The government claims it has saved £7m in the past year through its green IT strategy, and cut the carbon footprint of Whitehall technology by 12,000 tonnes – equivalent to taking 5,000 cars off the road.

Cabinet Office minister Angela Smith told the Greening Government ICT conference in London today that simple initiatives such as extending the lifecycle of PCs, making double-sided printing the default option, and turning computers off at night have contributed to the savings.

The moves are part of the Greening Government ICT strategy announced last year, that has since seen 110 public sector bodies commit to action plans to reduce the environmental impact of their technology. The strategy aims to make the energy consumption of public sector IT carbon neutral within four years.

“A year ago the British government became the first in the world to set tough targets to tackle the huge environmental and financial costs of computer use and I’m delighted to see the real progress that has been made,” said Smith

“All departments have risen to the challenge of cutting their IT carbon footprints and countries from around the world are now looking to us for advice on how to follow our lead. But it’s not just about the government. I hope that private companies and individuals will also recognise the savings that can be made and get on board.”

According to Whitehall figures, IT is responsible for up to 20 per cent of carbon emissions generated by government offices, generating some 460,000 tonnes a year - the same amount as a million households emit in a month.

In the past year, several departments have claimed significant progress in their green IT plans:

• The Department for International Development donated 1,000 old laptops to charity Computer Aid International for re-use in developing countries;
• The Crown Prosecution Service saved £2.35m by replacing 9,500 computers and 2,500 printers every five years rather than every three;
• The Home Office saved £2.4m a year by removing unused IT equipment and improving efficiency;
• The Department for Work and Pensions expects to save 200 million sheets of paper a year through cutting down the number of printers and changing the default setting to double-sided printing.

Chris Chant, chief information officer at the Government Olympic Executive and the government’s green IT Champion said more work still needs to be done.

"The UK holds a significant position of international leadership and expertise in this specialist sector but its now time to take this to the next level. We will look for wider areas where we can work internationally to get best practice and credible, measurable delivery of CO2 savings,” he said.

“Green IT efficiencies and cost savings go hand in hand and this will be a key priority area for us moving forward."