Environment

• Community Green Day keeps e-Waste out of the Piedmont Triad

  Thu. Jul. 24, 2008
  by Donna Oldham, Dell North Carolina Team

  On Saturday, July 26, we're excited to team up once again with Goodwill to raise awareness for responsible computer recycling and keeping harmful electronic waste out of the environment and communities-especially a community we call home.

  For the second time since we opened our Winston-Salem, N.C. (WS1) site, we're partnering with Goodwill of Northwest North Carolina and the City of Winston-Salem for Community Green Day, a free computer recycling event through the Dell/Goodwill Reconnect program.  Residents of the Piedmont Triad are invited to bring their old computer and electronic equipment to the event to be donated or responsibly recycled.

  If you're wondering how these computers are "responsibly recycled,"here's an interesting fact: Approximately 98% of a computer can be reused or recycled back into raw materials - glass into glass, metals into metals, plastics into plastics.  Combine that percentage with the more than 2,500 tons of unwanted computer equipment at recycling events that have been kept from landfills in the past two years; it's a win-win in the goal to be environmentally responsible member of the community.

  More details for the event can be found here.  If you're in the Piedmont Triad area, we look forward to seeing you there. 

  If you think your city needs a recycling event, let us know here. As many Direct2Dell readers know, Dell offers consumers around the globe free and convenient recycling for used computers every day and through the Reconnect alliance with Goodwill, consumers in many communities, including 49 of 100 counties in North Carolina, can take advantage of free recycling by dropping of used computers at Goodwill intake centers. Dell occasionally sponsors recycling events like this coming Saturday's to help raise consumer awareness of the importance of responsibly recycling used computers.
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• Dell's FY08 Corporate Responsibility Report

  Mon. Jul. 21, 2008
  by Wendy Dittmer, Dell Sustainability Manager

  Recently, we released Dell's latest corporate responsibility report, covering our fiscal year 2008 activities.  A significant amount of work from Dell team members around the globe has produced one of our most comprehensive reports to date—I hope you will take time to read about some of our latest results.  For a quick review, a new executive summary section, as well as letters from Michael Dell and Gil Casellas, our vice president of corporate responsibility, provides an overview of material covered in the report.
  
  We place a significant emphasis on being a responsible company; quite simply we believe we will be most successful in meeting our business objectives when we do so with our obligations to employees, communities and the environment in mind.  Critical to us meeting our responsibility goals is reporting on our progress in a transparent way.
   
  Enhancements to this year's report include:

  • We included a new, easy-to-read table at the beginning of the report summarizes our key environmental, supplier and community metrics;
  • We had our greenhouse gas (GHG) emission numbers externally validated, providing further accountability as we strive to make Dell a low-carbon leader.  We also reported the GHG emission impacts of our corporate air travel, the next step in having a complete accounting of Dell's climate impacts.  Our comprehensive climate policy and progress are included in the Environmental Responsibility section of the report;
  • An Emerging Issues sub-section has been added to discuss issues that are either new to Dell or that we are in the infancy of addressing.  This year, we covered HIV/AIDS, Global Citizenship work with suppliers, the technology surrounding nanomaterials, challenges with mining/extractives and the impacts of the retail channel on our climate footprint; and
  • We also added a new Employee section which covers:  Listening to Employees, Ethics Tools for Employees, Diversity and Inclusion, Global Talent Management, Global Health and Wellness (including benefits information) and Employee Engagement in Sustainability.  We are proud of the importance our employees place on our company's environmental and sustainability efforts and this section shows just a few of those efforts.

  Seventeen stakeholder organizations provided perspective on Dell's corporate responsibility efforts and those perspectives are included in the report. Their inclusion underscores our commitment both to transparency and to partnership with our stakeholders to help us continually improve our performance.

  I invite your review of the report as well as your comments, ideas and challenges as we continue to move Dell forward in our journey of sustainability and responsibility.
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• 32 Pages of Paper in 17 Boxes

  Fri. Jul. 18, 2008
  by Todd Dwyer, Community Liaison - Environment

  Earlier this year, sites like The Consumerist and Gizmodo showed us that we still have a lot of work to do to reduce packaging. Regardless of steps we take to protect the environment, as an industry our work is far from over.
  
