As most of us here in the Going Greensophere know, there are certification programs in place for the print and paper industry so that print service providers and print buyers can ensure that they are minimizing their impact on the environment. But what about electronic media? Is there any certification on that side of the media channel divide? Sort of. Three years ago, Energy Star, the EPA’s energy efficiency program, did launch a certification program for servers, although it was not a resounding success, either in its implementation or in its reception. (As an example, the certification only took into account the server’s energy consumption when it was idle, not when it was in active use. Really?) This year, though, Energy Star is addressing those earlier problems and is unveiling two new data center certifications. Says GreenBiz:

Monitoring active energy use—instead of the current practice of monitoring only the energy a server uses while idling—will go a long way toward creating a step-change in the energy efficiency of servers. Unfortunately, it's a process that likely won't be fully complete until version 3.0 of the specification is done, which of course could be many years down the line.

The new specs—which are still in draft form and are due out later this year—will also cover uninterruptible power sources and data storage. Developing the specifications for a certification program is slow and arduous, to be sure, but essential for so-called “green IT.”