It is estimated that a framework contract prepared by the Procurement Agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Germany (BeschA) for thin clients - lightweight computers that do not have a hard drive but instead link back to an external server - will save over 10 million kilowatt-hours per year: equivalent to the annual emissions of over 2,000 European households.

A tender for a nation-wide framework contract for around 50,000 thin client computer systems (and services related to these) was issued in August 2013. The total demand was determined to be around €15 million. The requirements specified in the tender documents were based on a comprehensive needs assessment that was undertaken prior to publication.

Energy savings and CO₂ emission reductions were calculated based on the EU-funded GPP 2020 project methodology for a life span of five years. Based on the results, BeschA is considering using more ambitious criteria regarding energy efficiency performance as an award criterion in the future.

For more information, download the full case study here. The case study was prepared for the March edition of the GPP News Alert.