“Increasing the energy efficiency of Oregon’s public and private sector computing equipment will save consumers and taxpayers money, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change,” said Gov. Kulongoski. “Oregon is a national leader in sustainability and climate change, and our continued commitment to energy-efficient technology and practices will help achieve the state’s goals of reducing greenhouse gasses created by state activity.”

Oregon has set both short and long-rage goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By joining the Climate Savers Computing initiative, Oregon is taking another important step toward meeting the Governor’s short-term goal of reducing state agency energy consumption by 20 percent below 2000 levels by 2015.

Oregon is the first state to follow the recent announcement by Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius committing their states to the Climate Savers Computing Initiative and urging all governors to do the same under the National Governors Association Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative.

Under the terms of the agreement, the state has strengthened its long-standing commitment to reduce the energy consumption of its computing equipment by:

• Pledging to purchase high-efficiency computer equipment that meets or exceeds federal Energy Star ratings;
• Optimizing existing computer systems by educating employees about more efficient and effective computer power management strategies, such as better using hibernation and sleep modes; and
• Ensuring in subsequent years the state purchases computing equipment with increasing levels of efficiency.

“By participating in the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, the State of Oregon will achieve additional reductions in its computing energy consumption,” said Lorie Wigle, Intel’s representative on the Climate Savers Computing Initiative board of directors. “More importantly, the state is helping lead the way to a cleaner and more secure energy future by providing leadership for Oregon residents and businesses looking to reduce their climate impact.”

In a typical desktop PC, nearly half the power coming from the outlet never reaches the processor, memory, disks or any other computing components. The wasted electricity is dispersed as heat and increases the cost of powering a computer, as well as the emission of greenhouse gases. In offices, homes and data centers, the added heat from inefficient computers can increase the demand on air conditioners and cooling systems, making the computing equipment even more expensive to run. Servers are more efficient than desktops, but still typically waste 30 to 40 percent of the input power.

Additional energy is often sacrificed because of poor power management settings. Even though most of today's desktop PCs are capable of automatically transitioning to a sleep or hibernate state when inactive, about 90 percent of systems have this functionality disabled.

“Kudos to Governor Kulongoski for his support of Climate Savers Computing Initiative and his leadership on this issue,” said Bill Weihl, Google's representative on the Climate Savers Computing Initiative board of directors. “Oregon now joins Minnesota and Kansas as leaders in pledging to support sustainable practices. We very much look forward to working with other governors to help them cut costs, increase efficiency, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Climate Savers Computing Initiative brings together manufacturers, businesses, organizations and individuals to significantly increase the energy efficiency of computers and servers. More than 170 companies, states and organizations have joined since the Initiative launched in June 2007, and thousands of individuals have pledged their support. The Initiative is led by representatives from nine Board of Director companies: Dell, EDS, Google, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Pacific Gas & Electric and World Wildlife Fund. Sponsors include AMD, Delta Electronics, eBay, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Marvell Semiconductor, NEC, Sun and Supermicro.

For more information about the Initiative and to pledge your support, visit www.climatesaverscomputing.org.