Dell Commits to Waste-Free Packaging Stream by 2020
05 Juni 2013 - 4:00PM
Business Wire
Dell today announced ambitious sustainable packaging
initiatives, including goals for a waste-free packaging stream by
2020 and a new wheat straw material that turns agricultural waste
into boxes.
The company will achieve its waste-free packaging goals by 2020
through two avenues:
- Ensuring that 100 percent of Dell
packaging is sourced from sustainable materials, including recycled
and rapidly renewable content, or material that was formerly part
of the waste stream; and,
- Ensuring that 100 percent of Dell
packaging is either recyclable or compostable at the end of its
life.
Currently, more than half of Dell’s packaging meets both these
criteria.
In launching its packaging initiatives, the company also
announced it will begin using a new sustainable material — wheat
straw — in many of its cardboard boxes for notebooks originating in
China. Many Chinese farmers currently treat this byproduct of wheat
harvesting as waste and burn it for disposal, contributing to air
pollution and associated health issues. Beginning this August, Dell
will incorporate the straw in its boxes, starting with 15 percent
by weight and ramping up as operations scale. The remainder of the
box will primarily come from recycled content fiber. The boxes will
look and perform like regular cardboard, and they will be
recyclable at the end of their life.
Dell estimates initially it will use 200 tons of wheat straw per
year, sourced from farmers in the Jiangsu Province. This move could
alleviate 180 tons of CO2 emissions annually, the equivalent of
carbon sequestered by more than 4,600 seedlings planted and grown
for a decade1. During pulping, the wheat straw will go through an
enzymatic process — modeled after the way cows digest grass — that
uses 40 percent less energy and almost 90 percent less water than
traditional chemical pulping.
Dell’s 2020 packaging goals build on success it already has
achieved in the sustainable packaging realm. Last year, Dell
achieved the ambitious goals set out in its 3Cs (cube, content,
curb) packaging strategy by: reducing the size of packaging more
than 12 percent, increasing the amount of recycled and renewable
content in packaging up to 40 percent, and ensuring that up to 75
percent of packaging is recyclable at curbside. This work
eliminated more than 20 million pounds of packaging material and
saved $18 million since 2008.
As part of this push, the company currently is working with
innovative packaging materials. Dell was the first technology
company to use bamboo cushions to replace foam in shipping
lightweight products such as notebooks; the rapidly renewable
material is light, strong and grows back at up to an inch per hour.
The company also is using mushrooms as an organic alternative to
foam for heavier products such as servers. Both materials are
either recyclable or compostable.
Dell’s packaging efforts are part of its lifecycle approach to
sustainability, designing products and services with environmental
impact in mind at each stage of their existence. This includes
incorporating aspects such as smarter materials choices, energy
efficiency, environmental standards and easy recycling.
To learn more about Dell and environmental sustainability, visit
www.dell.com/environment.
Quotes
“At Dell, we’re committed to powering the possible — putting our
technology and expertise to work where it can do the most good for
people and planet. From a simple box to a complex high-performance
computing cluster, our customers use Dell products and services to
be more efficient and address the environmental issues they care
about.”
Trisa Thompson, vice president of corporate responsibility,
Dell
“Packaging is often the first part of our products that
customers see and touch. From that first interaction, we want to
ensure our customers know we’re dedicated to operating in an
environmentally responsible manner, and we want to make it easier
for them to be sustainable as well.”
Oliver Campbell, director of packaging procurement,
Dell
About Dell
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers
innovative technology and services that give them the power to do
more. Powering the Possible is Dell’s commitment to put technology
and expertise to work where it can do the most good for people and
the planet. Dell is committed to minimizing the environmental
impact of its business operations and creating new possibilities
for its customers to reduce their environmental impact as well.
Learn more at www.dell.com/environment or follow @dell4good.
Dell is a trademark of Dell Inc. Dell disclaims any proprietary
interest in the marks and names of others.
1 Source: EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator,
http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html
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