Technology

Wesleyan’s ITS department is addressing sustainability and technology across campus:

In 2007, ITS had a fleet of 4 vehicles: a van, a small station wagon, an electric truck, and an SUV truck
We have sold the SUV, and plan to replace the van and car with a hybrid an/or another electric truck at some point in the future
We estimate our fleet now produces approximately 25,000 fewer pounds of CO2

ITS has installed duplex printing on all black and white printers in computer labs and in the Science and Olin libraries
Computers in our labs and the libraries have been reconfigured to default to duplex printing

Working with the College of the Environment, ITS now considers compliance data from the Green Choice Alliance when evaluating technology purchases.
All ITS employees and managers have been instructed to include green criteria in their purchasing decision making
Energy usage, source materials and components, and recyclability are all points of consideration
New servers and network components are now being purchased with green criteria
ITS has committed to purchasing of paper with 30% recycled content for its printers in all the labs and libraries

All computers and peripherals brought to our Computer Service Center are either reused by other users, stripped for parts, or recycled
The Wesleyan community is invited to bring e-waste to the Computer Service Center around Earth Day each year for reuse or recycling

ITS has tested a number of computers, peripherals and monitors for their energy usage to have a baseline of technology energy usage
This baseline assists us in evaluating the energy use advantages of new and replacement technology

ITS is looking at a number of test environments for Thin Clients – terminal like computers that connect to central servers for applications and file storage
Thin Clients can save significant amounts of energy over standard PC configurations and reduce the amount of heat produced – thereby reducing the amount of AC needed during the summer months

Virtual machines are being increasingly used to reduce the need to purchase new hardware and to reduce energy usage
Terminal server is being employed to give administrative assistants at Wesleyan access to EMS rather than purchasing new hardware
Permission of Instructor and Pre-Requisite Override forms are now electronically submitted rather than with paper

ITS has implemented power management controls for PCs throughout campus. This has resulted in considerable energy reduction and cost savings.
ITS is also investing in sophisticated timers that will turn classroom technology on and off when not in use and will be remotely managed

ITS has developed a ride board for all members of the Wesleyan community to use.
Users can submit rides, or submit requests for rides to Wesleyan or departing from Wesleyan
The ride board is part of the ePortfolio suite and is currently available in the Maintenance and Testing bucket

Sells only recycled paper
Offers external hard drives with minimal packaging and green components
Recycles ink cartridges, batteries and light bulbs
Participates in a replace-a-bulb program (each student incandescent bulb brought in is replaced by a compact fluorescent bulb for free)
Offers EPEAT Gold monitors for sale
Urges staff to walk to service calls and not to use vehicles
Highlights green products in a green sales display
Is considering purchasing a cartridge refilling machine for ink toners

Students now receive an email when they have a package delivery rather than a piece of paper in their mail box
Enhanced recycling for lost mail or mail that the students look at and dispose of immediately