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FFITS.ORG is a non-profit organisation. The organisation's mission is to engage with, and educate individuals, government and corporations on the environmental footprint of technology, as well as promote the sustainable use of technology to help solve environmental problems.

Certification Benefits

The FFITS.ORG certification and labelling program is oriented towards organisations who have undertaken significant steps in implementing environmentally sustainable IT practices.

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Recognition

In today’s’ business marketplace “Green” or environmental issues are the forefront of purchasers’ minds. Not only are purchasers looking products and services that meet their environmental requirements, but they are also analysing their supply chain’s own corporate operations. As an organisation that has taken significant steps to implement more environmentally sustainable IT, the distinctive FFITS.ORG ticks provides businesses with a competitive differentiator, enabling you to stand out in your industry.

Education

Whether your goal is internal or external education, the FFITS.ORG label provides you with the ability to inform consumers, suppliers or partners of your environmental initiatives. The tick program is aligned with a star rating system which indicates your organisation’s level of green IT implementation and provides a standard measurement for both internal and external communications, and from which to baseline annual improvements.

Awareness

Numerous studies have proven the key benefits of undertaking corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, including:

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Information technology (IT) today is one of the single most influential services provisioned internally – without it most organisations would likely be unable to operate. With this in mind it is crucial in a comprehensive and holistic CSR awareness program to integrate IT, and promote IT initiatives using industry standards such as the FFITS.ORG label.

Ongoing Support

We have developed an ongoing program of marketing and support with our certifying customers, as well as a comprehensive welcome package.

Marketing

FFITS.ORG undertakes regular campaigns across a range of print and online media to raise awareness of both the importance of green IT, and to promote certifying organisations.

At the start of each financial year we develop a comprehensive marketing strategy and implement it with the funds from certifying customers to help us reach our goals and at the same time, help our certifying customers gain PR for their organisation.

Support

As well as regular contact and updates on the green IT world, each year we also develop a program of educational and action taking initiatives where we support our certifying organisations. For example, one of our annual events is International Green IT Awareness Week in the first week of June.

During this week we organise in-person events, as well as a globally-attended virtual event. Our certifying customers will gain the opportunity to promote their organisation during this event through options such as press interviews, speaking opportunities, email newsletter exposure, social networking, and press releases to name a few.

Welcome Package

Each certifying customer is provided with a comprehensive welcome package including:

Discount vouchers and offers from a range of partners such as Connection Research and IT Governance UK
Educational material including templates, strategies and tips for green IT
Latest research reports we have developed or licensed for your benefit
Subscription to our quarterly newsletter

Partner Program Overview

The FFITS.ORG Certification Program enables our Partners to sell our Labelling Program on a commission basis. As the saying goes, many hands make light work and having strategic Partners helps us reach our goals faster, with additional funding.

Why Join the Certification Partner Program

Our vision for the Partner Program, is to provide you with:

1Opportunities to grow your business in the green IT space.

2Expert advice on Green IT topics to help you help your customers better.

3A program that will facilitate the implementation and information dissemination of green IT.

By joining our program you will gain access to a value network that will help you extend your market, increase profits, promote your organisation's corporate social responsibility and deliver innovative solutions. At the same time your business will be contributing to the ongoing development of the green IT industry by supporting a not-for-profit program.

Eligible Business Types

The Certification Partner Program is designed for businesses in the IT or environmental services industries that provide analysis, assessment, consulting and recommendations to businesses. The following types of businesses would suit the Partner Program:

IT Systems Integrators
IT Services Providers
IT Consulting and Research organisations
Software and hardware vendors
IT Training Providers
Environmental Consultancies

The following types of businesses would not suit the Partner Program:

Not for Profits
Government agencies
Academic institutions
Internal IT departments

Organisations not suitable for the Certification Partner Program may be eligible to work with us on specific projects and initiatives.

View our Corporate Sponsorship overview to find out more, or contact us to discuss a partnership arrangement.

Partner Program Benefits

Commission on Certification Sales

All Partners selling Certification products are entitled to a commission.

Partner Directory

All Partners are entitled to be listed in the Partner Directory on this website. Partners may edit their listing at any time to include new green IT-related product and service offerings.

Event Partnership Opportunities

International Green IT Awareness Week ComputersOff.ORG organises an annual initiative titled International Green IT Awareness Week. Green IT Week runs from 1 June to 7 June each year. Partners reaching minimum certification profit during the year starting 1 April and ending 31 March, are entitled to a free Exhibitor stand within the International Green IT Awareness Week Virtual Conference Event.

