26/11/2009

Carbon Neutral Crime Fighter win Computer Society’s Green IT Award

CANBERRA, Thursday, 26 November 2009 – At the inaugural Australian Computer Society Canberra ICT Awards 2009 ceremony last night, Australian Crimes Commission (ACC) received the Green ICT Award for their pioneering efforts in implementing energy saving and sustainability measures. 

In his acceptance speech, Andrew Cann, CIO for Australian Crimes Commission said “I attributed our success in greening the organisation to two key factors: first, I was inspired by the ACS Green IT Study conducted in 2007” (Audit of Carbon Emissions resulting from ICT usage by Australian Business - a study initiated by senior ACS members including Tom Worthington, a Board Member of ComputersOFF). He added further “The second motivating factor was the support that our organisation received from ComputersOFF throughout the Green ICT certification process.”

Dr. Idris Sulaiman, CEO of ComputersOff.ORG said, “It’s been 4 weeks to the day since Australian Crime Commission became the first government department to certify under all three CompurtersOff.ORG Green IT certifications and it’s therefore very timely that the ACS created the Green ICT category in its awards program.”

“As the passage of Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 draws nearer, this will create investment certainty which can enhance greater efforts across the private sector and across Government in implementing low cost measures to realise energy efficiency savings. It is very heartening to see the Australian Crime Commission taking a lead in this area and being recognised for it by ACS the professional ICT body,” said Dr. Sulaiman.

The Green IT Award recognises the development of a solution that promotes sustainability and Green ICT with criteria used in judging submissions including demonstrated effectiveness of the solution, benefits to and acceptance of users. The Department of Defence received a high commendation in this Award Category.

At the ACS Awards which was held at “The Lodge” restaurant in Canberra, Senator Kate Lundy, the newly appointed CEO for ACS Bruce Lakin and the outgoing President Kumar Parakala also rose to speak to the audience. They all commended the efforts of those who received the Awards and the
organising committee chaired by Yohan Ramasundaram as well as encourage the ACS to continue to hold subsequent events.

David Bryant, Chairman of ACS-ACT Branch said, “the event not only took a step forward in the professionalization of I.T. but also addressed a major concern of the industry in reducing the carbon footprint of the industry and the nation”. Anthony Wong, Chairman of ACS-NSW Branch said, “It is great to hear that the ACC won the Green IT award and that they were initially motivated by a report
that ACS put out in 2007.” “I encourage the ACC, ComputersOff.ORG and other organisations to further engage with the ACS and particular around Green IT policy and solutions,” concluded Anthony.

Mark Winter, Founder of ComputersOFF.ORG said, “The Australian Crimes Commission should be complimented of what they have accomplished. By winning this award not long after their ComputersOFF certification, it is now up to the other government and non-government agencies as well as corporate Australia to rise to the challenge and follow Australian Crimes Commission’s lead and make the same commitment to reducing their ICT carbon footprint.”
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For further information or media interviews, please contact:

Idris Sulaiman PhD M.ACS M.AIE
Chief Executive
ComputersOff.ORG
Direct: +61 2 6125 5496
Mobile: +61 410 603 09
E-mail: idris@computersoff.org

Alice Thompson
Communications and Media Team Leader
Communications and Media Unit
Australian Crime Commission (ACC)
Phone: (02) 6243 6648
Mobile: 0409 603 637
Email: alice.thompson@crimecommission.gov.au

About ComputersOff.ORG
Computers Off Australia is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to reducing the carbon footprint of organisations through their ICT infrastructure. Working with environmentally conscious businesses and government agencies and non-government organisations, our focus is to improve the power efficiency of computers, server and other ICT infrastructure as well as their overall environmental performance.

ComputersOff.ORG is designed to educate consumer, businesses, education and government sectors on ways of reducing their energy use and CO2 footprint and offers energy efficient Green ICT certification program (power management, virtualisation and carbon-neutral computing certifications). These certifications are designed to easily identify organisations to improve their overall environmental performance and provide the recognition to those organisations who commit themselves to reducing their impact on the environment, through these energy efficiency measures.
 

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