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ICT audits carbon output, commits to industry greening

Sam Burrell, Information Age

23/10/2007 23:18:48

Our latest employment survey, the introduction of professional indemnity insurance for members and preparations for our upcoming ICT Issues Forum in the lead-up to the federal election.

On top of all that, the ACS has been named as the winning contender to host the prestigious IFIP World Computer Congress in Brisbane in 2010. Our success was announced at the recent IFIP General Assembly in Ethiopia.

As the global professional body for those working in the ICT sector, the International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP) represents hundreds of thousands of ICT professionals and its annual Congress usually attracts around 2000 ICT leaders from all over the world.

We are enormously indebted to the following ACS members for their hard work in putting together the successful IFIP World Congress 2010 bid: • Mark Lloyd, IFIP Congress 2010 Bid Chair and head of the national ACS Technologists in the Public Interest initiative; • Chris Avram, Director of the ACS Computer Systems and Software Engineering Board; • Professor Ashley Goldsworthy, a former ACS President and former IFIP President; • Kumar Parakala, current ACS Vice President; • Nick Tate, Chairman of ACS Queensland; and • Prins Ralston, a former ACS President and Chairman of the Queensland Chapter of the ACS Foundation.

ACS President Philip Argy, Alison Gardner from the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, the staff of the ACS QLD Branch and the QLD Branch Executive Committee also made significant contributions to the bid.

I would also like to congratulate Chris Avram on his election as the latest IFIP Treasurer, which is a tremendous honour and recognises the value of Chris's ongoing contribution within the international professional community.

And in a further display of recognition and trust, the ACS has just been given the responsibility of developing and hosting IFIP's digital library. This achievement is due largely to the efforts of ACS Councillor Tom Worthington and ACS marketing manager Simon Kwan.

Although Australia is smaller than many other IFIP member countries, we boast a significant number of members in key positions within this global organisation and are the only nation in the Southern Hemisphere to have provided an IFIP President, not to mention our three IFIP Vice-Presidents and various Technical and Working Group Chairs. When it comes to the international ICT profession, Australia certainly punches well above its weight.

Another recent initiative has been a decision by the ACS to provide professional indemnity insurance for all members, either for free or at a greatly reduced rate, depending on your needs.

In response to feedback from our last Employment Survey, the ACS has partnered with Member Advantage Insurance Services to develop a tailored range of offerings designed to meet the needs of all members. See the article in this issue for more details about the package or visit www.acs.org.au

With concern growing across the community about the impact of global warming, the ACS was proud to release in August the first Carbon Emissions Audit measuring the impact of business use of ICT.

The study revealed that ICT use generated 7.94 million tonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide in 2005, which was similar to that created by the civil aviation and metal production industries.

In presenting the initial audit, the ACS also released its new Green ICT policy, which outlined a range of strategies to reduce ICT's carbon footprint and minimise the environmental impact of what we do.

The ACS has provided copies of the report and our new policy to all relevant government ministers, encouraging them to adopt its recommendations as part of their own policy platforms. The ACS is also establishing an ICT Environmental Sustainability Group, a "Green ICT" Special Interest Group.

With the end of the year approaching, it's almost time for our annual elections. I encourage each of you to consider what contribution you might make to your profession by serving in an official capacity on the ACS Council as an ACS Office Bearer or on an ACS Branch Executive Committee

Nominations for national office bearer positions close on October 31- see our Web site for more details. Information about nominations for BEC positions will be forwarded to you separately by your Branch and/or will be available on your branch Web site.

I would also like to remind you of the upcoming AGM, to be held in Sydney on Thursday, November 22 and I encourage as many as possible of you to attend and vote in favour of the new governance structure that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your professional body. Full details of the AGM are contained in the ACS news section of this issue and on the ACS Web site.

In the meantime, the ACS is continuing its efforts to find a replacement for Dennis Furini as Chief Executive in the wake of his recent retirement. I will continue to serve as Acting CEO until the new appointee comes on board.

SM Burrell Acting Chief Executive