Sustainable IT | Ted Samson | TAG: Green business

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April 24, 2008

Every day at the office, employees at your company face choices with implications for the environment and the company budget. "Am I going to power down my PC during my lunch break -- or leave it running?" "Should I print this entire twelve-page document, single-sided and in color -- or just print the four pages I need, double-sided and in black and white?"

A surprising assortment of factors will influence their decision, and many of them may be based on groundwork you've laid for them.

Yes, there are good technology solutions out there, such as PC-power management tools and print-monitoring software, that can force employees to make some prudent green choices. Ultimately, though, technology can only do so much to combat the kind of wasteful tendencies that become ingrained in employees' daily routine. More often than not, those tendencies result from a company's culture more than a person's aversion to be greener.

Fortunately, companies are finding ways to encourage employees not only to be more mindful of the choices they make but to truly drive change that leads to a meaningful corporate-cultural shift toward sustainability.

"People are inspired and intrigued by a culture that they see as having creativity and meaning and a higher purpose," says Christina Page, director of climate and energy strategy at Yahoo. "You can inspire your employees by tapping into their creativity and desire to make the world a better place."

Waste scales
At first blush, it might seem that the environmental effect of printing a couple of extra color copies is unimportant or that leaving a system or lights or A/C on for a few extra hours is negligible.

Thing is, small acts of waste can scale significantly. Let's say a non-green choice costs 50 cents, be it in paper, ink, watts, gasoline, whatever. If you have 500 employees, and each makes just one non-green choice per day, you're looking at $250 being tossed in the can daily. At the end of the year, that's $62,500 worth of wasted resources (assuming 50 five-day work weeks). That affects your bottom line and your company's impact on the environment.

Planting green seeds
So what are companies doing to foster a greener mindset among employees? Let's look at Fujitsu. The company last year launched an internal program called Eco2Cost, through which the company trains employees on the environmental and financial impact of conservation measures, then encourages them to submit specific proposals to cut waste through reduction, reuse, and recycling.

The program is based on a concept called Mottainai, used by Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. It means "how wasteful that we do not take advantage of the full value of things."

According to Richard McCormack, senior VP of marketing at Fujitsu, employees' proposals aren't ignored, set aside, and forgotten; rather, they've resulted in a meaningful cultural shift where individuals feel empowered to speak up and implement good ideas, resulting in greener, less wasteful practices.

For example, one employee announced to his peers and managers that he would no longer print out color PowerPoint slides for meetings; rather, they were told to bring their laptops to follow presentations. The effort has snowballed, and the result is a reduction in paper waste and expensive color ink throughout the company.

What might happen at your own company if, out of the blue, you told a manager, a VP, or someone higher on the totem pole that you weren't going to print up slides anymore? Or, if you happen to be a VP or manager or atop the pole, what would you think or do if someone who reports to you politely told you to bring a laptop to a meeting instead of expecting print-outs? Sure, it might fly. Then again, without a policy or support from higher up to encourage that kind of behavior, the proposal might never hit the table to begin with, or it might result in some snickering, a definitive "No, you'll do it the way we've always done it," a reprimand -- or worse.

Tapping knowledge from the trenches
The implications of fostering a greener mindset among employees throughout your organization can be substantial. Someone in the IT trenches, for instance, might have insight you don't. Who would (or could) know better than someone in IT if 20 percent of your servers could simply be unplugged? Yet without being encouraged to hunt down and reveal that kind of waste, he or she might not think to offer up that information-- or might not feel comfortable doing so.

Similarly, someone in the facilities department could have insight as to where you're wasting money -- say, cooling the datacenter -- yet again, might not think to advocate changes. Whoever is responsible for ordering supplies such as paper and printer ink might notice that consumption of pricey color ink has steadily risen but wouldn't think to mention it. You get the idea.

Rewards for reducing waste
You may see your bosses fight once in a while -- but how often do they don inflatable body suits and engage in a Sumo wrestling match? If you work at Yahoo, the answer is, "Once, at least."

