Not too long ago -- about one decade -- it was easy to get rid of a CRT monitor. Just like an old TV, you could schlep it on down to the dump, throw it in and forget about it. In high school, I worked as a student worker in the IT department at the local college, and I remember feeling quite environmentally conscious because we compacted old CRTs in a hydraulic press before throwing them into a dumpster. But with up to five pounds of lead per display, it wasn't long before state governments wisely started banning the practice.

To fill the waste disposal void, a number of computer recycling firms sprang up—and not just out of a concern for the planet, either. From processors to motherboards to monitors, computers contain fairly large and fairly easily accessible amounts of precious materials such as gold, platinum, and silver, along with other useful metals like aluminum and copper. Once extracted, these materials are resold to computer manufacturers and other electronics companies, reducing the need for some additional materials to be mined and processed, and netting a tidy profit for recyclers.

However, as a recent 60 Minutes expose pointed out, not all computer recyclers are created equal. Along with all that valuable material, modern PCs also contain a rogue's gallery of toxic, carcinogenic, volatile or otherwise dangerous chemicals. As National Resource Defense Council scientist Allen Hershkowitz explained to 60 Minutes' Scott Pelley, the list includes "Lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, polyvinyl chlorides. All of these materials have known toxicological effects that range from brain damage to kidney disease to mutations [and] cancers."

With all these toxic chemicals, many American-based recyclers find it cheaper to simply export wholesale to China, allowing the recycling to take place in disturbing conditions, with some parts reprocessed by prison labor [pdf], and the toxics simply dumped in nearby landfills. Fortunately, concern over the conditions has led a number of American organizations to plot out with abundant clarity how they recycle machines, and news sites from Salon to Treehugger gather links and basic information on how to make sure your old machine is disposed of sustainably.

But with some 130,000 computers thrown out each day in America alone, I think the best course of action is to keep your old machine running as long as possible, especially if it's an energy-efficient laptop. While the latest version of Windows or OS X might not run on your machine, many software companies and third-party sites like versiontracker have older copies of software that will sap up fewer resources on an old computer.

Hardware upgrades like more RAM or a larger hard drive are generally cheaper for older models, giving you a performance bump for far less cash than a new machine. And for the truly geeky, Linux, the quirky, free operating system, has been re-written to work on machines well in excess of a decade old. And don't forget about donating your old PC as a way to really feel good about filling a need.

So don't let style drive you into a new computer purchase; the longer you keep your old machine running, the better it is for the planet.

Image: 60 Minutes

 

By Ben Block The office is becoming a major driver of climate change.

Despite ongoing efforts to improve energy efficiency in the workplace, the world's growing reliance on the Internet is leading to a rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

The energy required to power all the world's computers, data storage, and communications networks is expected to double by 2020, according to a new McKinsey & Company analysis.

The rising emissions are due largely to greater Internet use in China and India, where coal-fired power plants generate the majority of the countries' energy. China accounted for 23 percent of global emissions related to information technology (IT) last year. Worldwide, IT systems' emissions were equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide emissions from more than a half-billion automobiles.

The predicted emission growth comes after years of increased energy demand from the world's computer servers. The amount of electricity required for servers doubled between 2000 and 2005, according to a Stanford University study. The world's 30.3 million servers and other IT systems now account for about 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the McKinsey report said.

North America's office technology caused one-fourth of the world's IT-related emissions in 2002. China has since passed the region to become the world leader in both overall greenhouse gas emissions and emissions attributed to IT.

China and the world's emerging economies, including India, Brazil, and Indonesia, are expected to increase their IT emissions 9 percent annually in the years ahead. By 2020, McKinsey predicted IT would be the cause of 1.54 gigatons of greenhouse gases, or 3 percent of global emissions. If these calculations are accurate, the carbon footprint of IT would be comparable to that from aviation. Several energy-efficiency controls now under development may significantly reduce office technology emissions. Potential improvements include increased server consolidation, advanced data center cooling systems, and software that cut servers' energy use when demand is low.

The McKinsey study also noted that the same technology that has increased the workplace's carbon footprint can reduce global emissions. "Smart controls" - sensors that monitor and help avoid unnecessary electricity - are already being installed across the world. "The same way IT improved labor productivity in the ‘80s and ‘90s, IT can improve energy productivity today," said lead author Giulio Boccaletti, a McKinsey consultant.

In order for the emission - and financial - savings to occur, office managers must be willing to pay for the initial efficiency changes. Businesses, however, are often geared toward finding new sources of revenue rather than ways to improve infrastructure.

"Energy efficiency, until very recently, is something people haven't really seen as a fundamental business driver, even though it can create enormous returns," said Boccaletti, a former climate scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Many offices and homeowners already appear to be switching to one of the simplest energy-efficiency improvements: compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). According to a recent Worldwatch Institute analysis, global CFL sales more than tripled from 750 million units in 2001 to 2.4 billion in 2006, based on data from Chinese manufacturers.

