that use up the energy,” he said. “Simple practices can significantly reduce energy consumption … We can do things like isolating the cold aisle from the hot aisle. Dust is another part of the problem that’s pretty easy to fix – routine removal of the coating of dust on equipment. No-brainer solutions like these can reduce energy consumption by 40 per cent.”

But Green IT will also demand new ways of thinking about the way we design IT systems, too. Jeff points out that when customers start to realize that the cost to run a server may exceed the annualized cost of the server that will impose pressure for change on the whole industry. “In a modern IT system, we can estimate that ten per cent of the functions that electricity is powering are fully duplicated. And another 20 to 40 per cent of the process encounters inefficient code. This stems from a paradigm that viewed coding as free and placed a value on duplication as a means to ensure fidelity. The scarcity and cost of energy is not going to allow us to think this way any more.”

This new way of thinking will bring changes right to the desktop. Today we think nothing of forwarding e-mail and attachments to multiple correspondents. This has a huge impact on data storage capacity. Jeff cites a survey that shows 60 to 70 per cent of corporations plan to double their storage capacity over the next five years. Storing data consumes energy and this too may prompt new protocols for the way we exchange and share documents.

“IT to be Green” holds its own challenges and opportunities for the industry. Jeff sees tremendous possibilities in innovations like “tele-presence” citing a Cisco service that revolutionizes conventional teleconferences. “IT will also play a huge role in building management systems,” he said. “There is a great deal of waste in the way we heat and light commercial buildings and in the way we run our infrastructure systems. Smart systems and servers – all at their heart based on computing – can have a big impact.”

The purpose of Jeff’s forward thinking is to provide EDS with a competitive edge on new lines of business or new ways of doing business. It’s up to Frank Hart, Vice-President and General Manager, Canada and the team he leads to make business sense of what Jeff sees. “Clients are looking for green solutions in their data centre,” he said. “Vendors are under new obligations to factor ‘green’ into their solutions. Some large clients will insist that a vendor sign on their specific green commitments.”

For example, EDS has a major agreement with the Government of British Columbia to provide revenue management services. B.C. has placed a public policy priority on environmental responsibility. It is aggressively building a strong green brand for the province and it clearly expects it partners to step and comply.

“In practice this means we have to offer programs for smarter energy management,” Frank said. “We work with Xerox, for example, to deliver managed output services. This involves a full audit of all printers and faxes to optimize their performance and reduce their carbon footprint.”

Sometimes presenting clients with an effective green strategy means innovative partnerships. EDS has also introduced the B.C. Government to Fifth Light an Oakville, Ontario company that, through advances in dimmable electronic ballasts, networked on and off controllers, variable load controllers and sophisticated management systems is revolutionizing the “always-on” paradigm in lighting commercial buildings. Fifth Light technology is also installed in EDS Canada’s Toronto location and is being tested at the company’s Dallas headquarters.

“More and more companies want to buy from vendors that are in sync with their values,” says Frank. “Increasingly, environmental consciousness is a value that society holds high. By getting ahead of the curve, we’re building a strong green brand. This makes sense economically, because the better our brand the more companies want to work with EDS.”

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Industry Leads Environmental Stewardship in Canada

by DALTON BURGER, President & CEO Electronics Products Stewardship Canada

Dalton Burger

In 2003, ITAC and Electro-Federation Canada, along with 16 leading Canadian manufacturers of information technology and consumer electronics products, created Electronics Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC). The goal was to establish a not-for-profit organization that would work with an array of partners and stakeholders to design, promote and implement sustainable solutions for Canada’s electronic waste challenge.

Five years later, EPSC is now 24 members strong, and three provinces have adopted and implemented industry-led electronics recycling programs. Regulated programs are now operational in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, with at least one other close to approval.

The successful partnership approach that EPSC has used since its inception, demonstrates to other parts of the world that industry can work effectively with all levels of governments to create and operate programs that ensure e-waste is safely collected and recycled. As a result, EPSC programs balance environmental leadership with economic efficiencies.

Launched in February 2007, and with over 1,350 tonnes of end-of-life computers, monitors, peripherals and televisions collected and responsibly recycled in its first full year of operation, the Saskatchewan Waste Electronic Equipment Program (SWEEP) has provided all other programs with valuable lessons-learned experiences.