Education Programs

Throughout the year, we develop Green IT Education Programs. These programs are designed to educate IT organisations on green IT requirements, implementation, best practices and/or research, with the goal of supporting and promoting green IT.

Certification Partners will be invited to participate in the programs, enabling them to both gain increased recognition and potentially additional certification customers and revenue.

Reduction on FFITS.ORG certification for Partners

A Partner selling Certifications cannot apply a commission to their own organisation or sister organisations. However both the Certification Partner and their sister organisations can obtain a significant discount on certifying their own organisation.

A Partner obtaining the Certification is highly recommended. Although not a requirement, obtaining the certification for your own organisation will provide an additional level of credibility when you sell the Certification products to customers.

Partner Logos

Partners are exclusively entitled to display the ComputersOff.ORG Partner logo on print, web and digital materials. See the Partner Logo Usage Guidelines for further information on minimum requirements.

Program Requirements

Upon joining the program partners are required to agree to the following guidelines and terms:

Certification Partner Agreement
Corporate Partner Policy
Partner Logo Usage Guidelines

Request these documents by contacting us and speaking with our Partner Manager.

Partner Enrolment and Administration - How To Join

1Complete the Partner Application Form

2Agree to the Certification Partner Agreement and Corporate Partner Policy

3[OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED] Achieve FFITS.ORG certification: a. Complete the FFITS.ORG Certification for your organisation b. Agree to the Code of Practice c. Agree to Logo Usage Guidelines d. Pay your certification fee. Following these steps, your application will be assessed and approved within 7 working days of application.

Re-Enrolment FFITS.ORG requires you to re-enrol in the program within 30 days of the annual anniversary date.

Certification Model

The FFITS.ORG Certification and Labelling initiative aligns to the global Green ICT Framework originally developed by Connection Research and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). The following section describes the three Certification Labels available to organisations:

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Personal Computing
Departmental Computing
Printing and Consumables

The End User Computing Label showcases an organisations' commitment and action around areas such as implementing energy efficiency measures for desktop computing, reducing paper waste from printing, and optimising consumables consumption.

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Data Centre Equipment
Data Centre Environmentals
Networking and Communications
Outsourcing and Cloud
Software Architecture

The Enterprise and Data Centre Label showcases the organisations' implementation of the most efficient and effective technology facilities and operations.

Elements of this label include virtualising and/or clustering server infrastructure, storage use optimisation, data centre airflow management, implementation of energy efficiency techniques such as high efficiency power systems and thin client computing.

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Governance and Compliance
Teleworking and Collaboration
Business Process Management
Business Applications
Carbon Emissions Management

The ICT as a Low Carbon Enabler Label addresses organisations' attitudes and implementation of ICT policies and standards.

This area also addresses innovation within the IT department, where IT staff promote their technology solutions to help the business holistically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through solutions such as teleworking and video conferencing.

Certify Your Business

Officially launched in June 2008, the FFITS.ORG Certification and Labelling initiative (formerly "Computers Off" Label) is the computer industry's guide to help business, government and individuals quickly and easily identify organizations that are doing their part to reduce their power consumption and in turn reducing their CO2 emissions. The goal of the labelling initiative is to encourage organizations to improve their use of ICT equipment and to use technology to assist in reducing their carbon footprint.

The initiative is the first global IT environmental labelling program that indicates the environmental performance of a company and NOT a product.

The FFITS.ORG Certification and Labelling initiative is licensed to organizations that meet our ICT environmental impact reduction labelling standards. The labelling cuts across all industries and all companies no matter the size.

Our belief is that an organization with 5 employees has as much responsibility as one with 50,000.

On this website you will find information about the current certified licensees, environmental labelling, and the objectives of the initiative.

How does it work?

View the certification model

How do I know if I am eligible?

Contact us and we will send you details to login to our special members area of this site, where you can then access the three online certification surveys (End User Computing, Data Centre & Enterprise and ICT as a Low Carbon Enabler).

Upon completion of any of the three survey(s) you will be advised automatically of your eligibility to attain that Certification Label for your business. You can attempt one, two or all three Certification Label surveys; as many times as you wish.

If you pass, you can then proceed to purchase certification. We will send you the welcome kit including your unique achievement plaque, certification logos and provide access to your other benefits. If you don't pass on the first attempt, don't worry. Simply contact us to discuss potential ways your rating could be improved so your organisation can qualify for Certification.