Dell has been a trend-setter when it comes to the incorporation of greener technologies to reduce their corporate carbon footprint and they’re doing it again! Although this time they are following the lead of Google, by installing solar trees in the parking lot of their head office in Round Rock, Texas.
Computer technology is always about being one step ahead of competitors. Information technology moves faster than light it seems, and by the time your new computer arrives at your doorstep, it is already out of date. Dell, whose computers can be found in most offices, homes, and campuses across the country, has been doing its best to stay ahead of the curve.
Proving it is both environmentally friendly and hip to the trends of popular culture, Dell has just finished installing a grove of solar trees at its Corporate headquarters in Round Rock, Texas.
CELB’s mission is to leverage the power and reach of corporations to “improve human livelihoods through: innovative business practices that reduce companies’ ecological footprint, strategic investments in conservation opportunities and dynamic communications campaigns that engage consumers and employees worldwide to take action in their everyday lives.”
As part of their progressive communications campaign, CI recognized the influence and reach of social networking and social media. And now, they are set to launch a groundbreaking tool designed to catalyze personal and collective action via the connective power of the web. Are you ready for “Team Earth”?
The question for businesses used to be “Can we afford to go green?” Now it is ” Can we afford NOT to go green?” The upcoming Greener by Design 2009 conference, to be held May 19-20 in San Francisco will focus on helping industries learn to cut costs, create efficiency, and move towards sustainability through a series of focused hands-on innovation sessions, small-group consultative sessions, and demonstrations of new materials and tools.
Last week, Tom Lauria, Vice President, Communications for the International Bottled Water Association commented on a post about greenwash happening over at Nestle Waters where he accused me of being an anti-corporate type that hides behind ’saving the earth’ to bash businesses because I hate capitalism. My sense is that Tom, and quite possibly others, do not think there is any valid way to criticize green claims made by companies without being anti-corporate and anti-capitalist.
And as business people, why should we complain about greenwash anyhow?
First, it is not anti-corporate and anti-capitalist to set the record straight on environmental achievements versus environmental distortion. It is every business person’s—from the entrepreneur to the VP of communications at a Fortune 500 company—job to do just that so we do not dilute real environmental achievements.
Second, Bob Pearson, VP—Communities & Conversations at Dell said it well in his blog post:
“…companies who choose to lead have an obligation to be open and transparent. We have a responsibility to engage in dialogue about the environment, whether we agree or disagree with an individual person or group. It all contributes to the greater good.”
If Dell’s VP of Communications is so critical of Apple’s green policies, a month after Apple bragged about their new recyclable, energy-efficient MacBooks, why didn’t he just say that Dell is greener? Is it because he’s humble, or becaus his job is to confuse people? Ha, sorry, that’s too mean. A PR man’s job is to lie. But sometimes he accidentally tells the truth.
While Dell still beats Apple in Greenpeace’s annual electronics report, Apple will catch up if they meet their targets over the next few years. Here’s how the two computer makers compare (according to Greenpeace) on energy efficiency, packaging, materials, and recycling.
Dell has announced that it plans have LED (light-emitting diode) backlit displays in 80 percent of its computers by 2008 and in all of them by 2010. LED displays consume 43 percent less energy for a 15 inch screen than standard CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) displays. According to the company, its LED displays will save $20 million and 220 million KWh in 2010 and 2011 combined.
I cannot believe that I am actually lusting over a Dell desktop computer - albeit, this is no standard computer.
Dell’s Studio Hybrid taps an energy-efficient Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Mobile Processors to use 70% less power and is Dell’s most environmentally savvy desktop computer to date.
It’s compact size (it’s 81% smaller than a standard desktop tower according to the company) and 6 jewel-toned cases make it perfect for prominent display in your eco-office, but I have to say, the bamboo sleeve is definitely hot.
Scary news: Electronic waste is growing at three times the rate of other household waste, and at a higher toxicity. With the rapid and widespread use of computers and electronic technology in the past thirty years, the impact of all the heavy metals (arsenic, mercury, cadmium, copper, lead, etc.), batteries, plastics, LCD and other screens, etc. going into our landfills and water tables has yet to be determined.
What we do know for sure is [...]
Dell has expanded its Plant a Tree for Me program. You can now purchase carbon offset credits for your computer even if you don't buy a Dell.
Launched in January, the Plant a Tree for Me program asks Dell customers to voluntarily donate a couple of bucks at check-out to offset their computer purchase. That money is then given to the Conservation Fund and Carbonfund to plant trees
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Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday, Dell founder and chairman Michael Dell issued a challenge to the personal computer industry: make free recycling of used computers a standard part of doing business. According to the New York Post, Dell said,
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