A match between Yahoo founders Jerry Yang and David Filo took place on Earth Day last year as a reward to Yahoo employees for cutting waste by 20 percent the week prior. How did they manage the feat? They "turned off lights in conference rooms, took the stairs, made do with less air conditioning, avoided printing or went double-sided, used mugs, ditched their commutes for public transportation or carpools, and ate a little less meat," according to Yahoo corporate blog editor Nicki Dugan. (You can view a video of the match here.)

The lesson, of course, is that rewards can be an effective means of encouraging greener behavior -- and those rewards needn't be monetary. Verbal appreciation, public recognition, or just plain fun can be effective, too.

That Sumo bout is but one example of the various rewarding initiatives at Yahoo aimed inspiring employees there to embrace more sustainable practices, according to Yahoo's Page. Like Fujitsu, Yahoo sets aside premium parking spots for employees who carpool. The company also encouraged engineers to focus on projects that had green or otherwise socially positive implications during it most recent Hack Day -- a quarterly event during which engineers may spend 24 hours working on fun projects of their choice.

Techniques for encouraging greener practices
The Canadian Center for Pollution Prevention has some great techniques to promote greener behavior among employees. Here's a sampling.

1. Set clear targets. Establishing a specific, attainable, measurable goal, such as "cutting energy waste by 20 percent in a week" is easier to get behind than a vague objective such as "Let's cut waste significantly this year."

2. Connect behavior with results. By sharing energy and waste figures with staff, you show how their actions make a difference. One interesting project currently under way at Yahoo to encourage waste reduction among employees: The Green Screen. Set up in the cafeteria in the Yahoo's Sunnyvale, Calif., headquarters, the Green Screen lets users view and compare the energy consumption stats, in real time, of Yahoo's two buildings in terms of watts, CO2 emissions, or costs. "Our hope -- since moving to a period of year where electricity in California gets interesting -- is that we'll be able to link that information on the Green Screen to energy response initiatives on campus," says Yahoo's Page.

3. Provide concrete examples. Offer specific guidance as to what employees should do to cut waste, including printing double-sided and in black-and-white; turning off monitors, PCs, and lights; and unplugging chargers.

4. Put expectations in writing. Add green policies to corporate documents such as employee handbooks and job descriptions (e.g. "Employees are encouraged to report inefficiencies and to suggest improvements"). Remind staff of these policies during orientation and training sessions.

5. Use visual and auditory reminders. Decals, stickers, and signs hung around the office can be effective reminder for employees to turn off lights, reduce printing, and so forth.

6. Make people feel good about their actions. This ties in to rewards, which again, need not be monetary. Public recognition and praise, for example, can be very effective.

What does your company do to encourage greener behavior?

Posted by Ted Samson on April 24, 2008 03:00 AM

December 04, 2007

Survey: Apple users more likely to be green-minded

Apple users are proportionally more eco-friendly than users of other vendors' PCs. Moreover, they're more willing to plunk down extra cash for "green" products.

That nugget of information is one of many findings in a report just released by Forrester Research titled "In Search Of Green Technology Consumers: Why Tech Marketers Should Target This Emerging Segment." Forrester surveyed computer users to determine the extent of their green leanings and what drove their environmentally conscientious practices (or lack thereof).

The report finds that, all told, 12 percent of U.S. adults are "bright green," which Forrester defines as those who are "concerned about the environment and global warming, and strongly agree that they would pay extra for consumer electronics that used less energy or came from a company that was environmentally friendly."

Moreover, another 41 percent of U.S. adults are "green consumers": those who "share concerns about environmental issues and global warming, but do not strongly agree that they would pay more for environmentally-friendly electronics."

The remaining 47 percent of the population "do not (yet) share the greens' concerns about the environment or global warming."

Forrester found that 14 percent of Apple users are bright green. From there, the list breaks down like this: 13 percent of Compaq consumers are bright green; then 12 percent of Gateway users; 11 percent of eMachines buyers; 10 percent of Dell fans; 9 percent of Toshiba users; 9 percent of IBM/Lenovo consumers; and 9 percent of consumers who buy their PCs from "Other" vendors. Below the "Other" category are HP users, 7 percent of whom are bright green. (The report notes that these numbers don't reflect the green practices of the companies themselves.)

