Greentech Lead America: Dell has reached the goal of collecting 1 billion pounds of electronic waste a full year ahead of schedule while also meeting its strict packaging reduction commitments, the company said after releasing its Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13)Corporate Responsibility Summary Report.
In FY13, Dell recycled more than 170 million pounds of end-of-life computer equipment globally, taking the company past the 1 billion pound take-back goal set in 2008. The company also expanded the use of recycled-content plastics by using 7.8 million pounds of recycled-content plastics in its flat-panel monitors and OptiPlex desktop systems – a 6 percent increase over FY12.
Dell also became one of the first to introduce EPEAT-registered printers, setting a high industry standard for sustainability. Dell collaborated with EPEAT to create an imaging products category for their registry and became one of the first companies to offer EPEAT-registered printers.
Dell achieved the last of its 3Cs (cube, content, curb) packaging strategy. The “curb” goal, which was to make more than 75 percent of desktop and notebook packaging material compostable or recyclable at curbside, makes it easier for customers to engage in responsible recycling efforts.
Dell is also committed to eliminating the use of BFRs, CFRs, and PVCs. As such, Dell’s entire XPS notebook suite, including the company’s award-winning XPS 12, became BFR-CFR- and PVC-free in FY13.
Dell doubled the number of its global facilities purchasing 100 percent of their electricity needs from renewable sources from seven to 16 during FY13. Dell’s global renewable electricity purchases in FY13 totaled 22.6 percent of the company’s total energy consumption.
Working closely with community and nonprofit organizations, Dell’s FY13 strategic giving efforts were focused on going beyond funding to apply technology, expertise and volunteerism towards solving pressing social issues.
As part of Dell’s Children’s Cancer Care initiatives, Dell experts worked closely with partner Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) to deliver a high-performance computing solution for genomic research involving pediatric cancer, compressing the time it takes to analyze a patient’s molecular data from days to hours.
Dell also delivered the TGen-Dell KIDS Cloud, which stores huge amounts of critical clinical and molecular patient information and enables professionals across the world to collaborate on targeted care strategies.
Dell enabled the American Red Cross to fundamentally change its disaster response by launching the Red Cross Digital Operations Center (DigiDOC), the world’s first social media command center for humanitarian aid. DigiDOC was successfully activated during Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Isaac and several other natural disasters during 2012.