The Electronics Stewardship Association of British Columbia (ESABC) began in August 2007 and is now collecting close to 900 tonnes of regulated end-of-life electronics each month. ESABC has advanced the work on regulated reuse requirements, and its unique partnership with the Salvation Army ensures collection coverage in key urban areas. ESABC has also benefited from the direct involvement of Cindy Pearson, BCTIA’s Vice-President & COO, as a board member representing local industry interests.

With Atlantic Canada Electronics Stewardship (ACES) in Nova Scotia starting February 1st 2008, we now have our first program in Eastern Canada. ACES blended existing collection sites for other programs with new partnerships to establish a comprehensive collection system and effectively address a province-wide landfill-ban on selected electronics which took effect at program launch.

Ontario and Quebec are both moving forward with program implementation. Ontario has provided EPSC with the most complex challenge yet. The final program plan was passed unanimously by Waste Diversion Ontario and now awaits Ministerial approval. It incorporates the most up-to-date data available from our experiences with the existing programs, and has allowed for a comprehensive revisiting of the environmental handling fees for regulated products. EPSC appeared before the Environment Committee of Quebec’s National Assembly, ensuring that industry’s voice was heard prior to the EPR intentions paper being tabled by Quebec’s Environment Minister.

Over the next year EPSC will continue to work with the remaining jurisdictions to ensure the advent of cost-effective programs which meet our environmental responsibilities. We will also watch closely the implementation of Phase II in Nova Scotia, when the list of regulated products expands beyond the computers, printers and televisions, to include a broad range of telecommunication and audio-visual products.

For more information on EPSC or its provincial stewardship programs visit www.epsc.ca

ITAC NEWS

Coming Soon: A New and Improved ITAC.ca
In the coming weeks, ITAC will be launching our new and improved site. The launch of www.itac.ca goes with our recent launch of ITAC Online with the overall goal of improving our member communication. As always we are encouraging member feedback.

Minister of Research and Innovation, John Wilkinson Headlines ITAC’s Board of Governors’ Reception and Dinner

Minister Wilkinson speaks with members at ITAC's Board of Governors' Meeting

Toronto, April 15, 2008 – The Honourable John Wilkinson, Minster of Research and Innovation delivered an inspirational speech to senior executives of Canada’s IT community. Choosing to speak from the heart, Minister Wilkinson spoke to the industry leaders about where the Province of Ontario is headed and the Governments’ plan to get there. He touched on the Next Generation Jobs Fund and the $1.15 billion dollars invested to help position Ontario ICT as not only a leader in Canada but a global leader.

Nominations for ITAC Volunteer of the Year Award – Call for Entries
ITAC is a community of companies and business people and, like any community, it depends on the contributions and leadership of its members to grow and achieve its objectives. We celebrate this fact at our annual Chairs' Dinner (this year taking place June 26 in Toronto.) To further underscore the importance of the contributions ITAC volunteers make, we present annually the "ITAC Volunteer of the Year Award." This award will be made to one individual whose contributions have significantly advanced the progress of ITAC's work over the past 12 months.

The process of identifying this person is simple. We are calling for nominations from the whole membership community. If you have encountered a volunteer whose commitment and energy has helped us achieve a key objective, either through work on an ITAC committee or in some other capacity, simply identify that person to us with a brief explanation of why you think that person's contribution is exemplary and what results he or she achieved. Please do not nominate members of ITAC's Board of Directors. A small committee of the Board will review the nominees and make a selection. The presentation will take place at the Chairs' Dinner. Please make your nominations in confidence. (We will not publish a list of nominees or nominators.) Send them to Donna White, at dwhite@itac.ca no later than June 7, 2007.

Best Practice in Project Management
A team of experts from Deloitte recently completed a study of best practice indicators in project management in microelectronics for the Strategic Microelectronics Council of ITAC. Drew McFeetors, Chris Lynch and Paul Reid conducted an on-line survey and interviews with project managers in Canadian microelectronics companies to establish standards of practice. The team them shared the results of their work with Best Practice Forum participants in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. The SMC council is grateful for this excellent work and extends its warmest thanks to Drew, Chris and Paul. A short summary of the will be available soon. For more information contact Iain Scott iscott@itac.ca.

