Technology is no longer something on the edge of our lives, but an integral part of everything we do.

It keeps us connected and, whether you are studying or working at University College Birmingham, it gives you access to invaluable insight to what is going on in the world, enabling you to make your own positive impact on society.

But we must not forget that technology has a carbon footprint of its own, and we should be mindful of this if we want to be more sustainable. It's not too late.

To make a difference, students and staff can do some simple things to play their part in meeting our sustainability and carbon footprint targets and help protect our precious environment:

• Switch off machines and monitors that are not in use. Even machines in power safe mode use energy
• Print only if it’s essential
• Open the minimum applications to avoid using energy
• Dim your monitor – dimming from 100% to 70% saves up to 20% energy
• Reduce the amount of emails you send and receive
• Unsubscribe to newsletters and sites you don’t need
• Avoid using video if you only need audio

If you want to know more about our sustainable IT strategy, please contact me at p.kumar@ucb.ac.uk.

*Pooran is Assistant Director of IT Support Services at University College Birmingham

More information about our IT Support is available on the Portal.