  But when the printer company from Palo Alto packs 32 pages of A4 paper in 17 boxes, it deserves a conversation. How did it happen and why?
  
  You may recall that when we had an issue with one of our suppliers, we sent a team to Dallas the next day to sort it out. We also put in place specific steps to address excessive packaging head on. As a result of great customer ideas and feedback, we're planning to reduce packaging by 10 million pounds over the next year. It underscores the value of listening. And green IT is also something lots of folks at Dell take seriously. That's an area where lots of companies can do more.
  
  It's disappointing that HP has yet to respond. We can all learn a lot by listening to customers and uncovering ways we can improve the planet.

  So, let's get to the bottom of it. Send us your pictures of HP's excessive packaging and we'll share them with their head of corporate sustainability.  You can post them here or e-mail them to regeneration@dell.com.   And if you have ways that we can improve, let us know. Let's have a dialogue about why this happened and how we can all work together to improve packaging.

  (BTW, today's incident reminded us of a comparison we did earlier this year between our M-Series blade server and HP's C-3000 "Shorty"...see below for a brief video showing the differences).
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• Netroots

  Thu. Jul. 17, 2008
  by Todd Dwyer, Community Liaison - Environment

  The ReGeneration Team is joining forces with Grist.org to report on the “green” conversation at this week’s Netroots Nation. We’ll be roving the halls and streets of downtown Austin asking attendees their impressions of the event and whether Netroots bloggers and candidates running for office are paying enough attention to the environment. If you are planning to be in Austin, drop by the Convention Center and share your thoughts and insights.
  
  Dispatches from this event will be frequent, so stay tuned to ReGeneration.org as well as the environmental section of this blog for updates and reports. For my own part, I will be joining the conversation via Twitter. If you're a Tweeter, you can follow my updates via TDatReGeneration. If what transpired at SXSW this year is any indication, Twitter will play a big role, perhaps even shaping the event itself.
  
  We’ll also be igniting the “green” conversation at a Grist/ReGeneration party this Saturday from 5-8:30pm at the Cedar Door. The first 150 people get a drink on us, and everyone qualifies for the door prize: a green Dell Inspiron 1525.
  
  If you can't make it, you can still join the conversation by commenting on our blog posts or sending us a message via Twitter. Either way, we're looking forward to hearing from you.
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• Dell Recycling Makes the “G.R.A.D.E.”

  Tue. Jul. 15, 2008
  by Joe Strathmann, Sr. Mgr.—Asset Recovery Services

  We were honored to be recognized today by IDC as one of the first companies to receive their Green Recycling and Asset Disposal for the Enterprise, or G.R.A.D.E. certifications.  IDC’s new report, the 2008 Assessment of U.S. IT Asset Disposal Service Providers, Doc #213383 was released today and you can read the Dell news release here.

  IDC developed this new certification in response to demand from its end-user customers about responsible ways to retire PCs and other IT hardware. The G.R.A.D.E. certification process is based on 34 IT Asset Disposal (ITAD)-related functions and tasks and uses a multi-dimensional weighting system that incorporates the broad offerings of remote applications, onsite services, logistics, in-plant processing, and post treatment. The certification is currently focused on the U.S. market. 

  Dell’s asset recovery services are helping our enterprise customers responsibly retire used IT equipment and simplify the management of their enterprise by protecting against data and environmental liability and minimizing the cost of disposal.  Services we offer include value recovery, robust reporting, reverse logistics and responsible recycling.

  Our continued commitment to making recycling convenient, easy and responsible for customers is not only evident through this certification, but also through our assistance to small businesses for their product recovery needs,  free and convenient product recycling for consumers and setting responsible recycling standards.

  Dell’s product recycling efforts are a cornerstone of efforts to be the greenest technology company on the planet.  For more information, visit www.dell.com/earth. To join with the company and thousands of others in lending a voice and saving the planet, visit www.regeneration.org.
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• Recycling in the Rain

  Wed. Jul. 09, 2008
  by Jonathan Perry, Take Back Compliance Manager

  Today the Dell UK Green team held a recycling event for employees, which was successful despite the downpour of rain! From under our shelter and umbrellas we collected 9 pallets of outdated notebooks, desktops, monitors, printers and other IT equipment. We’re still counting, but we estimate this to be in the region of 2 tonnes of equipment. In addition, we have collected over 300 old mobile phones for the local Thames Valley & Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust who will recycle them and convert this to cash.

