IT managers will now be able to consider energy efficiency when purchasing servers through an easily understood labeling program. Servers are one of the largest consumers of energy in data centers, which drive financial transactions, websites and corporate enterprise computing, and are expected to consume 3 percent of all U.S. electricity this year/ Their collective carbon footprint is expected to eclipse that of the airline industry by 2020.

The Environmental Protection Agency has introduced the Energy Star program, beginning with the Tier 1 rating system for low-end enterprise servers.

The EPA has been working for over a year with server providers including Dell, HP, IBM and Intel to reach an agreement on server types and rating criteria. The Tier 1 server ratings are based off the SPECPower ssj_2008 benchmark and will apply to smaller (up to 4 processors) systems.

The primary standard criteria measure server power supply efficiency and the power consumed while idle. The specification fell under criticism for its choice to only take idle energy consumption into consideration, rather than work done for a specific amount of power.

The ratings are not specific to any processor architecture, but will be used mainly for x86 servers (based on technology introduced by Intel) that dominate the computing industry. Andrew Fanara, who heads the Energy Star product programs, said that the EPA expects 25-percent of servers shipped to qualify for the Energy Star logo.

Computing company SiCortex endorsed the Energy Star ratings, as an effective compliment to its Green Performance Computing Index.

The Tier 1 ratings for smaller servers are a good start, but companies that cater to larger computing clusters are eagerly waiting for the Tier 2 benchmarks, according to SiCortex president and CEO, Christopher Stone. "The next tier of specifications will have an even greater impact, targeting large, multiprocessor computer systems… the biggest culprit in data center energy consumption."

Computer manufacturers will now be able to market their products using the same energy efficiency label used for toasters, refrigerators and televisions.