Electric lighting consumes 19 percent of the world's electricity grid production. If all the incandescent light bulbs in the United States were replaced with CFLs, the country would avoid 158 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, according to an industry estimate, the equivalent of removing more than 30 million cars off the road.

(Reprinted with permission from Worldwatch Institute)

Earlier this week, Google released its first Internet browser. Dubbed Chrome, the project aimed to make web browsing safer, faster, and more stable for PC users around the world. But the revisions at the heart of the new software are so sweeping, some pundits are predicting it could revolutionize the way people use computers—leading potentially to a massive, worldwide sustainability increase in the process. 

 

"This is the potential threat that Microsoft has been worried about since the 1990s," Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, recently told ComputerWorld Magazine.  Ever since the widespread release of the first personal computers some 30 years ago, the business model has always involved selling people a machine that runs its own software internally. If people wanted to add new programs to their computer, they went out, bought new software, and installed it on their home machines.

The growing popularity of the Internet during the 1990s changed things slightly, allowing users to download new software and perform simple tasks online, but the box on your desk still had to do to nearly all the work itself. But with Chrome, continues Rosoff, “You've got Web apps running inside isolated processes. It really sounds a lot like Google trying to take the Web application model and make it more viable as a replacement for the desktop PC application model.”

The end result of this could be the opening of a market for cheaper, less powerful computers. With no massive operating systems, like Windows Vista or Mac OS X to house, and free media hosting resources, such as YouTube and Google Docs just a click away, the need for large, energy-sucking hard drives may be gone, replaced with a few flash memory chips to hold browser data. “Expect to see millions of web devices, even desktop web devices, in the coming years that completely strip out the Windows layer and use the browser as the only operating system,” says TechCrunch blogger Michael Arrington. 

While computers have greened up considerably since their vacuum-tube, room-filling days, their proliferation across the globe has made them a significant source of energy consumption and toxic materials. But by passing the burden of data storage and processing power—along with the massive energy bills they draw—onto corporations like Google, web applications can lessen computers’ impact while making green energy more viable. 

While a move to the web from the traditional system is likely at least several years away, the stir caused by Google Chrome will at the very least drive research into the arena. And with over a billion PCs in use worldwide, every reduction in power consumption, and every PC that no longer needs to ship with a set of operating system CDs, marks a tremendous cumulative gain in worldwide sustainability.

As environmental consciousness shifts into a higher gear, business is leaving behind dated notions like doing the minimum to remain in compliance in favor of seeking out new opportunities that also benefit the bottom line. Companies are hiring chief sustainability officers or similar high-level positions to green operations from the boardroom down to the vehicle fleet.

"This is not dressed up philanthropy," said Nicola Acutt, associate dean of the Presidio School of Management, which offers an MBA in sustainable management. "This is really about business opportunity and shifting the thinking around environmental performance and risk management toward value creation."

Companies vary in their approaches to green staffing and how they structure those positions within the corporate culture.

Interface makes modular carpet. In 1994 its founding CEO, Ray Anderson, had an epiphany after reading Paul Hawken's book, "The Ecology of Commerce". Since then Interface has been greening every aspect of its business, from energy consumption, to design, to sales. Erin Meezan is its vice president of sustainability. Her team works with every Interface business unit, each of which has its own sustainability staff, and offers technical assistance on everything from waste programs to employee engagement. They do strategic planning at every level, and work on projects and partnerships external to Interface.

"I report directly to the CEO [Dan Hendrix], which is pretty huge," said Meezan. "I also have regular interaction with our CFO and with our business-level presidents. I think that really helps. I'm not removed from what's happening."

Chip-maker Intel is also a leader in sustainable initiatives, winning such commendations as the No. 1 corporate citizen on Corporate Responsibility Officer's 2008 list. Dave Stangis has been director of corporate responsibility since 2000, when he convinced his superiors the position was necessary. Stangis said he is almost like an internal consultant. "I run a management review committee made up of the directors and the vice presidents of most of the business units inside the company, from operations, to products, to legal, to communications. We as a group of people set strategy and policy," he said. "The chief marketing officer might be involved, the CEO, the chairman, the person running all of our factories worldwide."

Both Meezan and Stangis spend time each day educating employees about what they can do in their jobs to help meet sustainability goals and they say employees are generally receptive.

"It's enough for many people that this is something the company values, just like we value making money and making carpet," said Meezan.

Neither company's sustainability teams are held to profit and loss statements because corporate services are seen as serving all the businesses, according to Meezan. However, their efforts do improve the company's bottom line.

Business schools are getting on board with these changes, offering sustainable management degrees like the Presidio School or adding green electives in an effort to groom future CSOs.

"[Companies] are looking for someone who can think differently, bring innovative ideas, learn and adapt quickly to changing circumstances, commit people and resources, and make things happen that add value to [their] bottom line," said Acutt, the associate dean.

