What Does Carbon Free Computing Mean?
Carbon Free Computing is a project started by VIA technologies in October 2006 as part of the VIA Green Computing Initiative, which aims to manufacture the world’s first line of PC products that can be certified carbon free. The VIA Carbon Free Computing initiative consists of a set of programs and products that are developed to reduce their impact on the environment.
Techopedia Explains Carbon Free Computing
The VIA Carbon Free Computing initiative drives the design of a new class of carbon-free PC products that reduce the impact of carbon on the environment. The main objective of this initiative is to work closely with chosen partners and organizations to create PCs that can be certified and promoted as “carbon free”. VIA also focuses on providing an effective way to allow commercial, government, and end users to discover “carbon-free” PCs and their benefits.
The Carbon Free Computing initiative utilizes the concept of “carbon offsets,” in which a company may partner with other organizations in projects to “offset” either direct or indirect carbon emissions in the manufacturing process. An example of such indirect emissions might be the use of electricity produced by a carbon-emitting power plant.
Together with environmental experts, VIA works to calculate the electricity used by an average carbon-free computer product over its lifetime. Using those values, VIA calculates the amount of carbon dioxide emissions released into the environment from power plants. VIA then works on reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by undertaking various projects such as reforestation, alternative energy, and energy conservation.
The Carbon Free Computing initiative focuses on the following:
- Participating in sales and tenders with green requirements
- Promoting carbon-free PCs to build a green working environment
- Spreading awareness of alternate solutions, such as energy conservation, to mitigate the levels of carbon released into the environment
