Sustainable IT
In addition to advancing technology, IT Services is committed to promoting sustainability throughout our institution.
Learn about the initiatives we're implementing to minimise our carbon footprint and promote environmental responsibility.
Key achievements
44 tonnes
of IT equipment has been saved from landfill since 2020
4500 unwanted devices
have been refurbished or recycled
40% reduction
of printers on campus
EcoDataCentre
Moving our high performance computing to an EcoDataCentre in Sweden
Recycling unwanted IT equipment
We are working with our IT hardware provider to recycle laptops and PCs which are no longer fit for purpose. Over the course of this partnership, the University has saved 44.1 metric tonnes of IT equipment from landfill so far by either recycling or refurbishing more than 4,500 unwanted devices.
When the University uses the providers app to book collections of these unwanted laptops and PCs, we also contribute to their tree planting programme and earn cash rebates (many of which are donated to charity).
Reducing the amount we print
To help cut down on unnecessary printing, we have been encouraging staff and students to use alternatives to printing such as scanning documents to online PDFs and using assistive software where possible. We've also been sharing tips on how they can avoid spoiled prints.
In response to the decline in demand following the introduction of hybrid working, we have also reduced the quantity of multifunction printers on campus by 40%. This project is estimated to be saving 3.03 tonnes of CO2e per year and was delivered by a staff and student-led Green Impact Project Team who went on to win a Green Impact Platinum Award. All printing is managed centrally meaning printing jobs are tracked and resources are consolidated, this has a significantly lower environmental impact than departments running their own printing services.
Shutting down equipment
We’ve created a process which shuts down equipment in PC classrooms when they’re not being used during vacations. Compared to our ‘always on’ approach, we have already saved an estimated 18.8 tonnes in CO2 and over £25,000 in energy costs. We’re also introducing occupancy sensors in approximately 300 teaching rooms to turn off equipment when the rooms are not occupied.
Not only will this help reduce energy use but it will also decrease the need for maintenance, lower cooling demands and extend the lifespan of our equipment.
Auditing our data centres
In early 2023 we undertook a project to audit every cable and device within our data centres so we could accurately track the power being used by each server. Data centres are physical locations where we store all our computer systems and IT infrastructure.
This project has enabled us to remove old and inefficient switches, track down department owners of servers and decommission equipment which is no longer needed. This had led to a 12.6% reduction in power used across our main campus data centres- a saving equivalent to that used by 40 UK households.
Adding Ecosia to PC classrooms
In January 2023, all IT classrooms PCs had their search engine changed from Google to Ecosia. The Ecosia search engine works in the same way as Google but uses its profits to plant trees where they are needed most across the world. The idea to switch to Ecosia was brought to The University of York Students' Union by two students and was implemented by IT Services.
Limiting hardware choices
We endeavour not to replace physical IT equipment such as laptops and desktops unnecessarily. We’ve recently changed our replacement policy so hardware is now replaced when it’s no longer fit for use, rather than after a set period of time. We also limit the hardware choices we have available at the University, this means we’re able to offer some in-house repair services as we often have compatible spare parts readily available.
Spotlight: Choosing “Viking”, a renewable home for our high performance compute facility
In October 2023 we moved our research computer cluster Viking to EcoDataCenter in Sweden. Viking is used to complete high performance computing tasks and supports research and teaching at the University however it also uses a lot of energy. We chose to move our clusters to EcoDataCenter as it is the first data centre to be made from wood and runs on 100% renewable energy; 75% from hydropower and 25% from wind power.
The centre also uses the excess heat created by computer clusters to dry wood and create pellets which are a renewable energy source. More information on moving Viking to EcoDataCenter.
What you can do
Find out what actions that you can take towards saving energy and reducing your carbon footprint.