Climate Savers Computing Initiative

Started by Google and Intel in 2007, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative is a nonprofit group of eco-conscious consumers, businesses and conservation organizations. Their goal is to promote development, deployment and adoption of smart technologies that can both improve the efficiency of a computer’s power delivery and reduce the energy consumed when the computer is in an inactive state. As participants in the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, computer and component manufacturers commit to producing products that meet specified power-efficiency targets. Corporate participants commit to purchasing power-efficient computing products.

Membership in climate Savers is voluntary. A list of current members is available on the Climate Savers website.

Technical Specifications

Climate Savers technical specifications are broken down into three areas of application.

For Organizations

Members commit to specifying systems that meet or exceed the latest ENERGY STAR specification for a majority of their corporate personal computer and volume server purchases. In addition to fulfilling purchase requirements, members also commit to use computer power management features* whenever possible.

*These include features such as the "sleep" or "hibernate" settings on client computers. The Initiative’s power management policies also recommend computers turn off the display and hard drive after 15 minutes of inactivity, and put the system into "sleep" mode after 30 minutes of inactivity.

For Computer and Server Manufacturers

The baseline requirement for all Climate Savers Computing qualified PCs, laptops, and workstations is meeting the current effective ENERGY STAR specification. Bronze, Silver, and Gold level systems must also meet the additional power supply unit (PSU) energy efficiency requirements are outlined on the Climate Savers website.

For Equipment Manufacturers

System manufacturers participating in the Climate Savers Computing Initiative have committed to working to develop products that meet or exceed the Initiative’s Program Criteria. Details are outlined on the Climate Savers website.