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Prudential named one of the Top Green IT organizations by Computerworld

^{Published on 2011-10-24 06:20:35 - Market Wire}
 

NEWARK, N.J.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--IDG's Computerworld magazine announced today that Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) has been selected one of the top Green IT organizations for 2011. Details were published in the October 24 issue of Computerworld and online at Computerworld.com.

"These top organizations are tapping the collective brainpower of their IT staffs to capitalize on existing technologies that lower energy use and seek out new methods to better control their carbon footprints."

?We are delighted that Computerworld has recognized our efforts to reduce the Prudential?s consumption of energy from IT and the company?s overall environmental footprint,? said Barbara Koster, senior vice president and chief information officer at Prudential. ?Our IT sustainability efforts have had an impact across a broad array of areas including energy, recycling, paper consumption and telecommuting. In addition, we were an early adopter of virtualization, which has lead not only to a reduction of power needs but also an ability to expand our computing capacity without expanding our datacenter space.?

For the fourth year in a row, Computerworld set out to identify organizations that are implementing smart, efficient strategies to achieve ?green IT.? The honorees were selected by Computerworld and green-IT industry experts based on their efforts to reduce energy consumption in IT equipment and use of technology to conserve energy and lower carbon emissions.

?Many of the organizations recognized in our fourth annual Top Green-IT issue have woven energy-saving initiatives into the fabric of their IT strategies,? said Scot Finnie, editor in chief of Computerworld. ?These top organizations are tapping the collective brainpower of their IT staffs to capitalize on existing technologies that lower energy use and seek out new methods to better control their carbon footprints.?

In addition to datacenter virtualization, other ?green? IT initiatives in effect at Prudential include:

• Installation of high-efficiency cooling systems in the datacenters which utilize roof top heat exchanges and other technologies to take advantage of natural cooling to reduce energy consumption
• Purchasing Energystar? or the equivalent technology products and replacing all desktops and laptops with energy efficient equipment
• Technology recycle/reuse programs ranging from datacenter equipment to cell phones and PDAs.
• Adopting e-faxing, e-delivery and other paper management approaches to reduce paper consumption

• A robust telecommuting program that enables employees to access their desktop and telephony resources from almost any location and work as if they were in the office, without loss of productivity
• Encouraging IT employees to take advantage of the company?s alternative work arrangement program to permanently work remotely, split their time in office and remotely on a scheduled basis or use the flexibility of the program periodically based on work/life needs

?Prudential?s IT organization will continue to deliver on the company?s environmental commitment as we move towards the future,? said Koster. ?There are several key areas we are focusing on in the next year, including continued virtualization in our datacenters, alternative energy sources for the datacenter, a desktop product that will make it possible for employees to reduce paper usage when they print documents, expanding e-delivery of customer and employee communications and continued virtualization in our datacenters.?

Computerworld is the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers worldwide, providing peer perspective, IT leadership and business results. Computerworld?s award-winning web site ([ www.computerworld.com ]), bi-weekly publication, focused conference series and custom research forms the hub of the world?s largest (40+ edition) global IT media network. Computerworld is published by IDG Enterprise, a subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world?s leading media, events, and research company. Company information is available at [ www.idgenterprise.com ].

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $859 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2011, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential?s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. In the U.S., Prudential?s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit [ http://www.news.prudential.com/ ]