Portland, OR -- In an unprecedented global effort, The Green Grid consortium announced that it, along with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Save Now and Federal Energy Management Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR Program, European Union Code of Conduct, Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s (METI) Green IT Initiative, and Japan’s Green IT Promotion Council (GIPC), has collectively reached an agreement on the guiding principles of data center energy efficiency metrics.
Green Grid says the agreement represents a significant achievement, as these organizations continue working to ensure data center efficiency metrics, measurements and reporting conventions can be applied with clarity and consistency at the global level.
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“The ultimate goal is to create a set of globally accepted metrics for data center energy efficiency. One of the first, and perhaps most important factors to successfully achieving this aim is establishing a unity of communication,” comments Tom Brey, IBM representative and Secretary of The Green Grid. “The Green Grid
is working with organizations around the world to develop a clear and well-defined language for the way we communicate about energy efficiency metrics, which will give us a common measuring stick for all data centers regardless of their location. With that type of consistency, we can start driving behavioral changes in the industry.”
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As the basis for these guiding principles, The Green Grid and the aforementioned organizations have designated Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) as the industry’s preferred energy efficiency metric. The group will leverage the guiding principles to help drive a universal understanding of energy efficiency metrics and generate dialogue to improve data center efficiencies. A global task force with representatives from each of the above mentioned organizations will continue to move this initiative forward and reconvene later this year to evaluate progress.
The Green Grid Establishes EPA ENERGY STAR Program Management Office
In support of the U.S. EPA’s ongoing efforts to reduce energy consumption in servers, storage devices and data centers as a whole, The Green Grid also announced that it has established an EPA ENERGY STAR Program Management Office.
This office, headed by members of The Green Grid’s Board of Directors, aims to position the consortium as a trusted technical advisor to the U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR program. The Green Grid supports the EPA in its efforts to lead IT industry collaboration in the development of ENERGY STAR efforts, including standards for servers, storage, UPS and data center systems and related component level equipment.
The Green Grid Receives Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award
In recognition of its successful endeavor to educate the industry on data center efficiency, The Green Grid’s “Measures and Metrics” online course has received the Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Awards’ Silver Medal. This prestigious award, recognizing exceptional work in the use of learning technology, is presented annually by Brandon Hall Research, a leading training and development firm.
The “Measures and Metrics” custom course, offered through The Green Grid Academy, is designed for data center managers and features 3D avatars that guide viewers through a virtual data center environment, while presenting ways to effectively measure energy consumption and improve energy efficiency. The course was selected as the silver medal winner based on the strength of its content, effective navigation and engaging interactive elements.