Windows File System project
With a primary focus on saving money, maximizing staff productivity and increasing business continuity, Pierce County migrated from a decentralized NetWare file server solution to a centralized Windows File System solution for storing documents and files.

The now-completed Windows File System project was an overall success. Fiscally, this project allowed the county to eliminate more than $150,000 in annual costs. In addition to these hard-dollar cost savings, sustainability benefits were also gained. The project is now delivering significant power savings of at least 87,500 kilowatt-hours (kwh) per year.

Green purchasing and recycling
Pierce County IT has long been a proponent of sustainable disposal of computer equipment and other electronic components at the end of their lifecycles. In support of this mission, IT is proud to continue our decade-plus history of providing surplus computers and components to charitable organizations and government-sanctioned recycling programs. Even better, our electronic sustainability efforts save the county money, year after year.

The Pierce County IT Department increased the percentage of office products purchased with recycled content from 17.6% in 2009 to 25.6% in 2010. Also in 2010, we enacted a 27% reduction in paper use, reflecting a spending reduction of $913 less than in 2009.

Pierce County IT further supports the county's sustainability initiatives by:

• Recommending the purchase and set-up of duplex printers.
• Assisting departments in providing electronic documents instead of paper.
• Promoting the usage of the Pierce County Equipment Disposal program.
• Recycling all used print cartridges.
• Providing office recycling containers at all IT Department locations.
• Implementing minimal packaging standards on IT equipment shipments to county departments.
• Eliminating 4,000 (eight reams) of printed paper each month by providing phone logs electronically.
• Striving to reach the goal of 50% or more of office products to contain recycled content.
• Signing the Plug Load Solutions Pledge stating that we will take steps to reduce our energy use, become a leader in procuring efficient products, and reduce our impact on shared natural resources.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program
Date Awarded: June 18, 2009
Awarding Agency: U.S. Department of Energy
Name of Award: EECBG Energy Efficient Storage Upgrade
Amount of Award: $120,000
Status: In progress, with expected completion date of March 30, 2012

The EECBG IT award is a sub-recipient of Pierce County's total award of $4,376,400. With this funding, Pierce County staff will improve the energy efficiency of the county's ten-year-old disk storage technology.

This program helps create sustained energy savings. This project will replace existing units with a modern, efficient power- and space-saving storage unit. The replacement of the current unit will result in a savings of at least 12,600 watts per hour. The project will further garner savings in cooling capacity of 45,120 BTUs per hour. We anticipate these cost-saving energy efficiency improvements will allow the county to reinvest funds in other areas.

Video and phone conference services
Through a number of systems supported by the Information Technology Department, Pierce County employees are able to utilize phone and video conferencing services to help reduce the county's environmental footprint while conducting remote Pierce County business. Since March, Pierce County departments have engaged in 23 video conferences, replacing in-person meetings.

Video and phone conferencing solutions save energy, time and money. In addition to advantages such as eliminating travel to meetings, remote conferencing solutions can also be used as a business continuity tool during inclement weather, and in specialty applications such as training and other remote communication applications.

In 2011, Pierce County IT's Voice Services team facilitated more than 147 conference calls, totaling 200+ hours of use, as of October. The usage hours equate to more than five weeks of non-stop conference calls. Our Public Works, Geographic Information Systems, Government Relations, Juvenile Court and Clerk of the Superior Court are making great use of this environmentally supportive and cost-saving service. Some departments have set up regular phone conferences on a weekly basis, saving the taxpayers travel costs and reducing the county's total emissions.