Lightbulb Moment

Changing from conventional light bulbs to energy efficient light bulbs is a really easy way to help make your workspace (and home) greener. You can reduce your carbon emisssions by more than 75% with most brands. Energy efficient light bulbs are becoming less expensive and can last up to ten times longer than conventional light bulbs, not to mention that conventional light bulbs will soon be phased out in Australia. Why not make the switch now?

Spotlight: Michael Dell

As the number two systems provider worldwide, Dell should be taking the lead and acting responsibly in relation to the environment.

This spotlight on green business highlights a recent interview with CEO Michael Dell at the Brainstorm: Green conference, where David Kirkpatrick from Fortune discovered the Dell corporation is doing just that.

While Dell is aiming to be carbon neutral by the end of the year, its headquarters already runs on 100% green energy. Mr Dell states, “Our entire headquarters is now powered with wind energy and energy from methane gas.” He believes that the lower carbon intensity is a result of all the things the company has done to be more efficient.

“Dell already has among the lowest energy consumption per revenue dollar of any company in the Fortune 50, and so for us to be carbon neutral, you know, we’re already pretty close,” he adds.

The company rates its suppliers with a scorecard in order to help them educate them and to help them reduce their energy in delivering supplies. “As part of our supply chain management, we ask all our suppliers to tell us what their carbon emissions are

Dell has plans to release an Eco-PC later in the year that is encased with bamboo and uses recycled plastics for all plastic components, from sources such as milk jugs, laundry detergent bottles and plastic bottles. Scheduled to be released later this year, Mr Dell told the Brainstorm: Green audience in his earlier presentation the Eco-PC is approximately 81% smaller than a standard mini-tower desktop, uses up to 70% less energy and comes in recycled and recyclable packaging.

In addition to working on greener alternatives for desktop computing, Mr Dell says the company has introduced new Energy Smart servers for data centre solutions that use less energy than their predecessors and around 25% less energy than Dell’s closest competitor. He claims, “It’s all the way from the data centre to the desktop, and we’ve already saved our customers 2.3 billion dollars with energy smart products that we’ve introduced.”

Mr Dell believes that ‘virtualisation’, such as video conferencing and e-commerce, is the way of the future. “For every kilowatt of energy that’s used in IT, ten kilowatts are saved in the traditional economy. There’s a lot of opportunity here to make a big impact.”

What steps are you taking in your business to impact the environment in a positive way?

This article originally published: June 2008

Recycling Electronics

Let’s face it, we are living in the technology age and it is almost impossible to live without electronics – especially if you are running a business.

If you are going to use electronic equipment, chances are you will eventually replace it. So what do you do with the old stuff?

If it still works you can give it away to someone in need. There are so many people out there who can’t afford to own things like computers and for them ‘something is better than nothing’. Find out if you have a local program that you can donate your old computer to or pass your old electronics onto someone else through the Freecycle movement.

If your equipment is not working there is still some value in it. Many of the parts can be recycled and this also saves dangerous chemicals going into landfill. Big companies like Nokia and Dell are now realising the value of recycling by offering free recycling programs for consumers of their products.

You might also find local recycling programs for electronic equipment you would otherwise throw away, such as E-Cycle Recovery here in South Australia. Check your local phone book, ask your local council or have a look online to see what you can recycle to save landfill.