ANN ARBOR—Information technology is the latest thing going green at the University of Michigan. The University announced its commitment to making sure that the thousands of computers on the U-M campus meet strict energy efficiency standards, as part of its participation in the new Climate Savers program announced by Google.

As an affiliate member of Climate Savers, U-M will work to ensure that units throughout campus buy computers with energy efficiency in mind, and will educate the campus about how to reduce IT energy consumption, said Timothy Slottow, executive vice president for finance. Energy efficient computers make about a $1.75 million difference in electricity consumption a year on a campus as big as U-M’s, he said.

“We’re delighted to be partners with Google on tackling ways to make information technology more energy efficient,” Slottow said. “This program is a wonderful fit with the six-point environmental and energy conservation initiative (EEI) we announced in April. We see the Climate Savers program as one more way we can reduce the University’s environmental footprint and live by the principles of environmental responsibility.”

The U-M Purchasing Department will take a leading role in the initiative by identifying energy efficient computer choices and encouraging campus units to select computers with energy consumption in mind. In addition, there will be an education campaign about how computer users can save power, for example by using the power management tools already found on much equipment that put computers and monitors into sleep mode when they are not in active use.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency states that a personal computer with an EPA Energy Star rating saves $65 a year in electricity over non-rated computers. U-M already has relationships with computer companies whose equipment carries the Energy Star rating, and many of U-M’s computers are energy efficient under the current standards. The Climate Savers program, working with computer vendors, will increase the standards for energy efficiency and make energy efficiency a criterion for all computer purchases.

“As a leader in the development and use of information technology, we are pleased to be partnering again with Google on a path-breaking project,” said John King, vice provost for academic information. U-M in 2004 became one of the first universities to participate in Google’s project to digitize library collections and make them searchable through Google.

Participation in the Climate Savers program is the latest in an ongoing series of measures the University has taken toward creating a more environmentally sustainable future. The six-point EEI announced in April includes behavior modification efforts in campus buildings, compilation of an annual report of environmental stewardship efforts, increased efforts to purchase electricity produced by renewable sources, maintenance and expansion of alternate transportation options, and revision of construction and renovation guidelines to improve energy efficiency.