D. Topics in Computer Science · Topics in Computer Science: Sustainability, Emerging Research and Careers

Green Computing Policies: Rules That Reduce the Harm

D1.2About 65 minutes

Learning goals

I can identify measures that reduce the harm computers cause: lab regulations, school policies, corporate and government policies, and ergonomic standards.
I can explain power management, print management and green purchasing.
I can read and evaluate a computer-use policy.
I can write a clear, enforceable green computing policy for a lab.

Words to know

policy
A written set of rules or guidelines that an organization agrees to follow.

environmental stewardship
Taking responsibility for using and protecting the environment carefully, so resources last for future generations.

power management
Settings that turn off the display or put a computer to sleep after it has been idle for a set time.

duplex printing
Printing on both sides of a sheet of paper.

paperless workflow
A way of doing a task (forms, approvals, receipts) electronically instead of on paper.

green procurement
Buying products with lower environmental impact, such as energy-efficient or easily recycled equipment.

ENERGY STAR
A symbol on products that meet energy-efficiency specifications. In Canada the program is run by Natural Resources Canada.

Habits are good. Rules are better.

In the last two lessons you saw that computers use energy, create e-waste and paper waste, and can harm health. One person turning off their computer helps a little. A school board that sets every computer to sleep after 30 minutes helps a lot, every single night, without anyone having to remember. That is the power of a policy.

The curriculum names several kinds of measures: lab regulations, school policies, corporate and government policies that promote paperless workplaces and computer recycling and reuse, and ergonomic standards.

Policies work at many levels, from government laws to your own habits. Each inner level must follow the rules of the levels around it.

Lab regulations

A computer lab's rules protect people, equipment and the environment. Common examples:

Log off and shut down (or let computers sleep) at the end of the day; turn off monitors and printers.
Print only what you need; print preview first; collect your printouts.
No food or drinks near computers (spills ruin equipment early, which creates e-waste).
Report damaged equipment so it can be repaired instead of replaced.
Adjust your chair and screen before you start (ergonomics).

School and school board policies

Schools and boards write policies that apply to every lab and classroom:

Power management: central settings turn off displays and put computers to sleep when idle (see the timeline below).
Print management: duplex (two-sided) printing as the default, print quotas, and "secure release" printing, where a job only prints when you tap your card at the printer, so forgotten jobs are never printed.
Digital submission: assignments handed in through an online classroom instead of on paper.
Device life: repairing and upgrading (for example adding memory) before replacing; sending old equipment to approved refurbishers or recyclers.
Acceptable use policies, which often include rules about care of equipment and printing.

A power management policy: after 10 idle minutes the display turns off, and after 30 the computer sleeps. Pressing a key wakes it in seconds.

Corporate and government policies

Paperless workplaces: electronic forms, digital signatures, e-receipts and online pay stubs.
Green procurement: buying energy-efficient equipment. Products with the ENERGY STAR symbol meet energy-efficiency specifications; in Canada the program is run by Natural Resources Canada. The EPEAT registry rates electronics on wider environmental criteria such as recyclability. The Government of Canada has a Policy on Green Procurement for its own purchases.
Recycling and reuse: many companies donate working equipment to refurbishers, and producers must collect and recycle electronics under laws such as Ontario's Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) Regulation (more in the lesson Where Old Computers Go).
Remote meetings and remote work can reduce travel.

Ergonomic standards

The ergonomic setup you learned in the last lesson is also written into standards. In Canada, the CSA Group publishes CSA Z412, Office ergonomics, which organizations use to design workstations and ergonomics programs. Employers that follow it reduce injuries and lost work time.

Measure	Level	Harm it reduces
Computers sleep after 30 idle minutes	School board	Power consumption
Duplex default, secure release printing	School / company	Paper, toner, energy
No food or drink in the lab	Lab	Damage that leads to early e-waste
Buy ENERGY STAR and EPEAT-registered equipment	Company / government	Power use and future e-waste
Adjustable chairs and monitor arms	Company (ergonomic standard)	Musculoskeletal disorders
Online forms and e-receipts	Company / government	Paper

Matching measures to the harms they reduce.

Worked example

Example 1: Writing an enforceable lab policy

Your school's computer club asks you to turn the vague rule "Be green in the lab" into a policy people can actually follow and check.

