November 11th, 2010

If visions of a new computer, an upgraded cell phone or a flat screen TV are dancing in your head this holiday season, you don’t necessarily have to feel guilty about it. No one will confuse adding 50 inches of viewing pleasure with planting a tree when it comes to carbon footprint, but bringing that shiny new toy into your home may not be quite the environmental faux pas it used to be.

From design to operation to disposal, electronics are getting a little more eco-friendly. That’s a good thing, too, since we seem to be incorporating more and more of them into our daily lives. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, a typical American household features 24 electronic devices, from clock radios to DVDs and Blu-Ray players to computers and TVs.

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October 22nd, 2010

Dell headquarters in Round Rock.

Dell has finished as the No. 1 company in Newsweek‘s 2010 Green Rankings. The magazine notes that “Dell has built its sustainability strategy over the years by setting a series of ambitious goals, several of which it has already met. In 2008, the company announced it would reduce its total emissions by 40 percent by 2015. It is well on the way to achieving that goal.”

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May 26th, 2010

The environmental protection group Greenpeace hung a large banner at Dell’s Round Rock headquarters Wednesday morning, saying the company hadn’t kept its promise of eliminating certain chemicals from its products. Greenpeace claims that Dell promised to eliminate chemical byproducts such as PVC plastic and brominated flame retardants. The company has pushed that deadline back to 2011.

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April 15th, 2010

Dell and Goodwill Industries International have announced they will extend their Reconnect program, which lets consumers drop off any brand of computers or computer accessories for no-cost recycling, to Canada. Starting this week in Southwestern Quebec and on May 1 in London, Ontario, consumers may drop off used computers for no-cost recycling at Renaissance, a Goodwill affiliate, and Goodwill Great Lakes. The expansion adds to more than 1,900 Reconnect locations throughout the U.S.

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August 11th, 2009

From Green Right Now Reports

For those who view corporate green initiatives as being more about building image than building profits, Dell has a reminder that “green” is also the color of money.

The Round Rock, Texas, company says its expects to save an estimated $5.8 million a year as a result of power-saving projects and building upgrades in its facilities worldwide. The company, which sources more than 25 percent of its global energy needs from renewable sources, is also piloting solar projects on select campuses to incorporate even more renewable energy in its operations.

Dell says that by the end of 2009, it expects to cut its global power use by around 48 million kilowatt hours per year — enough energy to power more than 4,000 average American homes for one year. It will accomplish this through a combination of building upgrades, power management strategies and IT solutions, including:

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June 8th, 2009

From Green Right Now Reports

Dell and Goodwill Industries International announced they are expanding Reconnect, a free drop-off program for consumers who want to responsibly recycle any brand of unwanted computer equipment.
The program is adding 451 new donation sites in seven states — Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and West Virginia. The program also will expand in Wisconsin to the Southeastern and South Central parts of the state.

Reconnect is now available in 18 states, plus the District of Columbia.

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May 12th, 2009

From Green Right Now Reports

Dell said today it will ban the export of non-working electronics to developing countries as part of its global policy on responsible electronics disposal.

The Round Rock, Texas-based company said its electronics disposition policy now exceeds the requirements of the Basel Convention, which bans the export of certain electronic waste based on its material or chemical composition. By expanding its definition of electronic waste to include all non-working parts or devices, irrespective of material composition, Dell said it hopes to prevent the unauthorized dumping of electronic waste in developing countries by requiring that equipment be tested and certified as “working” prior to export.

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April 20th, 2009

By Laura Elizabeth May
Green Right Now

The Ethisphere Institute announced its annual selection of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 2009. The companies selected must promote ethical business standards and practices by going beyond legal minimums, introducing innovative ideas benefiting the public and forcing their competitors to follow suit.

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