Portland, Ore. — The Green Grid, a global consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems, announced Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). The Green Grid’s agreement with the EPA will first promote energy efficiency in EPA computer facilities and then broadly share results in order to impact change within both other governmental agencies and the private sector. The alliance with SNIA, formally announced by SNIA earlier this month, is designed to further networked storage best practices for energy efficiency.

The Green Grid’s MOUs with the EPA and SNIA highlight the organization’s continuing efforts and progress in working with government agencies and key industry players to define and promote the adoption of standards, processes, measurements and technologies for energy efficiency in the data center.

The Green Grid signs MOU with the EPA

The Green Grid’s collaboration with the EPA will accelerate the adoption of best practices for energy efficiency in existing computer/server rooms throughout the EPA. As an initial step The Green Grid and the EPA will identify an existing small EPA computer/server room as a target for an energy efficiency showcase, and execute a public project demonstrating the feasibility, approach and benefits of optimization. The results, best practices and real-world takeaways from this project will be shared with other governmental agencies, industry stakeholders and the private sector.

“The goal of the agreement between the EPA and The Green Grid is to build further collaboration between the private and public sectors, and to set an example by improving energy efficiency in federal government computer facilities,” said Roger Tipley, director of The Green Grid. “The Green Grid will play a key role in this project by providing a team of technical experts who will perform the assessment and direct strategies and techniques for maximizing energy efficiency.”

The Green Grid and the EPA formalized their MOU in a signing ceremony held today in Washington, D.C. highlighted by remarks from EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and John Tuccillo, director of The Green Grid.

The Green Grid signs MOU with SNIA

Earlier this month, SNIA announced a formal alliance with The Green Grid. The Green Grid will work with SNIA and its Green Storage Initiative to develop and promote standards, measurement methods, processes and technologies to improve data center energy efficiencies. SNIA will use its expertise in networked storage and membership (over 400 member companies and 7,000 individual members) to work with The Green Grid on best storage practices for achieving more efficient storage infrastructures, including more efficient storage networking technologies.

“Addressing the challenges associated with energy efficiency and green computing will require collaboration across all IT areas, including the storage industry” said Vincent Franceschini, chair of the SNIA. “The Green Grid is a key industry organization for improving energy efficiency within data centers and business computing ecosystems. Through its Green Storage Initiative – dedicated to applying the technical and educational expertise of the storage industry to develop and find more energy efficient solutions in the data center – SNIA will work with The Green Grid to develop best practices and education for the industry.”

“Within the IT industry, there are a number of professionals who are responsible for data center functionality – from CIOs and IT managers, to heating and cooling experts. It is imperative that we look at the energy efficiency issue from a single, united point of view," said Mark Monroe, director of The Green Grid. "Together we can leverage each other's core expertise and areas of focus to deliver a holistic and complete approach for an energy efficient data center."

About The Green Grid
The Green Grid is a global consortium of companies dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems. The Green Grid does not endorse any vendor-specific products or solutions, and will seek to provide industry-wide recommendations on best practices, metrics and technologies that will improve overall data center energy efficiencies. Membership is open to companies interested in data center operational efficiency at the Contributor or General Member level. General Members attend and participate in General Meetings of The Green Grid, review proposals for specifications and have access to specifications for test suites and design guidelines and IP licensing. Additional benefits for Contributor Members include participation and voting rights in Committees and Work Groups. Additional information is available at www.thegreengrid.org.