Call for Nominations – ITAC IT Hero Awards
ITAC has officially launched the Call for Nominations for the 8th Annual ITAC IT Hero Awards presented by Intel. . The ITAC IT Hero Awards celebrate and recognize creative applications of information technology that significantly improve the lives of Canadians and readily demonstrate the social and economic benefits. ITAC developed the award program in 2001 collaboratively with Industry Canada as a feature of IT Week, a time to reflect on the successful impact of IT on society. Now entering its 8th year, the ITAC IT Hero Award program has been expanded to include a corporate-level award. For more information or to nominate visit http://www.itheroawards.ca.

Call for Expressions of Interest for Board of Directors for ITAC's CHITTA Division
The Chitta Board determines the strategic directions and priorities for the CHITTA division of ITAC and provides guidance to staff on matters of interest to the membership and the health information technology industry as a whole. To be eligible to sit as a CHITTA Director your company must be a member of  ITAC and active in the Canadian healthcare marketplace, and your nominee would typically be the person most responsible for said healthcare activities. For additional details, please go to: http://www.itac.ca/MediaCentre/ITACOnline/08MarchCHITTA.pdf

ITAC EVENTS

The Seventh Annual Research Money Conference
May 21, 2008, Eaton Centre Marriott, Toronto, ON
From Entrepreneur to Titan: Can Canadian Entrepreneurs Grow
Technology Start-ups into Domestic Multinationals?
Does Canada have what it takes to grow domestic multinationals in knowledge-based industry sectors such as ICT, biotech and cleantech? What is the nature of Canada’s entrepreneurial culture? Are Canadian entrepreneurs able or willing to grow multinational firms? Does Canada have the executive talent to run tech multinationals from a Canadian base? Is such behaviour encouraged and recognized positively in Canada? Do we train our young people for these kinds of entrepreneurial and executive roles? Leading tech entrepreneurs and executives in Canada and the U.S. share their own experiences and perceptions on Canada’s entrepreneurial culture, and explore ways to improve Canada’s performance in knowledge-based commerce.  For more information, visit: http://www.researchmoneyinc.com/conferences/200805/

Foreign Worker Information Session
Thursday May 1, 2008, 8:30AM -11:50AM
Ontario Investment Trade Centre, 250 Yonge Street, 35th floor (above the Eaton Centre), Toronto
Over the past 12 months ITAC and its members have participated in a series of senior level roundtable consultations lead by Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Trade Minister Sandra Pupatello in order to formulate a strategy for the growth of the ICT sector in Ontario. Our discussions have centered on four areas - productivity, innovation, procurement and, of course, talent. Among many recommendations the industry has offered to improve Ontario's knowledge-based talent pool is the suggestion that we do a better job recruiting and integrating highly skilled foreign workers into our workforce. This event is hosted by the Ontario Government and is free of charge. To register, go to: https://secure.e-registernow.com/cgi-bin/mkpayment.cgi?MID=280&state=step2direct&event=420209175811529

3rd Annual CHITTA Golf Tournament
Saturday, May 03, 2008, Langara Golf Course
Vancouver, BC
CHITTA is pleased to announce its third Annual Golf Tournament and BBQ Dinner at the Langara Golf Course in Vancouver. The tournament, held the day before the eHealth pre workshops and conference, is open to all Healthcare IT professionals, CHITTA members and their guests. We encourage CHITTA members to take advantage of the day by bringing potential clients, friends and colleagues to the tournament. This event is an excellent opportunity to network with your peers, friends and colleagues in the Canadian healthcare informatics industry. To register, go to: https://secure.e-RegisterNow.com/cgi-bin/mkpayment.cgi?MID=280&state=step2direct&event=411113166895538

CHITTA Annual BLUES NIGHT @ eHealth 2008
May 06, 2008, 9:00 PM
Caprice Night Club, 967 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC
CHITTA is once again holding its annual Blues Night in conjunction with the eHealth Conference 2008. The Blues Night has become the after-hours networking event of the conference. Admission will be available to all eHealth conference participants by Invitation from sponsors and CHITTA Members exhibiting at the eHealth 2008 Conference. For more information, contact: Elaine Huesing, Executive Director, CHITTA, the Health Division of ITAC at ehuesing@itac.ca.

