Information technology (IT) services provider Dimension Data has been awarded the contract to supply all IT services for the United Nations Frame- work Convention on Climate Change seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP 17) event.

The contract entails the supply of network, audio, visual, wireless and Internet connectivity across the Durban venue.

Network company Cisco will provide the technology for the network, audio, visual and wireless solutions and Internet service provider Neotel will provide Internet connectivity and bandwidth for telepresence and videoconferencing.

“Dimension Data is the service inte- grator across the partners and will pro- vide consulting and design services for the actual cabling and data centre infrastructure at the venue,” says Dimension Data regional executive director Jay Reddy.

The company’s sustainability strategy is based on three focus areas, namely commitments and efforts to improve its own sustainability, its employee engage- ment and the services and solutions that help clients deliver on their sustainability strategies.

“Our focus on sustainable solutions helps us win contracts such as COP 17,” enthuses Dimension Data sustainability director Colin Curtis.

He states that climate change is of great concern to Dimension Data and the company believes COP 17 is an impor- tant event that will deliver definitive actions for governments, businesses and individuals to reduce their impact on the environment.

Since 2007, the company has reduced its carbon footprint by 43% and has reduced the travel-related emissions for each of its employees by 59%. Reddy says the company is mindful of continuing its focus to meet the aims of COP 17.

Dimension Data is also a member of environmental body Green Grid, which is a consortium of organisations, busi- nesses, policymakers, technology providers and utility companies that aim to collaborate to improve resource efficiency of data centre and business computing ecosystems.

The company participates in work groups and the development of technical specifications that improve the efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of business computing.