To borrow a line from Bob Dylan, the times they are a changin’. Last year was the hottest year on record (since 1880) and climate change is increasingly linked to extreme weather that’s happening today—not 50 years in the future. And change wasn’t just around the climate, year-on-year giving among America’s top 50 donors increased by 27.5 percent and philanthropists around the world united to pledge $7.5 billion in an ambitious move to vaccinate poor children from deadly diseases over the next five years. Governments, industry, philanthropists and NGOs are stepping up to solve the world’s biggest problems together with a renewed sense of urgency and purpose and I’m proud that Dell is part of this story.
Today, we released our second progress report on our 2020 Legacy of Good Plan and I am pleased to say that while we still have many challenges to overcome and no outcomes are certain, our strategy is working. I’m excited to see measurable results creating real value for our customers, employees, and partners, including:
- Dell is now the world’s largest technology recycler with take-back programs in 78 countries. Since FY08, Dell has recovered 1.42 billion pounds of used electronics. Through our innovative sustainable packaging alternatives, like wheat-straw, we have avoided 31 million pounds of packaging since 2009.
- In 2014 alone we used more than 11.7 million pounds of post-consumer recycled plastics in our products, including plastics sourced from e-waste creating a growing closed-loop network.
- Our ongoing support of children’s cancer care research through strategic giving and High Performance Computing (HPC) solutions has reduced time needed for treatment decisions from eight weeks to two days.
This report strongly reflects our ongoing commitment to use technology for good, to collaborate globally and to shift IT toward a more circular economy. By enlisting the amazing support of our customers, partners and team members, we have been able to create positive changes in communities around the world and encourage everyone to adopt more sustainable business practices. Thanks for helping us continue to build a #legacyofgood.