Apr 18 2008
This Earth Day and every day, Verizon Wireless is reaffirming its commitment to reduce energy consumption. Verizon Wireless has rolled-out energy-saving solutions on employee desktops across the country, resulting in reductions in operating costs, emissions and energy usage.
Over the past year, Verizon Wireless has deployed 1E WakeUp, which ensures that all PCs, whether on or off, can be patched immediately, and NightWatchman(R), which significantly reduces the power consumed by PCs. This power management software is now available on 63,000 managed desktops company-wide, resulting in a 24 percent reduction in both PC power consumption and CO2 emissions. The initiative reduces annual energy costs by $1.3 million and carbon emissions by an estimated 7,700 tons.
In addition, Verizon Wireless has deployed "thin client" solutions -- virtual technology that provides users access to centrally-stored programs and software -- in 17 of its call centers. Thin clients require less power and generate less heat than full workstations, so the company enjoys the benefits of powering a more compact unit, while also saving on cooling costs. Power consumption test results performed by local power companies for two call centers in Irvine, Calif., and Chandler, Ariz., found energy savings ranged from 50 to 60 percent.
The smaller footprint of thin clients requires fewer manufacturing materials, reducing the environmental impact; thin client life-spans are longer and their failure rate is lower, which reduces replacement purchase and disposal costs.
"At Verizon Wireless, we view going 'green' as important not only for the environment and our business, but also for our customers," said Ajay Waghray, chief information officer at Verizon Wireless. "Energy-saving initiatives make us more efficient and enable us to provide improved products and services for our customers. Another example of our commitment is Verizon Wireless' 'green bill,' available in our online customer account system, My Account. My Account puts detailed usage and billing information at our customers' fingertips in real-time. In addition to eliminating monthly mailings, saving paper and reducing the carbon footprint that results from the mailing process, 'green bill' users find more useful ways to organize and analyze their account information than with any paper bill."