Experts forecast the EU could slash global warming CO2 gas emissions by more than 5.3m tonnes over the next five years by switching from PCs to thin clients

Reading, UK – New research into the environmental impact of thin clients and PCs today revealed that IGEL Technology thin clients were 54% more eco-friendly than PCs. And if the 8.2m business PCs forecast to be sold in the European Union in 2008 were replaced with thin clients, global warming CO2 emissions would be cut by 5.3m tonnes over the next five years.

The research, undertaken by the renowned Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, compared the environmental impact of a PC and thin clients from IGEL technology taking into account each lifecycle phase from production, through usage and finally recycling. The research builds upon analysis last year that looked at the ecological costs of simply running thin clients and PCs.

The latest study demonstrated if a desktop PC is replaced by a thin client and terminal server, the emissions of the workstation are reduced by more than 54% across the lifecycle of the products. With the addition of an LCD monitor this saving is reduced to 44%.

A small to medium size business could save more than 148 tonnes of CO2 emissions over a five-year period if 75% of its 330 workstations could be changed to thin clients. This volume of emissions would be the equivalent of a VW Golf TDI driving more than 1 million kilometres, enough to circle the earth 27 times.

In a large company with 10,000 workstations, a 75% switch to thin clients over the same five year period would save more than 4,923 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This is equivalent to a fleet of 364 cars driving an annual distance of 20,000km a year for the next five years.

Commenting on the report, Stephen Yeo, worldwide strategic marketing director at IGEL Technology, said: “The impact of this research cannot be ignored. In Europe, the quantity of old electrical equipment is growing at a rate almost three times faster than other types of waste. It is now possible to replace the vast majority of business PCs with thin client technology that will provide users with exactly the same benefits, as well as greater security, easier management and far less environmental damage.”

To view the complete study from Fraunhofer UMSICHT titled, “An Environmental Comparison of PC and Thin Client Workstations 2008,” please visit the homepage of Fraunhofer UMSICHT and IGEL Technology: http://it.umsicht.fraunhofer.de/TCecology/index_en.html.

To learn more about IGEL please visit: www.igel.com.