Euro Green IT Innovation Center Launch

By Jessica Repa, Marketing Director
Climate Savers Computing Initiative

As the marketing director for Climate Savers Computing, part of my role is to help our executive director, Pat Tiernan, develop strategic alliances to broaden our impact, drive further efficiencies and increase awareness about smart computing practices. One of the priorities for CSCI in 2010 is to develop strategic alliances in geographic regions to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption caused by the use of computers on a global scale. Our regional focus includes EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), India, Japan, Asia Pacific and South America. We currently have member companies in 53 countries around the world. On January 28, 2010, I had the opportunity to present a speech in Brussels, Belgium, during the press briefing for the Euro Green IT Innovation Center, a nonprofit association created to increase awareness about the intersection of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Sustainable Development in the Walloon region in Belgium. Belgium is part of the Benelux region (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and is an important location for Climate Savers Computing and the IT industry overall given its proximity to the heart of the European Union in Brussels.

Climate Savers Computing helped launch the Euro Green IT Innovation Center in a public-private partnership with Jean-Claude Marcourt, the Minister of Economy of the Walloon Region in Belgium, along with Alcatel-Lucent, CISCO, IBM and Microsoft. The Euro Green IT Innovation Center will be based in Mons, Belgium and is expected to open Spring 2010. The Center will be a demonstration and pilot project platform in the field of energy efficiency and will pursue two goals: 1) increase the awareness about energy-saving practices when using computer equipment and 2) create a living lab that facilitates the deployment of pilot projects related to energy-efficient computing and conservation. The strategic alliance will launch an education campaign to reduce the energy consumption of computers and pilot projects to showcase how the use of technology can help drive innovation and energy savings.

During my presentation, I discussed Climate Savers Computing and ICT for Sustainable Development. I sent the audience home with an assignment: Join Climate Savers Computing and follow our recommended smart computing practices. Other speakers included Jacques Platieau, General Manager Benelux, IBM Global Business Services; Pol Vanbiervliet, CEO Cisco Belgium; Jean-Claude Marcourt, Minister of Economy, Walloon Region; Elio Di Rupo, Mayor of Mons, Belgium; Georges Campioli, Managing Director, Agoria Walloon – Trade Federation; and Xavier Lamote, Director of Business & Marketing Microsoft Belux. Watch video coverage of the event (en français) here.


Climate Savers Computing Initiative is proud to be a part of the groundbreaking public-private partnership in the Walloon region in Belgium, an important part of Benelux and EMEA. We will collaborate with political leaders, local and international companies, academic institutions and individuals in the region to develop innovative solutions to energy-efficient computing, from improved PC power sources and computer power management, to data center efficiency. By working with an alliance of stakeholders in Walloon, we hope to have an immediate impact in the region to measurably reduce the energy consumption of computers.