Forrester notes that PC vendors are already making efforts to embrace more environmentally friendly practices and deliver greener products for several reasons: to appeal to consumers' ever-evolving eco-leanings; to deflect criticism from watchdog groups such as Greenpeace; and to adhere to regulations such as Europe's ROHS directive.

Those greener practices are taking several forms: designing products in a more conscientious manner; boosting system energy efficiency; cleaning up their manufacturing processes; using less wasteful packaging and transport methods; and making it easier for users to recycle their PCs.

Looking forward, Forrester predicts "that green-targeted PCs and other electronics will evolve as part of the consumer electronics industry's move to go beyond "beige box" design and styling and instead incorporate consumer style into its products."

Indeed, we've already starting seeing some of this since Forrester conducted its survey in Q2 of this year. Dell, for example, recently released a greened-up version of its Inspiron desktop. Everex is also focusing on the greenness of its recently unveiled TC2502 Green gPC, which runs on Linux.

The Forrester report "In Search Of Green Technology Consumers: Why Tech Marketers Should Target This Emerging Segment" can be purchased here for $279.

Posted by Ted Samson on December 4, 2007 08:59 AM

September 20, 2007

Technology alone won't solve your power problems

Sustainable IT We at InfoWorld have alluded to a power crisis, as have other pundits as well as analysts, and the proclamation has been met with some arguably healthy skepticism. But with more and more research coming out showing that companies truly are struggling to get the power they need to run their business, I'd have to say that healthy skepticism is bordering on either unhealthy denial or, with all due respect, outright ignorance.

The latest data I've seen pointing to a serious problem comes from a survey conducted by ONStor, a provider of NAS products. The company surveyed 369 IT decision makers and came away with truly troubling findings. First, 63 percent of the respondents said their organizations had experienced a shortage of power, space, and/or cooling -- without warning. Second, 43 percent are bracing for trouble, saying that at the current data growth rate, they could only stay in their current infrastructure for another six months to a year if they changed nothing. And third, 60 percent ofthe respondents said they either have a green plan in place, will have one in place in the next two years -- or have at least talked about the issue with management.

While I extend a hearty batch of kudos to those who do have a plan in place, I've got to say I feel some pangs of concern for the rest of the group, given that so many companies are reporting past or pending space, power, or cooling shortages. It's a serious problem, because it effectively translates to having to pull the reins on business growth until you can find devise strategies and accumulate the resources to deal with those problems.

Complicating matters further: There's no silver bullet, a point made quite clearly by Lewis Curtis, infrastructure architect and advisor at Microsoft. "Green datacenters = an architectural commitment, not a product strategy."

Indeed, as he points out, technologies such as virtualization and MAID and super-efficient quad-core processors can all potentially contribute to solving the power, space, and cooling problems companies face, but without a clear, forward-looking plan and ongoing processes, you're not going to reach that happy green place.

It's not an easy endeavor. There is, of course, the complex task of creating the technical blueprint for your green datacenter, taking into account present and future needs and figuring out, for example, which types of servers will best suit your business needs, which storage solutions make the most sense, what kind of cooling is ideal, and so forth.

Then there are factors that are beyond your control. For example, you very likely aren't generating your own power for your datacenter (unless you're AISO.net), so you need to be mindful of what's going on with your local utility and whether it will be able to provide the juice to meet your datacenter needs.

But beyond the technical planning, embracing greenery requires a significant shift in thinking throughout the organization. For example, it requires buy-in from management, who might not grasp the magnitude of the problem and thus might not invest the necessary resources in green projects that don't overtly contribute to the bottom line or to the growth of the business -- despite the fact that there are substantial long-term energy savings to be reaped from a green datacenter, not to mention losses that would be incurred with downtime or the inability to expand.

