ANZ: It's the screensaver or the environment

The humble screensaver could become the next quick source of energy savings, if the latest IT play by the ANZ is anything to go by.

The bank has announced that is expecting a four percent saving on its energy bills following the decision to remove screensavers from about 31,000 company computers.

ANZ chief information officer Peter Dalton said the move would have an instant impact upon energy use and become a ‘quick win’ for the environment.

“Globally, most organisations have screensavers operating on average between three and 12 hours a day, with some workers leaving their computers on overnight,” Dalton said in a statement.

“Having a computer in sleep mode rather than screensaver mode can potentially cut energy use in half.”

The move is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 5,000 tonnes each year and save about 6,000 megawatts of electricity – equal to four percent of the company’s electricity consumption in Australia.

The announcement also follows a similar initiative from the bank that saw it move convert its Australian-leased computer screens from CRT to LCD, thus halving energy costs. To date, about 15,000 of 20,000 CRT screens have been converted to LCD.

“We’re currently identifying other areas where we can make a difference,” Dalton said. “We estimate that up to half our energy is attributable to technology and are working to reduce our environmental impact in this key area.”