Last weekend saw participants at the COP21 climate change summit in Paris reach a landmark decision as 195 countries committed to slashing their carbon emissions and combat rises in temperature in an effort to clamp down on global warming.

The agreement is a huge win, not just because two of the world’s biggest energy consumers – the U.S. and China – have agreed to the measures, but also because the agreement has been passed into law. The governments involved have set publicly recorded targets for the next 20 years and will be legally bound to monitor and report their progress and to share their results publicly every five years. The more vulnerable countries will be given the benefit of $100 billion in funding to help them meet their targets.

The hope is that this agreement will also have an impact on the financial sector, prompting investors to turn their attention away from traditional fossil fuels to begin pumping more money into renewable fuels.

These aims look like a huge win for environmental campaigners everywhere. It’s hard not to be sceptical about just how they will be achieved – and critics are already questioning whether they are enough. What’s clear is that achieving these goals won’t just be down to the governments themselves. Businesses also have a huge role to play – not least because they are among the biggest consumers of energy. Big names such as Google are already investing heavily in clean energy, but as anyone who’s ever glanced at their office energy bill knows, most companies aren’t quite there yet. In many workplaces, just leaving the office empty overnight consumes a vast amount of energy over the course of the year, thanks to lights and machines being left on after hours. While you can install lighting systems that detect when everyone has left the building to automatically switch them off, powering down PCs is a trickier business. Putting up posters and stickers reminding users to switch off will prick the conscience of some, but the majority of users may ignore them. Enforced shutdown policies can also put you at risk of losing user data that has been left unsaved. So what’s the solution?

Reduce your carbon footprint with 1E NightWatchman

At 1E, we’ve been passionate about helping businesses reduce the impact their IT resources have on the environment for almost two decades. Our award-winning power saving product, 1E NightWatchman, is proven to help customers drastically reduce their carbon emissions. For example, engineering firm Arup, was able to reduce its carbon emissions by 442 tonnes per year by using 1E NightWatchman to ensure that 100% of its machines were switched off at night and over weekends. Similarly, insurance firm Aviva found that 60% of its computers were left on at night, but was able to use 1E NightWatchman to power them down automatically and reduce its carbon emissions by 2802 metric tonnes annually.

One of the secrets to 1E NightWatchman’s success is the fact that it allows companies to overcome many of the common difficulties associated with energy consumption and IT:

Fully automated – 1E NightWatchman doesn’t rely on user participation – it allows you to automatically power down PCs after hours – and power them back up again the next morning

– 1E NightWatchman doesn’t rely on user participation – it allows you to automatically power down PCs after hours – and power them back up again the next morning Based on technology you already use – 1E NightWatchman allows you to get the most out of your existing technology investment, by integrating with and enhancing the capabilities of Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager

– 1E NightWatchman allows you to get the most out of your existing technology investment, by integrating with and enhancing the capabilities of Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager No data loss – 1E NightWatchman saves the data in open products or programs before power down, eliminating the risk of data loss

This unique approach has helped 1E win many Green IT and sustainability awards – and it’s turned our clients into award-winners too.