ITAC IT Golf Tournament
June 12, 2008, The Club at Bond Head
Mark your calendars now ... and help us celebrate our 15th Annual ITAC "IT Challenge" Golf Tournament, Luncheon and Awards. On June 12th, 2008 (Morning) , ITAC will host its 15th Annual "IT Challenge" Golf Tournament, Luncheon and Awards at the prestigious The Club at Bond Head - one of Canada’s most talked about golf courses. After 15 years, the ITAC “IT Challenge” Golf Tournament is still one of the best in our industry. For more information, visit: http://www.itac.ca/Events/golf/index.html or contact: Micheline Levesque, Manager, Programs and Events, (613) 238-4822 ext. 245, E-mail: mlevesque@itac.ca.

OTHER NEWS AND EVENTS

Softchoice Launches World's First Fully Searchable Online 'Green' IT Product Listing
Toronto, Apr. 22, Softchoice takes leadership position on the environment with the launch of a new initiative to make it simple for organizations to select and acquire today's 'greenest' information technology products. IT purchasers
can access search functionality that makes it easy to identify and acquire the
world's 'greenest' technologies. "Making environmentally responsible purchasing decisions is a key concern for our customers," said David MacDonald, President and CEO of Softchoice, and Chair of ITAC. "We are committed to doing our part and to giving organizations the information they need to make the best choices possible - for their business and for the environment.” For more information, visit: http://www.softchoice.com

OCCTO Technology Town Hall
May 14, 2008, 9:30AM – 3:30PM
Ontario Room, 2nd Floor, MacDonald Block, 900 Bay Street, Toronto
Hosted by Ron Huxter, Corporate Chief Technology Officer, Government of Ontario, the next OCCTO Technology Town Hall will focus on the technologies behind green IT.
Hear both Government and IT Industry perspectives and learn about initiatives that are currently being implemented and what’s on the horizon for Green IT solutions. This is a free event, to reserve your place, please email: Events.Occs@Ontario.ca.

WCIT 2008 – World Congress on Information Technology May 18 - 22, 2008, Malaysia
Held once every two years, the World Congress on Information Technology is a premier global ICT forum that brings together global leaders in business, government and academia. Often billed as the Olympics of ICT, it impacts global economic and social development through the exchange of policies and ideas on technology.  Keynote speakers are expected to include some of the most respected and admired names in Government and industry. For more information, please see the event site at: http://www.wcit2008.org.

WiMAX – Canada Sets its Sights
May 22 2008, 8:00AM – 6:00PM, Renaissance Toronto Airport Hotel & Conference Centre, Toronto, ON
A variety of Canadian companies have been playing a leading role in the development and deployment of WiMAX technology for several years. They continue to form partnerships to provide end-to-end solutions to governments, private corporations, municipalities and consumers in Canada and around the world. This conference will explore the issues surrounding the seemingly ubiquitous high-speed wireless broadband — namely, is this the year it hits its stride in Canada? Service providers, technology developers, industry analysts and government officials will tackle the answer to that question at “WiMAX – Canada Sets its Sights.” Online registration and program information is available at: http://www.cwta.ca/CWTASite/english/conference/WiMAX.html.

Mississauga Technology Awards
June 16, 2008, Mississauga, ON
Mississauga's business community will gather for one of the most significant and historic moments in our history. The first-ever Mississauga Technology Awards will be held at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga. The event will be a celebration of technology in our city, and feature a keynote address by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. For more information, visit: http://www.mississaugatechnologyawards.com/.

The 2008 National Standards System (NSS) Conference
June 2 - 4, 2008, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
The 2008 NSS Conference, Strategies for an Evolving World, will examine the role for standardization in an ever-changing environment, and explore the impact that new and modern dynamics are having on the way people live, do business and govern. Join government decision makers, industry leaders, academic experts and consumer representatives for a series of thought-provoking workshops and discussions that explore: Privacy in a Broadband Era, Emergencies and Anticipating the Unknown, Designing a Sustainable Future, Emerging Markets in a Global Economy, Social Responsibility: Good Business for All, North American Trade Partnerships, Beyond Counterfeits: Rebuilding Market Confidence in, Consumer Products, The Economic Value of Standardization. For more information visit: http://www.scc.ca.

Banff World Television Festival June 8 – 11, 2008, The Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff, AB
Join international delegates at the world's premiere television content creation event, June 8 to 11, 2008. As an ITAC member you can save 10 per cent off the early-bird rate, giving you over $550 in savings off the regular registration rate. Register today to network, pitch and seal deals at the 29th annual Banff World Television Festival. For more information, visit www.banff2008.com. To take advantage of this offer email Kerry Gardiner at kgardiner@achillesmedia.com before April 3rd, 2008.

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