On Digital Cleanup Day, we took a moment to reflect on digital pollution and its impact on the environment—and our commitment to action remains strong! Just as we strive to maintain a clean physical environment, it is equally important to manage unnecessary data, reduce e-waste, and minimize energy consumption. For UT, this approach can bring significant benefits—a true win-win situation.
René van Arnhem is the head of the IT Infrastructure & Operations (ITO) department within LISA and is responsible for UT’s network, servers, storage, and all applications. "With a team of forty colleagues, divided into three teams, we ensure that everything runs smoothly—from network and infrastructure to business and user applications such as Microsoft 365", he explains. In addition to overseeing HR responsibilities and managing three team leaders, he also tackles larger strategic challenges, such as making the IT infrastructure more sustainable.
This focus is crucial, as the university’s two data centers are among the largest consumers of energy on campus. "Our data centers alone consume approximately €600,000 worth of electricity per year. Two years ago, this was half the amount, but with rising electricity prices, it is becoming increasingly important to scrutinize our energy consumption,” says René. Thanks to smart adjustments made by ITO, UT has already achieved significant savings. “We have optimized the configuration of network components and put computing servers into standby mode when they are not in use. These measures have already saved us 80 megawatts of energy (16.000 kg in CO2-emissions / 640 trees)—an important step toward a more sustainable UT.”
Digital cleanup day
Digital Cleanup Day raises awareness about the vast amount of stored data and encourages more mindful digital habits. This involves not only cleaning up digital storage but also adopting smarter ways of managing data.
At ITO, one of the main focus areas is replacing the current storage environment. “We are exploring opportunities for savings compared to our old system. Data volumes are increasing worldwide, and not just at UT. Consequently, storage demands are rising, and so are the associated costs,” René explains. “That’s why Digital Cleanup Day is so important. For instance, only 30% of all data stored at UT is actively used, while the remaining 70% is ‘sleeping.’ This represents a huge opportunity for efficiency gains.”
A new working group
UT participated in Digital Cleanup Day last year as well. "Back then, the focus was on individuals cleaning up their personal data — checking their own drives, emails, and duplicate photos or videos. This year, we are taking it a step further. We have established a working group to engage faculties and departments in this process. The kick-off has already taken place, and after Digital Cleanup Day, we will continue taking action. There are many drives and services where we can implement improvements", René says enthusiastically.
"For example, we could create an information document on data management or develop a tool that scans personal storage and highlights duplicate files, allowing users to delete them with a single click. Another idea is a decision-making guide for faculties to help them determine which storage environment best suits their needs."
He adds: "We want to make data reduction as easy as possible for UT staff and students. Imagine if we could collectively clean up just half of the ‘sleeping data’ (35% of the 70%). That would save around 100 terabytes—equivalent to approximately 650 million document pages. This would result in substantial savings in both storage space and energy consumption!"
Best practices
What can UT members do right now? "Together with the working group, we are exploring various options and will share more information soon", René explains. "In the meantime, there are already simple steps individuals can take. For example, instead of attaching files to emails, share a link to the document. This prevents the file from being stored in multiple locations, saving both energy and storage space. Just like cleaning out an old bookshelf, it’s important to tidy up digital storage from time to time."
Sustainable together
Why is sustainability so important to René? "The positive actions we take at home should also be reflected in the workplace. If we lower the heating at home, why wouldn’t we do the same at work? The same principle applies to data storage and IT sustainability. That’s why our department is actively engaged in identifying areas where we can reduce consumption and enhance sustainability. Ideally, we wouldn’t just bring good habits from home to work, but also take good practices from work back home—creating a positive impact on society as a whole."
He continues: "I understand that everyone is busy and that time is a scarce resource. We acknowledge this, which is why we aim to make energy savings as effortless as possible for end users. My hope is that, as a university, we take action together. Because sustainability is a collective effort. Let’s start with small steps, learn from them, and discover what works best!"
SUSTAINABILITY AT UT
Sustainability is an important priority area of Shaping2030, the University of Twente’s strategic plan. In addition to finding sustainable solutions for societal issues, the UT wants to set a good example of what it means to be a sustainable organisation. To reach this goal, the ambitions of Shaping2030 need to be put into practice. Many members of the UT community are hard at work translating the sustainability objectives into our work on campus – transforming the way we work, teach, learn, travel, build and more. In this series, we invite them to talk about what motivates them, what the role of sustainability is in their day-to-day work, and what they would like to achieve at our university.
Want to find out more about sustainability at UT? Please go to utwente.nl/sustainability.
