Procurement and Contracting’s role as it relates to procuring data center equipment and infrastructure varies from organization to organization. In some organizations, they may simply carry out purchase order from their IT and Facilities Departments. In other organizations, however, Procurement may have its own, more rigid set of policies to follow. This is particularly true in Federal Agencies. As a result, Facilities and IT departments may find that Procurement and Contracting officers are a key stakeholder who should be consulted with and included early on in an energy efficiency project. While some procurement departments may have policies that ensure equipment that is purchased is energy efficient (e.g. Federal requirements for EPEAT registered products), others may not. This department may first prioritize criteria other than energy efficiency – including lowest first cost, performance, or other specifications when selecting data center equipment. Energy efficiency and assessment of the total cost of ownership (TCO) should be integrated into the procurement process. Reviewing and revising current policies and practices to ensure that energy efficiency is a criteria in purchasing, (and that first costs alone do not drive purchasing decisions) is important in order to advance data center energy efficiency. Federal agencies also should look to emphasize energy efficiency requirements or criteria in their solicitations for IT equipment.
