Datacom: Steady improvement the name of the game

Steady, incremental improvement has been the name of the game for Datacom, and is what led to the service provider winning the ARN Green Project of the Year award for the second time in a row.

What can a company, already heavily invested in environmental processes, do to stand out and win again? According to general manager of sales, marketing and governance Asia-Pacific, Andrew Peel, there is plenty.

“Part of the reason we won the award this year was that we were able to demonstrate there had been further developments to the strategies we undertook last year, and that we stuck to our intention of really working on environmental sustainability and the strategies we’ve put in place,” he said.

“If we look at where we were last year: At that point we’d conducted a baseline audit, and we have been able to develop that further, where we’ve made a commitment to roll that strategy out at every single Datacom site. We’ve also been working at raising the visibility of that strategy so it now appears as part of all our balanced scorecards at every level of the management team, so there’s visibility at the front-line as well.”

Some of last year’s internal initiatives for Datacom included swapping out CRT monitors for more energy-efficient displays, a push to reduce the use of paper where possible, assessing the air conditioning, adopting energy-efficient lighting and encouraging staff to turn off computers and lights when leaving the office.

Peel said this internal drive had lost none of its momentum. “We’re continuing to rollout LCDs across the whole company, which is rewarding us with significant energy reductions and savings,” he said. “Also, simple things such as changing printers over to recycled paper, and printing on to double-sided paper, have enabled us to reduce our carbon footprint. “We’re also pursuing other initiatives to lower our carbon offset further, such as looking into New Zealand forest investment schemes that offer carbon offsetting as part of the investment.”

As with any IT company, e-waste is proving a concern for Datacom.

Peel outlined a number of initiatives the service provider had undertaken to reduce its impact. They included recycling all e-waste through WorkVentures Connect and its mobile phones through Mobile Muster.

“Also, when WorkVentures Connect recycles our outdated PCs and technology, they are reconditioned and provided to disadvantaged community groups and individuals,” he said, highlighting another area where Datacom was showing social responsibility.

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