Step 1: Name the harms. Power left on overnight, wasted printing, spills.
Step 2: Make each rule specific and checkable. "Be green" cannot be checked. "Shut down at the end of the last period" can.
Step 3: Write the rules. 1. The last class of the day shuts down all computers and turns off the printer. 2. Printing is two-sided by default; jobs over 20 pages need teacher approval. 3. Use print preview before printing. 4. No food or open drinks at the computer tables. 5. Report damaged equipment to the teacher the same day.
Step 4: Say who is responsible and how it will be checked. The teacher on duty checks the lab at 3:30; the technician reviews printer page counts each month.
Step 5: Explain why. One sentence per rule, so people understand and follow it.

A good policy is specific, checkable, says who is responsible, and explains why.

Measuring the effect of a policy

Good policies are measured. This program estimates how many sheets of paper a duplex-by-default policy saves for five print jobs.

import math

jobs = [12, 5, 1, 30, 7] # pages in each print job

single = sum(jobs)

double = sum(math.ceil(p / 2) for p in jobs)

print("Sheets single-sided:", single)

print("Sheets double-sided:", double)

print("Sheets saved:", single - double)

math.ceil rounds up: a 5-page job still needs 3 sheets when printed on both sides. Output (one line each): Sheets single-sided: 55 / Sheets double-sided: 29 / Sheets saved: 26

Just for fun

A school once printed a 200-page "How to Save Paper" guide.

Nobody read it; it was too long. A paperless policy would have saved the trees and the irony.

Hands-on activity

Audit a policy

You need: a computer-use or acceptable use policy from your school, school board, library or a parent's workplace (many are posted online), and paper or a document.

Read the policy and list every rule that affects the environment (power, printing, recycling, purchasing) or health (ergonomics, breaks).
For each rule, decide: is it specific and checkable? Who is responsible?
Find at least two harms from the last two lessons that the policy does not cover.
Write two new rules in the style of Example 1 to cover those gaps, each with a one-sentence reason.

What to look for: rules quoted or summarized accurately, a clear judgment for each, and new rules that are specific (numbers, times, who) rather than vague.

Your turn

Name four kinds of measures the curriculum lists for reducing the harm of computers.

What does a power management policy do?

Explain secure release printing and why it saves paper.

Who runs the ENERGY STAR program in Canada?

Rewrite this vague rule so it is checkable: "Don't waste paper."

What is CSA Z412?

Give one example of a paperless workflow.

More practice: warm-up

What is a policy?

What is duplex printing?

Why does "no food or drink in the lab" help the environment?

What does green procurement mean?

Name one thing the last class of the day could do to save power.

More practice: on your own

Use the Python program's method: how many sheets are needed for print jobs of 9, 2 and 15 pages, single-sided and double-sided?

Why is a policy set centrally by the school board often more effective than asking each student to change their habits?

A company switches from paper pay stubs to online pay stubs. Name one environmental benefit and one possible drawback.

Explain why repairing a computer, rather than replacing it, is part of a green policy.

Evaluate this rule: "Computers should be turned off when not needed." Give one strength and one weakness.

Challenge

A school has 300 computers. A new policy makes them sleep (2 W) instead of idling (60 W) for an average of 14 hours each school day, 190 days a year. At $0.13 per kWh, estimate the yearly saving in kWh and dollars.

A print quota of 50 pages per month is proposed for 800 students. Give two arguments for and two against, and suggest a compromise.

Write a Python function sheets(pages, sides) that returns the number of sheets needed when printing pages pages with sides = 1 or 2. Show what sheets(7, 2) and sheets(7, 1) return.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which of these is a lab regulation that reduces e-waste?

Which rule is the most specific and checkable?

What does the ENERGY STAR symbol tell a buyer?

How many sheets does a 9-page document need when printed double-sided?

CSA Z412 is a Canadian standard about:

Which is an example of a paperless workplace policy?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation D1.2 asks students to identify measures that reduce the harm of computers: lab regulations, school policies, corporate and government policies, and ergonomic standards.

How to help: If your workplace has a printing, power or remote-work policy, talk about it with your teen. Ask what they would change. Look together for the ENERGY STAR symbol on household electronics.

Common difficulties:

Writing vague rules ("be green"). Push for specific numbers, times and responsibilities.
Forgetting that policies need a reason and a way to check them.
Rounding sheets down. A 5-page double-sided job needs 3 sheets, not 2.5.