  Click on the images below to view larger versions.

   

  From the photos you can see that we collected all kind of brands of equipment, Trish for example is holding an HP notebook.

  This event follows a similar employee activity in Cherrywood, where our Irish Green team collected around three quarters of a tonne of equipment on a sunny day in June.

   

  Results like these are an indication of how Dell employees are joining Dell’s global ReGeneration movement, only with employees embracing these company values can we be the kind of company we’re striving to be – the greenest technology company in the world.
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• Remembering What’s Really Important Behind the Reconnect Program

  Mon. Jul. 07, 2008
  by Beth Johnson, Consumer Recycling Program Team

  We've posted a number of times about our work with Goodwill through the Reconnect program. In fact we launched Reconnect in the greater Rochester, New York, area in partnership with ABVI-Goodwill just last week.  With this and the Reconnect Buffalo program, consumers in a large part of New York state how have free and convenient recycling for used computer products available to them.  Welcome to our latest partners in Rochester!
  
  I was in Washington with my colleague Mike Watson last week at the annual Goodwill Delegates' Assembly.  Representatives from nearly 170 Goodwill organizations across the U.S. were in Washington for this meeting to discuss a wide range of issues that Goodwill works to tackle.  It's a good opportunity for us to see our existing and future Reconnect partners as we continue to talk about plans to expand the program to bring free recycling to even more consumers across the U.S.
  
   In the midst of all the recycling talk, we had an opportunity to remember and celebrate what's really important about our work with Goodwill.  Goodwill's mission is about putting people to work, especially those with barriers to employment.  And proceeds from Reconnect programs help support Goodwill programs that support that mission.
  
  I had the honor of presenting an award to Darryl Humphrey who was recognized as Goodwill's Graduate of the Year at the annual awards dinner at the conference.  Darryl was truly an inspiration.  He lost his job when he began to lose his sight and had to turn to his local Goodwill for assistance.  They helped him get back on his feet but more importantly, they helped him reach a lifelong dream of working for the New York City Police Department.  Today Darryl is an administrative aide with the NYPD's 49^th Precinct, working directly with civilians who come to the precinct to file a report or request help, and he's enormously respected by his colleagues.  I'm in the photo with Darryl below.
  
   
  
  As always we'll keep you posted as we expand Reconnect, and look forward to supporting Goodwill as they help individuals like Darryl in communities across the nation.
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• Supporting Progressive E-cycling Legislation

  Fri. Jun. 27, 2008
  by Fran Valluzzo, Manager—U.S. State & Govt. Affairs

  Recently, I testified in Pennsylvania on the issue of computer recycling.  In my remarks, I urged the Senate Committee on Environmental Resources and Energy to consider adopting legislation adhering to Dell's producer responsibility policy.  Our company's recycling policy focuses on consumer-friendly, efficient and effective means for recycling and reuse of electronic equipment. This marks the 11^th time Dell has testified on this issue around the country.

   Across the U.S., state legislatures are grappling with what to do with unwanted computers.  As a leader in computer recycling programs, Dell is working with states to develop comprehensive, environmentally-positive legislation that is free for consumers and efficiently addresses the question, "What do I do with my computer at the end of its life?"

  Last year, Texas became the first state to pass the so-called "Consensus Model" legislation.  This legislation was passed unanimously by the legislature. It was supported by a broad group of environmentalists, consumer groups, trade associations, cities, counties and of course, computer manufacturers.

  The Commonwealth of Virginia followed quickly by passing the Computer Recycling and Recovery Act. The photo below shows Virginia Governor Tim Kaine  (D) singing the bill into law.  I was proud to represent Dell at the signing ceremony with Governor Kaine (D), State Delegate Ken Plum, the bill's sponsor, and my colleagues from Goodwill, Fairfax County and the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

  

  Steam has picked up considerably this year and three other states have passed the "Texas" legislation.  West Virginia, Oklahoma and Missouri passed almost identical legislation.  And several other states, including Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and South Carolina, have bills pending that are based on the Texas law.

