The Green Grid, a consortium of over 200 companies and government organizations, last week held a forum hosted by the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy were also on hand.

The forum broadly called for data centers around the world to begin implementing environmentally friendly practices. The organization pointed out that one of EPA's own data center has achieved a 20% reduction in energy use, resulting in a $15,000 per year energy saving. If the 75,000 similar-sized data centers in the U.S. could do the same, the energy savings would top $1.1 billion.

To help data centers achieve these cost savings, the Green Grid is publicizing a host of free online tools to help measure, assess, and plan energy efficiencies. Some of these tools help companies measure carbon output, while others provide recommendations for taking advantage of cool air for chilling purposes. Yet another tool provides a reporting mechanism to begin the process of tracking data center efficiencies. Hit the links for more on how these efforts can help you achieve more with less.