It also requires a shift in mindset from IT admins and staff, who will need to incorporate new processes in their regimen. For example, Rob Aldrich, marketing manager for datacenter solutions at Cisco, notes the importance of taking regular snapshots of energy efficiency, "setting up benchmarks to measure hardware utilization and performing regular audits. ... Figure out what's going on so you can make better decisions."

And if you want to look beyond the datacenter and strive to make your entire operation greener, it requires buy-in from all your employees as they rethink how they use company resources, decide whether they'll make extra print-outs of a document, and remember to shut down their computers and turn off the lights at the end of the day.

Suffice to say that the problem here is real, and the solution is complex. The good news is= that more companies are, in fact, becoming aware of the problem. Moreover, we're seeing big-name companies working both individually and side-by-side (a la The Green Grid) to deliver green benchmarks as well as products that interoperate to deliver greater power efficiency from the chip, memory, and power supply level up.

But those are all just tools. The real work lies with not only IT but C-level executives to devise a cohesive, long-term green strategy and to facilitate an organizational transformation to embrace that strategy and drive it forward. And perhaps assigning a point person to lead the charge is a good place to start.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 20, 2007 03:00 AM

August 01, 2007

Update: Web-host company fully embraces solar

Correction: In the original version of this article, I mistakenly suggested that Greenest Host was the owner of the solar-powered datacenter I discuss. The facility belongs to AISO; Greenest Host is leasing a portion of the datacenter for its Web-hosting operation.

Additionally, I reported that Greenest Host is running 600 servers. They say they've reserved enough space to run as many as 600, though at the time of writing, they are unable to provide a specific figure.

I apologize for any confusion I may have caused.

InfoWorld: New Web-host company fully embraces solar While large companies such as Microsoft and Google have gingerly plugged in to the sun's energy, a newly announced Web host called Greenest Host is fully basking in it, with much thanks to AISO (Affordable Internet Service Online).

Following the lead of other companies seeking to boast green credentials, San Diego, Calif.-based Greenest Host has set up its Web-host service in AISO's 100-percent solar-powered datacenter. The facility is located in the inland desert of Southern California where its solar panels can soak up the sun year 'round.

The appeal of being a fully solar-powered company was strong for the company's CEO Mike Corrales. "Personally, my core values tend to skew toward green application and green causes," he says. "We wanted to make it really easy for end consumers and small businesses to be able to build their own Web sites in a way that coincided with their own personal value system."

According to Phil Nail, founder of AISO, many organizations have been turning to his company's hosting services for similar reasons. "We've seen a lot of that," says Nail. "Even out of the U.K, they're really coming out of the woodwork. A lot of companies have decided to resell our service."

By day, AISO's servers feed directly off the panels. By night, they get their power from batteries that store the excess solar energy. But the company has a backup plan. "[AISO.net] has a backup generator that runs on propane, just in case there is a shortage, or for some reason, we went 30 days in a row without sun," says Corrales.

Inside the datacenter, AISO runs new AMD Opteron-powered servers, "which use 60 percent less energy and generate 50 percent less heat" than the previous generation, according to the company.

"[AISO] worked closely with AMD to make sure that we have the best possible solution for our green datacenter. Because of their willingness to literally work hand-in-hand through the entire design and development process of the datacenter infrastructure, [AISO] felt that AMD was and still is the only way to go," says Corrales.

And, of course, AISO employs virtualization (from VMWare, specifically) "to reduce cooling and electrical requirements with a 30:1 ratio of virtual servers to physical servers."

For cooling, AISO uses two Energy Star-compliant systems from Freus. The cooling systems monitor outside air temperature, according to the Greenest Host, and when it reaches 50 degrees or below, "they suck the outside air in, filter it, and direct it into the datacenter, thus saving electricity when it's cool outside."

Moreover, AISO employs redundant environmental monitors from APC. These act as smoke alarms, but they also monitor humidity and cooling levels. "In case of a cooling issue, our support staff is notified immediately. This ensures all servers are maintained in a cool environment, which will prolong the life of the servers," according to the company.

The datacenter itself is built from steel and multiple layers of environmentally friendly insulation, the company says. The design keeps the cool air in and the hot air out, thus reducing the amount of energy necessary to run the facility.

