Over the past 16 years, I have been involved in 5 successful startup companies ranging from an energy company, to several .com companies. Now I am focusing all of my attention on creating the tipping point in the sustainability movement by pushing initiatives in government, business and the broader social landscape. 
Many people are curious, what I am doing since I left Powerset. Well, the short story is that I have decided to dedicate myself to what I call the new Green Economy and I am working on several initiatives with other leaders in government and businesses that all fall under the responsibility of non-profit that I am founding called SF Green. 
Mayor Newsom calls for actions in a Directive that aim to reduce municipal government’s IT-related greenhouse gas emissions by 24% by 2012. Check out what the proposal are and read about what I am trying propose to add to the plan.The Announcement by Mayor Newsom
Mayor Newsom's Statement Regarding Greening of Municipal Information and Communications Technology
2/25/08 - Last week, I issued Executive Directive 08-01 which will measure and reduce the environmental impact of information and communication technology (ICT). Based on the experience of commercial buildings, approximately 20-25% of building energy is attributable to ICT. Because of this impact, ICT has significant potential to enable innovative solutions to the environmental challenges of energy use and can be an effective tool to advance sustainable economic development.
Executive Directive 08-01 will limit the environmental impact of the lifecycle of equipment, from production through use to disposal. Actions called for in this Directive aim to reduce municipal government’s ICT-related greenhouse gas emissions by 24% by 2012. These actions include:
- Beginning in April 2008, city departments shall only purchase personal and notebook computers and monitors that meet at least the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Silver standard, with a preference for the Gold standard.
- The Committee on Information Technology (COIT) shall ensure technology projects are reviewed for environmental impact and support the City’s environmental goals.
- By June 2008, the Department of Technology and Information Services (DTIS) shall implement a paper reduction pilot program with the goal to reduce general office paper consumption by 20%. At the conclusion of this pilot program, the City’s Chief Information Officer will recommend a paper reduction policy to COIT for immediate implementation.
- By September 2008, DTIS shall report on the results of a pilot program to implement centralized power management systems for personal computers. This will strengthen Executive Order 05-104 (September 23, 2005) which mandated the installation of power management functions.
Finally, the City’s Chief Information Officer will develop a baseline measurement of energy consumption and environmental impact of the City’s overall ICT operations to be able to measure and fully implement supporting steps that will enable us to continue to find new strategies to address the environmental challenges of energy use and waste creation.
Where I think we could improve this plan
Here's the logic, if 20-25% of all building energy is attributable to IT and communications then there are probably many, many ways to cut this cost down. Below are a ways in which I believe we could create more infrastructure that helps to create long term sustainable practices that reduce the impact of ICT.
- We should offer a plan to businesses whereby if they install a small piece of software on theri servers and laptops that monitors their daily carbon footprint, and then those businesses purchases carbon offsets from the city's Carbon Trading System, then those companies get a tax rebate or reduction from the city.
- San Francisco should build a coalition of cities to urge the manufacturers of laptops, servers and printers to improve or eliminate the stand by mode
- San Francisco and PG&E could partner to create a subsidized plan for companies to purchase cell phone and mobile device chargers that are powered by solar
- Many companies in San Francisco have huge data centers that are house elsewhere. We should calculate that as part of their footprint and create a data center plan for all companies in the city.
If you have additional ideas, add it to the comments and I'll post it. thanks.
Comments
Hi,
We're in the business of greening cities. please see the following link to an article about what we're doing for Eilat (A city in the South of Israel). We can do the same for any city or town in the US.
Thanks,
Mayan
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1204213983875&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Posted by: Mayan Metzler | March 2, 2008 04:49 PM