Various ICT projects have been launched, both Group-wide and within individual Sectors, to reduce energy consumption and consequently CO₂ emissions. These initiatives involve both “Office” and “Data Centre” systems.
From 2009, new personal computers are being fitted with more efficient power supply units that utilise less energy to operate. This project will be completed by the end of 2012 and will lead to annual savings of 383 MWh, equivalent to around 200 tonnes of CO₂.
The Group also launched a process to optimise office printing systems. In 2009, 1,730 printers were replaced with more efficient machines in Italy, North America and South America, and there are plans for replacement of at least a further 350 in 2010. The “Data Centre” area, which hosts servers for service applications used by the Group, also underwent improvements in 2009, with the introduction of energy-saving machines and a reduction in the number of servers through consolidation and virtualisation processes. Consequently, 210 servers were eliminated and 150 virtualised, leading to total annual savings of around 3,450 MWh, equivalent to 1,700 tonnes of CO₂. This operation will be completed in 2012.
In line with activities initiated in previous years, 2009 also brought new initiatives in teleworking, with increased use of video and audio conferencing and instant messaging systems, which contributed significantly to reducing business travels. These systems, which can be accessed from individual workstations, were rolled out to around 12,000 users, while video conferencing was activated for around 1,000 employees. In 2010, the number of users with access to these services will double.