  Of course, this is not the only approach to e-cycling legislation.  California passed the first recycling law at the state level.  However, that law, which mandates that computer sellers charge a "recycling fee" that is then remitted to the state, is controversial.  No other state has passed such a system.  Other state laws are a mix of producer responsibility with government mandates, government fees and excessive regulation.

  Dell's goal has always been to ensure that any regulation or legislation is flexible and efficient.  And as we continue to provide consumers across the globe free recycling for used Dell products, we will work with elected officials to help bring free computer recycling to as many U.S. consumers as possible.
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• First to 80 PLUS Gold Energy Efficiency

  Wed. Jun. 25, 2008
  by Albert Esser- VP, Power & Infrastructure

  Today, the Dell ReGeneration team is celebrating a new and important milestone in our commitment to become the ‘greenest' technology company on the planet. A few minutes ago, Dell became the first in the industry to achieve 80 PLUS Gold-certification for a server power supply, a testament to our commitment to achieve environmental savings for the planet, drive unprecedented cost savings for customers and challenge our competition to join us in reaching for the highest possible standards. Energy efficiency, free recycling for consumers, carbon neutrality and customer partnerships are a few of the core fundamentals that every green company must embrace as we all work toward a low-carbon economy.

  The 80 PLUS certification enables our customers to compare and contrast power supplies based on criteria from Energy Star and the Climate Savers Computing initiative. Our new 80 PLUS Gold power supply meets July 2009 Climate Savers targets for servers more than a year ahead of schedule, which require 92 percent minimum efficiency for the power supply unit at 50 percent of rated output. Earlier this month, we became the first Tier-1 computer manufacturer to achieve 80 PLUS Silver-certification for our client desktops. The 80 PLUS Silver certification is up to 8 percent more efficient than what is required to meet Energy Star 4.0, up to 3 percent more efficient than the Energy Star 5.0 draft and also meets the July 2009 PC requirements outlined by Climate Savers.

   Stay tuned for more updates on our commitment to become the greenest technology company on the planet.  Share your thoughts and ideas and join the conversation on how we can all save the planet together. We're working hard with our suppliers, partners and employees to become carbon neutral by the end of 2008 and will be sure to keep you posted. If the frequent ‘green' updates on the pages of this blog are any indication, we have a number of projects in the works that will continue to drive savings for customers, encourage our competitors to make similar improvements and bring us all closer to achieving a green future. Our customers and shared environment deserve no less.
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• Windy City Recycling

  Tue. Jun. 24, 2008
  by Joe Strathmann, Sr. Mgr.—Asset Recovery Services

  Yesterday, I was in Chicago to speak at the Electronics Recycling Conference hosted by Recycling Today.  It was a good gathering of professionals and influencers there to discuss and learn about the latest electronics recycling efforts.

  My panel was looking at approaches by some of the large OEMs to implement customer recycling programs for electronics and I was joined by representatives from Sony, Panasonic and Waste Management.

  Any gathering like this is a good chance to talk about Dell’s commitment to offer recycling services for the products we make.  We’re want to remind customers and industry alike, that we will recycle anything with the Dell brand on it for free at any time, other brands of equipment for free with purchase of new Dell. Our home pick-up program will come to consumer’s homes to pick up the used equipment.  In short, we’re making it free and convenient for consumers to do the right thing.  The results are showing, a few weeks ago we announced that we recovered 102 million pounds of used products from customers globally in 2007 for responsible recycling.

  I also had a chance to speak on our work with Goodwill on the Reconnect program.  This unique partnership is bringing free recycling to more U.S. consumers every day and helping support Goodwill’s job training and community building missions at the same time.  Just last week Reconnect expanded to cover Western New York State and you’ll be seeing this program expand more this year.

  We know it’s critical to make recycling free and convenient for consumers to take part. And we’ll continue to find ways to partner with stakeholders and policy makers, as well as with customers, to help raise consumer awareness about the importance of recycling used electronics.
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