David Kidney MP To Deliver Ministerial Address At Green IT Expo 2009

10th and 11th November, Barbican Exhibition Centre, London

Green IT Expo, the UK’s first free-to-attend showcase of sustainable computing practices and IT solutions, has today confirmed that the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), David Kidney MP, will make a Ministerial Address on 10th November.

Green IT Expo 2009 will unite Green IT suppliers, government agencies and non-profit organisations in a programme that will inform and educate delegates about sustainable computing challenges as well as the ultimate benefits – including its impact on the bottom line.

Discussions during the conference will be led by recent research from the likes of Datamonitor, which suggests that in line with the recession, organisations are favouring Green IT that reduces capital expenditure and energy consumption.

On the afternoon of the 10th November, David Kidney MP will present the Government’s current and future objectives for energy reduction and climate change. Earlier this year, the DECC released a major white paper, The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, which sets out the department’s purpose and plans, including a pledge to reduce emissions by 34% on 1990 levels by 2020. He will finish the address with a question and answer session for delegates, hosted by Climate Savers Computing.

Joining David Kidney MP at Green IT Expo will be Founder of the CIO/CTO Council Green ICT Delivery Unit of the Cabinet Office, Catalina McGregor and Research Director (Eco-Efficient IT) at The 451 Group, Andy Lawrence, who will deliver keynote speeches across the two days.

An internationally recognised expert on Green IT, Catalina McGregor will deliver an opening keynote on ‘Dirty ICT’; a major focus for governments around the world. McGregor will discuss why the large-scale dumping of ICT is increasing and its subsequent danger to the environment. She will also discuss how the Government is asking businesses tackle this in all new tenders and when contracts are due for renewal, as well as examples of how other national governments manage this issue.

McGregor comments, “So much has changed since last year and we need to be aware of what’s coming next. Green IT Expo has been an excellent source of emerging green ICT trends in technology and evolving CSR policies.”

Andy Lawrence will give one of the lunchtime keynotes on both days, looking at what is on the horizon for Green IT over the next five years. Lawrence will provide a valuable insight into forthcoming government legislation, technology trends and new product developments that will shape the sustainable computing landscape in the medium to long term.

"Many people have underestimated and misjudged the importance of Green IT in a depressed economy,” says Lawrence. “To most business people, Green IT has always been about efficient use of resources, the reduced use of energy, and about tracking and managing consumption. It’s about economics, it’s about compliance, it’s about risk management. All of these are more important, not less important, in a tough economy. Even when the economy does ease up, the environmental and political challenges won't go away; they will find expression in new laws."

Green IT Expo is also the primary showcase in 2009 for the ‘greenest’ in sustainable computing, with suppliers such as VeryPC, Siemens IT Solutions and Services, Greenstone Carbon Management and last year’s Green IT Expo Green Supplier Award winner, 1E, exhibiting the very latest in energy efficient technology.

Green IT Expo 2009 is organised by one of the UK’s leading providers of focused business forums, Revolution Events, in association with Datamonitor, WWF’s global Climate Savers Computing Initiative, BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT, Carbon Smart, Action Sustainability and Global Action Plan. Attendance to Green IT Expo is free of charge.

For further information and to register as a delegate, please visit www.greenitexpo.com. To register as a member of the press, please contact greenitexpo@mccint.com or call 01962 888 100.