Claims and Skepticism
Dell received a lot of attention for its claim last summer that it had become carbon neutral. The company claimed it was “saving more than $3 million annually and avoiding nearly 20,000 tons of CO2 through facilities improvements and a global power-management initiative.”
Dell’s claim of having achieved carbon neutrality became the focal point of a recent skeptical article (subscription required) in the Wall Street Journal. The article pointed out that the carbon emissions Dell claims to have neutralized don’t include those of its suppliers or “the diesel and jet fuel used to ship those computers around the world, or the coal-fired electricity used to run them.” This is a valid point. But Dell says that it’s method of measuring its carbon footprint is a start, and the most practical one at that, since many of its suppliers are not currently able to account for their own carbon footprint.
The article also looks skeptically at the purchase of emission reductions and renewable energy certificates, citing examples of some renewable energy projects that probably would have proceeded even without Dell’s funds. This undercuts Dell’s claims of having reduced emissions by funding those non-incremental projects.
The company’s energy and greenhouse gas reduction programs are impressively broad-based according to its 2008 corporate responsibility report. Energy-related initiatives include programs to
- Reduce energy consumption in Dell’s facilities
- Purchase green energy from utilities
- Redesign distribution networks to make them more efficient
- Purchase verified emission reductions and renewable energy certificates
Skepticism is fine, but overall I am highly impressed by the depth and breadth of what Dell is trying to do. Their sustainability efforts go far beyond energy, also including recycling for consumer and corporate clients, elimination of toxic chemicals in manufacturing, offering consulting services to clients to help them reduce their own electricity use, and a broad consumer and business outreach program, ReGeneration.org.
Dozens of Partners
In pursuit of its goal of becoming “the greenest technology company on the planet” (and being known as such), Dell works with an astonishingly broad array of industry bodies, NGOs and government entities, as well as some private firms, in the design and operation of their sustainability initiatives. Here is the list of entities Dell works with on sustainability, gleaned from its most recent sustainability report:
|
Organization |
Type |
Description |
|
Industry Association |
Electric utility-funded incentive program to integrate more energy-efficient power supplies into desktop computers and servers |
|
|
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) |
Industry Association |
International technical society organized to advance the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration |
|
Industry Association |
Nonprofit consortium that develops and distributes a set of objective performance benchmarks based on popular computer applications and industry-standard operating systems |
|
|
NGO |
Works with its global network of more than 250 member companies to develop sustainable business strategies and solutions through consulting, research, and cross-sector collaboration |
|
|
NGO |
Collects and reports data on carbon emissions from over 3000 companies globally. Dell Participated in its Supply chain Leadership Collaboration (SCLC) pilot to help companies better understand the climate impacts of their supply chains |
|
|
NGO |
National network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change |
|
|
NGO |
Mission is to design and deliver strategic solutions for green chemicals, sustainable materials and environmentally preferable products |
|
|
NGO |
Forum for business and government leaders to tackle climate change |
|
|
Industry Association |
An association of companies promoting improved energy efficiency in power supplies and enabling power management in computing environments |
|
|
NGO |
A non-profit that partners with other entities to advance conservation and develoment goals |
|
|
Industry Association |
Leading an IT industry effort to ensure that all energy-related and power consumption components in a system are interoperable, can communicate with management systems and can support virtualization |
|
|
Industry Association |
International standards organization that is leading the development ofinternational IT standards, including an effort focused on an energy benchmark tool for the ENERGY STAR 5.0 standard |
|
|
Industry Association |
A group of companies working together to create a comprehensive set of tools and methods that support credible implementation of the Code of Conduct throughout the Electronics and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) supply chain |
|
|
Industry Association |
helps to promote energy efficiency, reduce global warming and encourage sustainable development |
|
|
NGO |
Evaluates environmental problems and works to create and advocate solutions that win lasting political, economic and social support because they are nonpartisan, cost-efficient and fair. Dell uses the organization’s paper calculator to quantify the environmental effects of reducing paper use |
|
|
Govt Agency |
Dell participate’s the these EPA programs: Climate Leaders, Green Power Partnership, Energy Star and Smartway |
|
|
Private Company |
Environmental Resources Management (ERM) is a provider of environmental, health and safety, risk and social consulting services. ERM manages the audit of Dell’s global recycling program. |
|
|
Private Company |
Providing afforestation and carbon quantification services to corporate clients as a means to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and promote sustainable forestry |
|
|
NGO |
Mission is to protect endangered forests and wild places, wildlife, and human wellbeing. They work to catalyze environmental leadership among industry, governments and communities by running campaigns that leverage public dialogue and pressure to achieve their goals. |
|
|
NGO |
Devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world’s forests. |
|
|
Industry Association |
An association of IT professionals that seeks to lower the overall consumption of power in data centers worldwide |
|
|
NGO |
A collaborative partnership of investment managers, advised by nongovernmental organizations, concerned about the financial and public health risks associated with corporate toxic chemicals policies |
|
|
Standards Body |
The International Standards Organization is a global standards body setting standards for business, government and society. The 14000-series standards concern the operation of environmental manageement systems |
|
|
Joint Industry Guide (JIG) |
Industry Association |
A guideline for declaring the composition of electronics products. Issued jointly by EICTA (Europe), JGPSSI (Japan), EIA (USA), JEDEC (USA) |
|
Govt Agency |
The governments of Australia and New Zealand developed the Minimum Efficiency Performance Standard to improve the energy efficiency of appliances and equipment. This standard reflects the basic tenets of the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program |
|
|
NGO |
Helps the disabled and disadvantaged across the UK gain greater access to information technology by providing affordable refurbished computers to charities, community groups and individuals |
|
|
Industry Association |
Formed to establish, maintain and endorse a standardized set of relevant benchmarks for the newest generation of high-performance computers |
|
|
NGO |
An initiative of various UN organizations with the overall aim to solve the e-waste problem. |
|
|
Govt Agency |
A bureau of the Department of the Interior with conservation goals |
|
|
NGO |
Fosters the development of green buildings, maintains the LEED ratings system |
|
|
NGO |
Partners with environmental organizations, government agencies, manufacturers and other interested stakeholders to improve the environmental and social performance of electronic products |
|
|
NGO |
A CEO-led, global association of some 200 companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development. Developed GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard with WRI |
|
|
NGO |
An environmental think tank seeking practical ways to protect the earth and improve people’s lives. Developed GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard with WBCSD |
I take the size of this list as an indicator of the nascent state of the ecosystem of information, advisory and advocacy entities, even though a number of organizations Dell lists have been around for years. This, together with some slight controversy over Dell’s carbon neutrality claims, suggests to me that corporations are lacking standard sustainability metrics and a streamlined set of authoritative voices to guide them in their initiatives. But I think the progress shown by Dell and other companies is impressive.
What do you think?
3 Comments
January 22, 2009 at 6:08 am
[...] Greenresearch [...]
February 17, 2009 at 6:43 am
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