METI Announces First Green IT Award Winners

The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced winners of the first Green IT Awards on September 25, 2008. The awards were established in fiscal 2008 in order to further promote green IT initiatives centered on "savings in IT-related energy consumption" and "energy conservation through the use of IT."

A total of 32 applications were submitted for two award categories: (1) savings in IT-related energy consumption and (2) energy conservation through the use of IT. IT products and technologies won the awards, six each in the two categories, including one winner of the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award, one winner of the Commerce and Information Policy Bureau Director-General Award, one winner of the Green IT Promotion Council Chairman Award, and three winners of the Review Board Special Award.

The METI Minister Award for savings in IT-related energy consumption went to NEC Corp.'s energy-saving server, the "Eco-Center," a space- and energy-saving server for managing large amounts of information, such as in data centers. By introducing cutting edge technology to every possible aspect, including low-power consuming parts, economical power source design and an effective layout for cooling, NEC achieved an approximately 50 percent reduction in power consumption from conventional servers.

The "construction and operation of the air conditioning system at Sony City Building" of Sony Corp. and Sony Life Insurance Co. won the METI Minister Award for energy conservation through the use of IT. By developing a highly efficient heat source system for use in its semiconductor plants and applying it to office buildings, as well as utilizing treated water discharged from the adjacent sewage treatment plant, Sony reduced CO2 emissions by about 48 percent when compared with typical office buildings.

- Announcement of the winners of METI Minister Award, etc. of Green IT Award 2008
http://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/data/
nBackIssue20080925_01.html

Posted: 2009/02/06 06:00:15 AM