Branson sails on with "Operation Rock the Boat"
Dec 6, 2010 Business Green
The Carbon War Room has today launched an online database ranking the environmental performance of most of the world's ocean-going vessels in a bid to help the shipping industry cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than half a billion tonnes a year by 2020.
The lobby group, which was founded by Richard Branson 18 months ago, said the new ShippingEfficiency.org site will list fuel efficiency data for around 60,000 ships, including the majority of the world's container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, cargo ships, cruise ships and ferries.
The site aims to help businesses and individuals make better informed decisions about the ships they use by rating vessels using a simple A to G grading system.
The group said it has used rating methodology developed by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization's under its Energy Efficiency Design Index and combined it with data from the world's largest ship registry, IHS Fairplay.
The site is the latest project from The Carbon War Room's so-called "Operation Rock the Boat" initiative, which aims to encourage shipping operators to invest in lower carbon technology to cut emissions and operating costs.
It says a new global fleet based on the most efficient available technologies could cut CO2 emissions by half a billion tonnes a year by 2020, putting it on a path to cut more than one billion tonnes of carbon annually by 2050.
Today's launch forms part of the group's five-pronged attack on shipping emissions, which also calls for the industry to update key charter contracts and accelerate the adoption and enforcement of new national shipping legislation.
In a recent interview with The Economist, Branson said the group is also trying to convince ports in the US to give preferential treatment to lower-carbon vessels when docking.
Shipping is thought to account for about three per cent of the world's carbon emissions, but because it is not covered by the Kyoto Protocol the sector currently has no mandatory targets for cutting emissions.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Energy Management
. Schneider Electric Data Center Showcases Server Consolidation and Energy Efficiency
Dec 5, 2010 Server Watch
APC (now owned by Schneider Electric) has set up a new data center outside of St. Louis, Mo. As well as consolidating two of the company's data centers, it is using a host of APC and Schneider Electric gear including its EcoStruxure architecture for intelligent energy management.
"EcoStruxure is an approach to creating intelligent energy management systems," said Kevin Brown, vice president of IT Business at Schneider. "We chose St. Louis in order to have a central location for the consolidation of the many North American data centers we previously operated."
The facility will act as a showcase of company technology in the areas of building, power, and data center infrastructure. Prospective customers will be able to view the equipment they are thinking of buying and see how well it operates in the real world. Research and development work is also part of the plan at what is known as the Schneider Electric Technology Center (SETC).
"Through efficient design, monitoring and lower cost per kilowatt hour, we have documented significant electricity cost savings over a 12 month period at the Schneider Electric Technology Center," said Jim Simonelli, CTO for Schneider Electric's IT Business.
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Dec 5, 2010 Server Watch
APC (now owned by Schneider Electric) has set up a new data center outside of St. Louis, Mo. As well as consolidating two of the company's data centers, it is using a host of APC and Schneider Electric gear including its EcoStruxure architecture for intelligent energy management.
"EcoStruxure is an approach to creating intelligent energy management systems," said Kevin Brown, vice president of IT Business at Schneider. "We chose St. Louis in order to have a central location for the consolidation of the many North American data centers we previously operated."
The facility will act as a showcase of company technology in the areas of building, power, and data center infrastructure. Prospective customers will be able to view the equipment they are thinking of buying and see how well it operates in the real world. Research and development work is also part of the plan at what is known as the Schneider Electric Technology Center (SETC).
"Through efficient design, monitoring and lower cost per kilowatt hour, we have documented significant electricity cost savings over a 12 month period at the Schneider Electric Technology Center," said Jim Simonelli, CTO for Schneider Electric's IT Business.
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