ASLA joins EPA ENERGY STAR Low Carbon IT Campaign

WASHINGTON—The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR Low Carbon IT Campaign by enabling the power management, or sleep mode, on its computers and monitors. This simple step will help reduce the nation’s growing demand for electricity, save organizations money and help fight global warming.

If all office computers and monitors in the U.S. were set to sleep when not being used, the country could save more than $4 billion on electricity and avoid the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of about 5 million cars each year.

“We are proud to be part of this effort to reduce the carbon footprint of our IT operations,” says Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA, executive vice president and CEO of ASLA. “The efficient use of computers and monitors is not just good for our bottom line; it’s good for the environment.”

ASLA joins the ranks of leading businesses and organizations who are participating in the ENERGY STAR Low Carbon IT Campaign, including Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., Association of Bay Area Governments Energy Watch, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Dell, Inc., Fox Entertainment Group, Inc., HP, Microsoft, OfficeMax, City of Portland (OR) Public Schools, City of San Jose (CA) and Snohomish (WA) County Public Utility District.

“EPA is pleased to recognize ASLA as a participant in the ENERGY STAR Low Carbon IT Campaign,” says ENERGY STAR Program Manager Steve Ryan. “By taking this simple pledge, we can make a substantial difference in the fight against global warming. ENERGY STAR’s power management tools offer a cost-effective way to save energy, money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Power management enables computers and monitors to go into a low-power sleep mode after a period of inactivity. Power management has the potential to save up to $50 per computer annually. Despite the significant savings, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, only a scant 5 percent to 10 percent of U.S. organizations have deployed these settings on computers.

To join the ENERGY STAR Low Carbon IT Campaign, organizations simply take an online pledge to activate power management features on their monitors and computers to save energy and reduce their carbon footprint. Organizations can increase energy savings further by purchasing ENERGY STAR qualified computers and monitors. In turn, EPA provides free assistance to help implement power management, an estimate of the organization’s energy and carbon savings and official recognition from the agency. Organizations can join the campaign by visiting ENERGYSTAR.gov/lowcarbonit.