On the Long Road to Greening IT, Drive Responsibly

March 7, 2009 | Filed Under GreenIT | No Comments

 

The recent Wall Street Journal article  “Green Goal of ‘Carbon Neutrality’ Hits Limit”  was described by one of the green newsletters as “slamming” Dell for its claims to be carbon neutral.  

 That’s not what I got from the article.  What the author quite rightly does is assess what Dell and others are doing   and explain  why “Dell’s drive offers an early road map of the thorny questions companies will face as they attempt massive emission reductions …”

Dell and Timberland were both apparently cooperative and transparent in explaining what they are, and aren’t, doing. Everyone needs to recognize that we are all just at the beginning of the long-term task of figuring out how to measure and manage the eco-footprint of industries, companies, and products. Objective analysis and criticism is essential to that process.

The article also makes the point we have made many times with our clients: enterprises need to take great care in how their marketing efforts represent publicly what they are doing in their climate change and sustainability programs. Unclear, unsubstantiated, or overstated claims are actually counterproductive.

My only criticism of the article is that it focuses solely on climate change and carbon emissions which, as complex a problem as it will be to solve, is only one piece of the sustainability puzzle for IT.  

 WSJ:  (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123059880241541259.html#articleTabs%3Darticle)

Environmental Leader:    (http://www.environmentalleader.com/2008/12/31/wsj-slams-dell-over-carbon-neutral-claim/)