Stangis sees merit in green MBAs but said nothing beats on-the-job experience. If Intel were to hire someone to replace him, communication skills and government or public policy experience would be expected.

For advice, thought leadership, technical help, and networking, sustainability officers turn to non-government organizations. Environmental nonprofits are interested in cooperating because they believe that business has the power to drive change throughout society. Rick Duke is the director of the Center for Market Innovation, a liaison with business, at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "With the emergence of global warming as the signature environmental challenge, corporations are part and parcel of addressing the problem," he said.

NRDC works directly with CSOs, CEOs and other high-level industry executives to formulate climate change legislation that the business community can support.

In early 2007, NRDC and other environmental groups joined with 27 companies in the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, which publicly called for a cap on emissions and 60 to 80 percent reductions by mid-century. Duke said it's been a useful step in the political debate because it proves to legislators that business would prefer legislation to uncertainly, so they can plan accordingly.

In addition, "there's growing understanding that it's largely an opportunity for profit and growth for the companies that get on the right side of things and get ahead of the issue," said Duke.

"I don't think any company can move itself toward sustainability with solely the people they have on staff," said Meezan. "It's critical for the person in charge of sustainability to have these outside resources, not just to figure out what's going on, but to help them make the case internally."

Leaders like Interface and Intel know what it takes to turn a company's sustainability policies around. At Interface, an important step was opening up the culture to tolerate failure, to encourage experimentation.

Additionally, "don't underestimate the value of setting really aggressive goals," said Meezan. Interface is striving for "Mission Zero" its promise to eliminate any negative impact the company might have on the environment by 2020. "We still don't know exactly how we're going to get there," said Meezan. "But by continuing to drive for zero, we're going to look at things that we wouldn't consider if we were only striving for 50 percent."

Leadership needs to come from the top. "If companies think they're just going to hire a CSO because they need to have somebody to talk to the press and to write that part of the annual report … but the CEO is still disengaged and the board doesn't really understand it, ultimately they're not going to get their money's worth out of having that person," said Meezan.

Part of Intel's success came from moving beyond quarterly thinking to longer term planning, allowing it to measure changes more accurately.

"We spent about $20 million on [energy] conservation projects, but we saved more than $40 million," said Stangis. "Plus today people are caring about the 500 million KW hours [of electricity] we saved as well. So it turns out to be a win-win-win, but you have to change the way [you measure] value. And that's where you'll see sustainability officers adding value to companies."

The rising cost of energy has replaced the computer hacker as public enemy number one for IT departments. Two green data center initiatives are developing standards for energy efficiency and prompting industry leaders to cooperate as never before.

Two new organizations joined the Green Grid consortium on Monday. Storage companies Overland Storage and Fujitsu are now part of the group dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centers. Fujitsu is the first Japanese company to join the Green Grid.

The Green Grid's membership includes many of the leading IT companies including IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Sun, AMD and Dell computer among many others. Data centers are estimated to consume about 1.5 percent of all electricity in the U.S. and generate about 2 percent of all CO2 emissions. With the cost of electricity rising, data centers expanding, and new costs for emitting CO2 looming, IT companies are racing to enhance their energy efficiency.

The Green Grid is studying current data center energy requirements and is working in conjunction with an complimentary effort from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency program to measure and set ratings of data center energy consumption.

The DOE and EPA are combining resources to create a joint national data center energy-efficiency information program. The agencies will co-develop tools for saving energy, create benchmarks for measurement, and launch an Energy Star ratings system.

Data center developer and operator, 365 Main is now a partner in the EPA's Energy Star program, the first data hosting company to do so. The company will work with EPA to develop the Energy Star energy performance rating for data centers.

Green computing initiatives will be the focus of much of the Data Center World conference on March 31-April 3 in Las Vegas.

Brazilian oil company Petrobras was rated as the world's most sustainable oil/gas company while in a separate rating chip maker Intel received accolades for being the top corporate citizen.

Petrobas came out on top in the 5th annual ratings for sustainability by the firm Management & Excellence. The report measures oil/gas companies' "compliance with 387 accepted international standards in sustainability, corporate governance, social responsibility, ethics and transparency. "

Petrobras and Total were the only companies to score 90 percent or higher. Shell, BP and Statoil/hydro rounded out the top five, while U.S. companies Chevron and ExxonMobil scored 73 and 68. The three companies with the biggest oil/gas reserves are all state owned and were rated least sustainable by M&E -- PDVSA, Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi NOC.

Corporate Responsibility Officer rated Intel first in its rankings of 100 top corporate citizens for 2008. The list is based on ratings for the company's policies in Climate Change, Employee Relations, Environment, Financial, Governance, Human Rights, Lobbying and Philanthropy. Eaton, Nike, Deere and Co. and Genetech rounded out the top 5 on CRO's list.

Companies such as Petrobras and Intel that are respected for their responsibility and sustainable practices benefit beyond their bottom lines by attracting investors and employees.