Powering the Possible on Earth Day

Powering the Possible - Dell

Environmental sustainability at Dell is a year-long commitment. But as we celebrate this Earth Day, I’d like to tell you about a few of the ways Dell is putting its technology to work where it can do the most good for the planet.

At Dell, we’re committed to minimizing the environmental impact of our business operations. We also look at every stage of a product or service’s life cycle to find ways we can make them more sustainable; we want to create new possibilities for our customers to reduce their environmental impact as well.

A few concrete examples:

  • Our PowerEdge servers with Energy Smart design can help customers manage their energy use wisely and efficiently. For LeaseWeb, this means a smaller power footprint for more than 60,000 servers and eight data centers around the globe.
  • Desktop virtualization and Dell Wyse thin-client systems help customers expand their compute capacity, ensure a higher degree of security, and reduce maintenance time and costs. It can also reduce power consumption enormously: at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a similar solution cut power consumption by 93 percent.
  • Project Ophelia, a cutting edge ultra-compact device the size of a USB stick, enables users to turn any capable display into a thin client. The portability, security and energy efficiency is astounding – you can run 16 of them on the same energy it takes to run a typical compact fluorescent light bulb.

Beyond making our customers more efficient, our technology also is helping to advance their environmental missions.

The Green Belt Movement, which works to empower women and communities in rural Kenya by promoting healthy environments, uses Dell PowerEdge technology to develop geographic information systems to plan and monitor complex forest management projects and programs. RES, a global renewable energy developer, uses a Dell high-performance computing cluster to analyze wind speeds 20 times faster. And using everything from rugged Dell laptops to more sophisticated systems, forest carbon analysts at The Conservation Fund take samples and model, analyze and forecast forest growth.

This Earth Day, we’re also using tools on Causes.com to encourage people to join us in taking action for the planet. For every person who pledges to make one small change to their daily routine — by saving energy or reducing waste — Dell and The Conservation Fund will reinforce the impact of their commitment by planting a tree in the Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana. Dell and The Conservation Fund will plant up to 30,000 trees: restoring habitat for wildlife, helping mediate the effects of floodwaters, and contributing to cleaner air and water.

Forester Scott Kelly, carbon analyst Jordan Golinkoff and the north coast program coordinator, Holly Newberger during a Conservation Fund “staff meeting” at the Gualala Forest in Mendocino County, California. Dell technology helps the nonprofit Conservation Fund conserve and then restore the most sensitive areas of the forest, including rivers that and streams important to salmon.

To learn more about our work, visit Dell.com/environment, or contact me @learatdell.

About the Author: David Lear

David Lear serves as the Vice President of Dell’s sustainability programs, and works to create long-term stakeholder value and opportunities by integrating economic, social, and environmental responsibility into Dell’s core business strategies. His team engages key stakeholders including customers, NGOs, regulators, industry groups, and agencies to collaborate on global policy and standards development. This includes managing strategic giving and community partnerships that demonstrate the enabling power of technology to drive both business and sustainability outcomes. David joined Dell in 2006 as Director of Product Safety and Environmental Affairs, responsible for the delivery of Dell global product compliance programs. Previously, Lear served in various roles in design and manufacturing in the Test & Measurement industry, where he specialized in the development of product technologies. David holds a BS in Chemistry and Biology from Missouri State University, and a MBA from the University of Indianapolis.