Dell is committed to becoming the “greenest” technology company on the planet. For more than a decade, we have built environmental considerations into every stage of the product life cycle — from development and design, to manufacturing and operations, to customer use and end-of-life product disposition. While we’re proud of the significant progress we’ve made so far, we know there’s still much more to do.
Above all, we’re building a partnership with members of the ReGeneration – people of all ages who care about the environment. Through programs like Energy Smart, we’re designing energy-efficient products that reduce power requirements, which in turn, help to offset carbon dioxide emissions. We are also working with our commercial customers to design and retrofit data centers to reduce energy use. Through “Plant a Tree for Me” and “Plant a Forest for Me,” we are helping customers reduce their climate footprint. We’ve also worked to reduce the climate impact of transporting our products through improved shipping procedures, better routing, and siting facilities close to our customers.
When selecting substances used to design our products, we are guided by a precautionary approach. This means eliminating environmentally sensitive substances from our products wherever cost effective, safer alternatives are available. This year, we accelerated plans to phase out brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in new product design, changing the target date from 2015 to 2009.
We are also taking steps to minimize the environmental impacts of our manufacturing operations. In September 2007, we became the first major computer company to go carbon neutral. Our recycling and reuse rates in our global manufacturing facilities have increased dramatically over the years, reducing the percentage of materials that are land-filled. In fiscal year 2007, we decreased our electricity use by 5 percent in our U.S. facilities compared to fiscal year 2006 and we began to develop similar programs on a global basis.
Today, Dell is the only computer company to offer consumers free recycling of any Dell-branded computer equipment, worldwide. We also offer free recycling of any computer or printer when a consumer purchases a Dell product. Last year, we recycled more than 78 million pounds of computer equipment, a 93 percent increase over 2005. This puts us ahead of schedule in achieving a goal to recover 275 million pounds of computer equipment by 2009.
We also use recycled content in our internal and external publications. Nearly 20 percent of our catalog inserts came from sources certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). On average, we used 50 percent post-consumer recycled content paper in our catalogs.
| Environmental Responsibility Values | 2006 Environmental Responsibility Actions |
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| Climate Protection | Improved energy efficiency in products, transportation and operations.
Reduced U.S. electricity usage rate by 5 percent.
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| Materials | Accelerated the date (by six years) to phase out brominated flame retardants in new product designs.
Met the European Union Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) worldwide.
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| Green Procurement and Eco-labels | Aided in the development of the U.S. Eco-labels Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) standard and have qualified products at the silver level. |
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| Facilities and Manufacturing | Increased solid waste reuse and recycling rates. |
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| Forest Stewardship | Reduced packaging and office paper use. Used more forest friendly paper, including postconsumer recycled content and FSC-certified fiber. |
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| Product Stewardship | Expanded industry-leading asset recovery program.
Introduced no-charge recycling program for consumers worldwide.
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Other challenges we face in the future include meeting our 2009 brominated flame retardant (BFR) phase-out goal and continuing to increase the volume of product we recover and recycle. While we have strong initiatives in both areas, we also have high expectations.
In Figure 20, the continuum captures many of the accomplishments of our environmental efforts since we began tracking our progress in 1991. Note that this continuum does not indicate exact dates of implementation nor is it a comprehensive list.
You’ll find many environmental issues reviewed in this section. Our comprehensive environmental policy is available at www.dell.com/environment.
At Dell, we are committed to pushing ourselves to achieve greater environmental responsibility each year.
DELL'S ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Dell's vision is to create a company culture where environmental excellence is second nature. Our mission is to fully integrate environmental stewardship into the business of providing quality products, best-in-class services, and the best customer experience at the best value. We have established the following environmental policy objectives to achieve our vision and mission.
Design Products with the Environment in Mind
- Design products with a focus on: safe operation throughout the entire product life cycle, extending product life span, reducing energy consumption, avoiding environmentally sensitive materials, promoting dematerialization, and using parts that are capable of being recycled at the highest level.
- Set expectations of environmental excellence throughout Dell's supply chain.
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Prevent Waste and Pollution
- Operate Dell's facilities to minimize harmful impacts on the environment.
- Place a high priority on waste minimization, recycling and reuse programs, and pollution prevention.
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Continually Improve Our Performance
- Use an Environmental Management System approach to establish goals, implement programs, monitor technology and environmental management practices, evaluate progress, and continually improve environmental performance.
- Foster a culture of environmental responsibility among employees and management.
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Demonstrate Responsibility to Stakeholders
- Act in an environmentally responsible manner through sustainable practices designed to ensure the health and safety of Dell's employees, neighbors, and the environment.
- Periodically communicate company progress to stakeholders.
- Engage stakeholders to improve products and processes.
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Comply with the Law
- Conduct business with integrity and dedicated observance of environmental laws and regulations, and meet the commitments of the voluntary environmental programs in which Dell participates.
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State Environmental Fee
The State of California has passed legislation instituting a mandatory State Environmental Fee be collected for certain electronic products shipped directly from Dell to California, beginning January 1, 2005 . This law, referred to as SB20, requires manufacturers such as Dell Inc. to collect a fee for these electronic devices sold into the State of California excluding sales to resellers.
Under current SB20 law and regulations, the following Dell branded & third party products will be subject to a State Environmental Fee:
- All laptop computers
- All CRT monitors (excluding touch screen)
- All LCD monitors (excluding touch screen)
- TV's with a screen size greater than 4 inches that contain Cathode Ray Tubes
- All CRT, LCD, and Plasma TVs with a screen size greater than 4" measured diagonally (both Dell branded and third party)
- All Portable DVD players with a screen size greater than 4" measured diagonally
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In compliance with California law SB20, Dell Inc. plans to add a State Environmental Fee to your invoice based upon products selected and a ship to location of California. The fee will be applied for each eligible unit within the order for orders placed January 1, 2005 on (i.e. if there are two 15" monitors shipping to California, the total State Environmental Fees applied will be $16.00).
Fees are as follows:
- $6 per device with a screen size greater than 4" but less than 15"
- $8 per device with a screen size 15" but less than 35"
- $10 per device with a screen size 35" or greater
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Resellers - You may be required to charge this fee to your customers on Covered Electronic Devices purchased from us and remit the fee to the State of California. You are responsible for understanding SB20 and complying with SB20 to the extent the law might be applicable to you. Dell will not collect and remit this fee on your behalf if you have a California resale exemption certificate on file with Dell.
Please monitor the following website for the latest updates to SB20:
Questions may be submitted to the Dell Environmental Organization via e-mail to environment_policy@dell.com