AISO is also in the process of adding a green roof, which it says will reduce cooling and heating requirements by up to 50 percent. (A green roof, essentially, is a layer of soil and vegetation atop a building.)

Moreover, the company has a to-do list of other innovative and eco-friendly projects, according to Nail. "We are adding an underground water-storage tank to recycle grey water. Next, we are installing a new solar-panel automated-washing device we created. This will automatically wash the solar panels each morning, and all excess water will be filtered back into the storage tank. We'll also be using the storage tank water to water our landscape," he tells me via e-mail.

Given the green wave that's swept the business world, Corrales anticipates organizations will be lured by the eco-friendly nature of the service. "We can have an ethically superior choice available for people, but they don't have to sacrifice higher performance," he says. "Our pricing is pretty in line with all the major standard Web-hosting options out there."

Greenest Host will open to the public on Aug. 1. For more information, go to greenesthost.com. For more information about AISO, go to aiso.net.

Posted by Ted Samson on August 1, 2007 01:31 PM

July 17, 2007

HP: Over 1B pounds recycled

Vendor aims to recycle another billion pounds of electronics and printer cartridges by 2010

HP: Over 1B pounds recycled The expression "What goes around comes around" is proving increasingly apt in the world of enterprise hardware as more companies discover the benefits of recycling retired PCs, servers, handhelds, and the like.

Indicative of the rising interest in hardware recycling, also known as IT asset recovery, HP has announced that its achieved its goal of recycling one billion pounds of hardware six months before the deadline it had set back in 2004. The company now seeks to recycle two billion pounds of gear and printer cartridges -- that is, another billion pounds -- by 2010.

"Environmental responsibility is good business," said Mark Hurd, HP chairman and CEO, in a written statement. "We've reached the tipping point where the price and performance of IT are no longer compromised by being green, but are now enhanced by it."

Pat Tiernan, VP of corporate, social, and environmental responsibility at HP, called the two billion pound goal for 2010 "the most aggressive recycling goal in the industry. "We expect to achieve it in three and a half years by expanding our convenient re-use and recycling services worldwide."

HP currently operates its program in 40 countries around the globe.

"In 2006 alone, HP recycled 164 million pounds of products globally -- the equivalent weight of more than 600 jumbo airliners and a 16 percent increase over 2005," said Tiernan.

Vendors that engage in hardware recycling refurbish and resell systems when possible ha or else mine the products for materials that can be used elsewhere. According to HP, plastics and metals it has recovered have been used to make a range of new products, including auto body parts, clothes hangers, plastic toys, fence posts, serving trays, and roof tiles.

Posted by Ted Samson on July 17, 2007 09:23 AM

June 12, 2007

Tech companies unite to tackle desktop energy waste

Joining the World Wildlife Fund, the EPA, and Starbucks, big-name IT companies announce Climate Savers Computing Initiative

An all-star lineup of tech companies, non-profits, academic institutions, plus one purveyor of coffee products, have teamed up to reduce waste on the desktop on a grand scale.

Intel, Google, Dell, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, Sun, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), MIT, Red Hat, and Starbucks, along with some 27 other organizations, announced the launch of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative today, aimed at "setting aggressive new targets for energy-efficient computers and components, and promoting the adoption of energy-efficient computers and power management tools worldwide."

As with plenty of the green initiatives cropping up of late, the participants cite both the environmental case and the business case for this program. "Today, the average desktop PC wastes nearly half of its power, and the average server wastes one-third of its power," said Urs Hölzle, senior vice president of operations and fellow at Google, in a written statement. "The Climate Savers Computing Initiative is setting a new 90 percent efficiency target for power supplies, which if achieved, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons per year -- and save more than $5.5 billion in energy costs."

Companies supporting the initiative are committing to building energy-efficient products that meet or surpass the EPA's Energy Star guidelines, according to the announcement. "In order to decrease the energy usage of computing, the technology industry needs to make systems that are increasingly energy efficient and better educate consumers about what to buy," said Dave Douglas, vice president of eco responsibility at Sun.

