Today, about two years after
Michael declared Dell's aspiration to be the greenest
IT company on the planet, our employees are living our commitment to
corporate responsibility every day, and in many different forms.
You can get an update on what we've
been up to with regard to environmental sustainability, social responsibility
and corporate accountability in our 2008 corporate
responsibility report, which we just launched today.
In my role, I'm closest to our environmental considerations and advocacy,
which we've broken into six categories: climate
leadership, sustainable
operations, product and packaging
solutions, global recycling, engagement
and empowerment, and services and solutions.
I am often asked if what I do for
Dell is good for business. The answer is yes – a company can do well by
doing good. There's a great business case for building sustainability into your
business.
For example, investing in
energy-efficiency and renewable
energy is great for our business. By optimizing energy consumption in our
operations, we reduce energy costs and our carbon footprint. You may have seen
our recent announcement that we're saving
$5.8 million a year as a result of building automation, upgrades and smart
IT management.
More than that, though, our customers
tell us they want to buy from a company that's responsible in its
operations – and that includes operating with the environment in mind. And
we're making great progress, offering free, convenient computer recycling to
consumers worldwide; getting more than 25 percent of our electricity needs from
clean and renewable
energy sources and offering more Energy
Star and EPEAT-certified systems than ever before.
You can even trade
in your old computer toward a new one (which, by the way, is a surprise to
a lot of people. So tell a friend!).
But sustainability is a journey,
and there's so much more we can do – we WILL do. As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback. We look forward to
working together for the betterment of this Earth we all share.