The Green Companies of Today (Part 2)
Just keeping up on GREEN companies, here’s a second look on other companies that are doing their part!
1). SC Johnson, January 2008
http://www.scjohnson.com/environment/default.asp
SC Johnson is committed to going and staying green by introducing five new key initiatives: growing greener products, conserving critical resources, preventing dangerous diseases, creating strong communities, and doing your part. However, what is most impressive is there “Greenlist” test that is used for over 95% of the materials they use. Using a scale from 0 (unacceptable) to 3 (best), they are limiting their use of products that are not environmentally-friendly. Not only do they stand by the quality of their products, but each product has been tested thoroughly to government standards.
2). Best Buy, June 2008
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9957196-7.html
Best Buy is now recycling unused electronics for free. Although there is a limit to two per customer per day, this is an important program for their customers. There is some restrictions on the items brought in (usually because of height and weight), but the vast majority of everyday electronics are excepted such as: computers, cell phones, printers, and etc. Other retails offer similar programs, but there is often a fee associated for recycling such items.
3). HP, May 2008
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9949716-7.html
Not only does HP offer recycled paper for printing, but particular products are made of recycled plastic. For example, the plastic on the HP D2545 printer is made from 83% recycled material. This is the first step for HP as they will look into creating other products with recycled material, especially since HP recycles a great deal of material each year. In fact, they have made the commitment that by 2010, 100% of the desktop printers available for sale will be made by recycled material.
4). Marriott, April 2008
With rising utility costs, the Marriott IT team is looking to find more “green” ways to run business. They are now known as one of the top 12 green firms in the country and are still making progress. Just to highlight a few things, they have virtualized about 40 percent of their servers and 75 percent of their storage area networks. All older machines, some 20 years or more, are being replaced by more energy efficient units that cost less to maintain and run. In addition, they are replaced over 10,000 laptops and intend to continue this during their 3-year green initiative.
5). Verizon Wireless, February 2008
IDC named Verizon Wireless as one of the top green companies. One example of their green initiative is the “green” bill, which makes all account information and bills available online, which drastically saves energy, paper, and mailing processes. In addition, in all of their call centers they are reducing consumption and cooling costs by close to 63% as a result of the green bill. They have also rolled out a new software that reduces the amount of PC power consumption and CO2 emissions by close to 25%. They are now pursuing virtualization technology in their data centers as well as new servers and power plants.