The British Computer Society (BCS) has welcomed the publication this week of a European code of conduct for data centre operators.
The professional IT body said its publication was as a sign that the industry was beginning to address the issue of carbon emissions, which analysts have compared to those of the aviation industry.
The code was developed in consultation with many different organisations from across the European Union (EU), including the BCS Data Centre Specialist Group, which led discussions about best practice for the code.
Bob Harvey, chair of the BCS Carbon Footprint Group, said: "This is a vital step forward for the industry in encouraging IT management and data centre operators to focus on the appropriate issues for data centres. This is one of the key issues for the industry today and in the future."
Lord Hunt, energy and climate change minister, added: "If we are to tackle dangerous climate change, we need to reduce emissions and the decision businesses make play a key role in meeting this challenge. By signing up to this new code of conduct companies can save energy and save money too, which goes to show that what's good for the environment is good for business."
The BCS Carbon Footprint Group has also been independently involved in the development of metrics for data centres operators, publishing a white paper on the subject last month.
And the BCS Data Centre Specialist Group has been working jointly with the Carbon Trust and Romonet project to develop an open source simulation software tool to help companies understand the energy use within data centres.
Harvey added: "The white paper and simulation tool will provide the level of detail necessary to understand the per service energy use and impacts on ROI [return on investment] of energy optimisation, as well as providing IT professionals with the tools and understanding to make their own informed decision on whether a proposed product or action is 'green'."
Further information about the EU code of conduct can be found here.
