HP has laid out plans to reduce the energy consumption of its volume desktop and notebook PCs by 25 per cent by 2010 compared to 2005 levels.

The company plans to reach its 2010 goal through a variety of strategies, including more efficient power supplies and lower-energy chipsets and processors, across its volume PC portfolio.

Customers will have the option of the Verdiem Surveyor remote power management software preloaded on certain HP PCs.

This software can help measure, manage and reduce power consumption on PCs and monitors by up to 33 per cent, equating to around 200 kilowatt-hours per PC annually.

HP claims that it now leads the industry in the number of Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Gold-listed products with more than 20 PCs registered in the US at either the Gold or Silver rating levels.

The EPEAT system helps shoppers evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on environmental attributes.

"HP has been integrating environmentally responsible components and processes across the entire product lifecycle for decades," said Todd Bradley, executive vice president of the Personal Systems Group at HP.

"We are dedicated to meeting our energy consumption goal of a 25 per cent reduction by 2010.

"These additional EPEAT-Gold registrations exemplify how HP leads the IT market in reducing the environmental impact of its products and processes."