In line with its 2020 goal, computing giant Dell has committed to making its entire product portfolio 80% more energy efficient.
According to the Dell Corporate Responsibility Report, the company aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its facilities and logistics operations by 50%.
It reveals that energy intensity of product portfolio reduced by 23.2% over the last two years, saving its customers $449 million. The company also notes that it avoided 6 700 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions through workforce participation in Dell's Connected Workplace programme, which is equivalent to not driving 25.6 million kilometres.
The flexible work programmes make it easier for team members to do their best work while saving the company an additional $12 million this year, says Dell, adding that approximately 20 000 team members or about 20% of its workforce participate officially in the Connected Workplace programme, bringing Dell almost half way to its goal of 50% global participation by 2020.
An estimated additional 20% take advantage of the programme tools and participate in an unofficial or occasional manner, says Dell.
It claims that in FY14, it reduced greenhouse gas emissions from its facilities and logistics operations by a combined 8%. "This represents a 10% decrease in our operational emissions and a 7% reduction in our upstream transportation and distribution emissions, putting us on track to meet our 2020 goal," the report adds.
"As a private company, our entrepreneurial spirit and bold long-term goals are fuelling new, innovative ways to solve problems and create positive change," says Trisa Thompson, VP of corporate responsibility at Dell.
"I'm proud of the progress we're making toward our 2020 Legacy of Good commitments and the resulting impact we're having for our customers, team members, communities and the planet."
The report states that the largest contributor to Dell's total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions is purchased electricity.
Within the company's operations, more than 96% of its direct and indirect emissions were associated with office, manufacturing and data centre buildings (owned and leased); the rest were from company vehicles.
In FY14, the organisation claims to have continued to make upgrades to its buildings, with projects that included lighting upgrades, pump and motor replacements, boiler and hot water system improvements, and installing smart meters. "We also completed construction of a new office building in India that was designed to LEED Gold standards," states the report.
Nearly 89% of the energy used in Dell's facilities comes from utilities that provide the company electricity and municipal heat/steam. In FY14, we sourced more than 35% of our purchased energy needs from renewably generated sources - an increase from almost 23% in FY13. This keeps us on track to meet our target of sourcing at least 50% of our electricity from renewables by 2020, it says
Dell says there are regional challenges associated with sourcing renewably generated electricity. "Purchasing green power in Asia, for example, is difficult at this time because of market conditions and limited renewable generation capacity. We hope to identify cost-effective solutions in the coming years," says Dell.
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