Intel, Dell, and Cisco were the only ICT companies among the top 20 Fortune 500 companies participating in the 2009 EPA Green Power Partnership program. (Compare this with Newsweek's Green Rankings 2009, in which tech dominated all of the Fortune 500 by capturing 11 of the top 20 positions.) In the 2010 Green Power Partnership, these three are still tops but are joined by by Motorola, Sprint, and AMD. Fortune 500 participation in the program was 64, up from 60 last year.

Vertatique includes GreenICT progress and issues from outside the United States. Here are some updates from this region. Click here for more Green ICT news and analysis from this and all the regions around the world.

German software giant SAP announced continued progress toward its goal "to reduce its total carbon emissions to the year-2000 emissions level". Key is "significant progress in improving energy efficiencies in data centers through the use of data center design, virtualization technology and efficient hardware. The company’s largest data centers have been certified as “energy efficient” by the German standards organization TÜV Rheinland."

The European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics' October 2009 issue of ERCIM News has a Green ICT theme. It contains articles on energy-efficient networking and storage, data center operations, and other Green ICT topics.

Few state recycling laws address consumer media devices other than TVs. Here are the states that do.

Vertatique includes GreenICT progress and issues from outside the United States. Here are some updates from the Asia/Pacific region. Click here for more GreenICT news and analysis from this and all regions of the world.

The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) notes that "Taiwan is ranked as the world number 6 and Asia's number 2 country by IMD's 2010 World Competitiveness Yearbook in terms of the potential in utilizing green ICT to create competitive advantages." TAITRA has launched Green ICT, Taiwan Lets You See! to showcase its Green Tech products.

It appears that Victoria (AU) is working to establish a Green ICT leadership position with its "Green IT CLuster", its "Centre for Energy-Efficient Telecommunications (CEET)", and its "Green ICT Initiatives" to enable government ICT facilities to be more environmentally sustainable. (There are 132 EPEAT Gold computer products registered for Australia, more than for Japan but less than for China.)

The 7 June release by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its building Portfolio Manager will include new features for data centers, both as standalone buildings and as 'spaces' within larger buildings. One of the features is a new ENERGY STAR® rating systems for data center buildings, but not for data center spaces. (A data center space will contribute to the overall ENERGY STAR rating of its building.) Here is how the EPA explains its rating methodology:

Vertatique has been covering the Green ICT implications of America's conversion to digital television (DTV) for the past three years: consumer e-waste, broadcaster e-waste, and consumer energy consumption*. We noted in 2008 the EPA estimate of 99.1 million (analog) TVs in storage at the end of 2007. This number is likely to have been significantly altered by the DTV conversion completed in June 2009.

Panasonic was one of a few vendors who covered green initiatives in their NAB 2010 show booth. In reply to my post-NAB inquiry, Panasonic sent me the information its professional video group used in its show signage. This ties to Panasonic's corporate Eco Ideas initiative.

Sony was one of a few vendors who covered green initiatives in their NAB 2010 show booth. It responded to my post-NAB query by telling me about a program that is a good example how just about any business can find an industry-specific contribution to make to Green ICT.

ICT and e-media organizations are recognizing Earth Day 2010 through everything from software giveaways to scavenger hunts.