eWeek Europe: UK Will Get Tough on "Sweating" IT Assets

Government IT departments could be asked to use some IT equipment for up to ten years and avoid unnecessary refreshes according to the body leading green tech regulation in the UK.

Speaking late last week at the Green IT '09 conference in London, Cabinet Office deputy champion for green ICT Catalina McGregor, said that as well as facing mandated targets, government departments will be asked to potentially hold onto existing IT kit even longer.

"For the first time we are getting really good information out of Japan, out of the Swiss, and a number of countries about the carbon footprint of creating kit - how much water goes into creating kit, silicon, sand and on an elemental level - so please keep your eyes open because the math from that production is going to help us make a better judgment call on how long we keep our equipment," she told an audience of government and private sector IT pros at the two day show.

For more go eWeek Europe.