Family-owned logistics provider Dachser was one of 13 nominees invited to Berlin where it was awarded the Green IT Best Practice Award 2010 in the category "energy-efficient IT systems" for its work combining various different innovative concepts to produce a sustainable and effective overall solution.
     Dachser's new data centre boasts several innovative features including an argon fire protection system which removes oxygen from air without an adverse impact on the environment as the inert gas argon is a normal component of the mixture of gases that we know as "air".
    The centre is only cooled to 24C rather than the usual 20C, reducing energy consumption by 15 per cent and the high-performance servers use water-cooled racks. The energy-optimised data centre is configured to have separate warm and cold aisles and was constructed with a 100cm-high raised floor with flow ducts, noticeably improving cooling efficiency.
    The use of Network Clients (NCs) numbers 7,000 firms following a move away from personal computer work stations. These compact devices require a tenth of the energy consumed by a PC and save the company 920,000 kWh, which also reduces the amount of waste generated from electronic and electrical equipment.
    In 2009 Dachser generated revenues of EUR3.2 billion (US$4.4 billion) generated by 17,500 staff in 306 profit centres worldwide handling 41.8 million consignments of 29.4 million tonnes.

Source: Shipping Gazette