Brockenhurst College: Reducing a carbon footprint

Brockenhurst College, in the New Forest, has a well-earned reputation for technological innovation. Their Beacon Technology Centre, opened in 2006, is a visual treat.

They have been updating their IT infrastructure across the college, as part of a drive to reduce their carbon footprint. That's included being one of the first colleges in the UK to deploy Windows Vista last year. With 1,200 desktop computers, and a campus open 13 hours a day, they realised the potential to save significant energy, time and money from using better power management techniques. (According to a study by PC Labs, they could be saving between £23 and £46 per computer per year).

It's probably fair to say that power management has come a long way since IT started appearing in colleges. As Dr. Robin Gadd, Head of Information Services at Brockenhurst College puts it:

Five years ago, we used to have a big switch in the corner of the room. Teachers would get all the students to turn off their computers, and then they would turn the system off with the big switch.

Windows Vista fits perfectly with our strategy for environmental sustainability, while helping us better meet the needs of our students.

The college is able to take much, much more control:

• Adjustable power management settings and centrally configured policies that give administrators the ability to switch computers on and off remotely and make better use of power-saving features in Windows Vista.
• Windows Vista “sleep” mode, an ultra-low power state, where only the RAM is powered and everything else is closed down. But when a user switches the computer  back on, it only takes a few seconds to get started again

You can read Brockenhurst's case study on our global website

Read more about energy & money saving in "Save £23,000 or Save the Earth...take your pick"