The all-pervasive nature of technology draws heavily from both environment and precious energy resources. An average PC wastes nearly half its power and the server consumes nearly one third.

In addition, poor practices in disposal and recycling of technology products pose a hazard to the environment. However, technology is now gradually stepping up its 'green awareness' and some of the biggest names in technology are leading this environmental push.

Apple, Panasonic, Sun Microsystems and Motorola have already launched green initiatives. Apple's laptop is a sure shot example of a 'greener product' as is the MacBook Air, Nokia's 3100 Evolve, which is built from renewable material.

Most computers and electronic commodities contain heavy metals and un-recyclable plastic, a bane to the environment. But, HP is putting recycled plastic into the ink cartridges of its printers.

Dell, ASUS and Lenovo have pledged to become the greenest technology companies through recycling and other initiatives. Xerox scientists have invented a way to make prints whose images last only a day, so that the paper can be used again and again.

"Our mantra is Reduce (print only when necessary), Reuse (paper and cartridges) and Recycle (paper and cartridges when they cannot be reused anymore). Cartridge refilling also promotes reuse. Many new cartridges that you buy also contain used or recycled parts," says Naveen Rakhecha, CEO, Cartridge World, a Australian specialty cartridge retailing chain.

NXP Semiconductors India has a program titled EcoDesign that aims to develop products that have minimal impact on the environment. Its Green Chip is an energy-efficient integrated circuit for power supplies, chargers and adapters used in flat-screen TVs and PCs.

"As part of our broad environmental commitment, we continue our efforts to remove lead and halogen from all our products. All our new processors are lead-free and starting 2008,will be halogen-free. We incorporate responsible packaging design into our processes for developing new silicon materials," maintains R Ravichandran, sales director, Intel South Asia.

Cisco has launched Nexus 7000 Series -- a modular data center-class switching system with features like efficient power supply and cooling -- designed for 10GB Ethernet networks.

As the Internet changed the world of communication, green technology too is poised to make a huge difference to the environment. "We aim to foster an environment where sustainability concepts are accepted and embraced in day-today operations. We believe that the network can become a green platform for technology to transform how we manage global environmental challenges," says Naresh Wadhwa, president and country manger, Cisco, India & SAARC.