Participating businesses must also commit to requiring high-efficiency systems for the majority of their corporate desktop PCs and volume server purchases, and to deploy and use power management tools on desktop PCs.

The initiative's benchmarks will initially follow the Energy Star guidelines, but with increasing requirements during the next several years. For example, 2007 Energy Star specifications require that PC power supplies meet at least 80 percent minimum efficiency. The initiative would require a minimum of 90 percent by 2010.

(One question I have is, wouldn't the EPA's Energy Star specs surpass 90 percent efficient by 2010 anyway?)

In addition, the initiative raises the efficiency target in the power supply for volume servers from 85 percent to 92 percent efficiency by 2010.

The Climate Savers Computing Initiative licensed its name from the WWF Climate Savers program, which involves several leading companies working to reduce their carbon footprint.

"This is the first time our Climate Savers program has been applied to an entire sector, engaging manufacturers, retailers and consumers," said John Donoghue, senior vice president for the WWF. "We are pleased to join these industry leaders to provide solutions to address climate change."

Individuals are invited to the Climate Savers Computing Initiative by signing up at www.climatesaverscomputing.org. The Web site includes information on consumers can take advantage of their computers' power-saving capabilities, which can reduce the amount of energy consumed by up to 60 percent.

The complete list of initial supporters of the effort follows: Intel, Google, AMD, Canonical, CITRIS (Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society), Coldwatt, Dell, Delta Electronics, eBay, EDS, EMC, Fujitsu, HP, Hipro, Hitachi, IBM, LANDesk, Lenovo, Linux Foundation, MIT, Microsoft, Natural Resources Defense Council, NEC, One Laptop Per Child, PG&E, Power-One, Quanta, Rackable Systems, Red Hat, Starbucks, Sun, Supermicro Computer, Ubuntu, Unisys, the EPA, University of Michigan, Verdiem Corporation, World Resources Institute, WWF, and Yahoo.

Posted by Ted Samson on June 12, 2007 12:28 PM

June 11, 2007

Alternative-power datacenter part of Rackspace green initiatve

New green facility, carbon offsets part of managed datacenter-hosting company's eco-friendly initiative

Rackspace has joined the ranks of companies such as HP, IBM, Dell, and Yahoo announcing plans to become better environmental stewards by embracing carbon reduction, energy conservation, and other green initiatives.

A managed datacenter hosting company with 90,000 square feet of space worldwide, Rackspace today announced that as part of its GreenSpace campaign, it's planning to open a new data center next year in the Slough, England region which will be powered directly by alternative energy from a utility called Slough Heat and Power.

Also, the company has teamed up with NativeEnergy, a national marketer of renewable energy credits and carbon offsets. Rackspace plans to purchase offsets through NativeEnergy for each new customer server it brings online. Specifically, the company will buy offsets through a wind farm project, which powers at Sioux Indian reservation in South Dakota, as well as a methane project that powers a dairy farm in Pennsylvania.

The practice of purchasing carbon offsets has garnered criticism from some environmentalists, arguing that companies should take direct measures to reduce CO2 pollution. But Rackspace CTO John Engates said that it's difficult to find utilities in the U.S. offering direct alternative energy. "As power and utility companies in regions we work have alternative power available to buy directly, we'll explore that," he said.

In addition to reducing its carbon footprint, Rackspace has been looking at other ways to reduce its energy consumption, including choosing servers that use less power. "Primarily, we buy from HP and Dell. HP has servers that are our primary model: a dual-process, dual-core server that is many times more efficient than servers of two generations ago," Engates says.

The ongoing chip wars between AMD and Intel have affected which hardware the company buys. "When Intel had problems with power and AMD was winning, we switched to AMD for a vast majority of our deployments," says Engates. "Intel is back on par, perhaps in the lead, and we're starting to offer the latest Intel processors to our customers."

Like other IT leaders, Engates is also concerned about there being sufficient energy available in the future. "If we don't pay attention to this and start to cut power usage, we all in for power problems down the road. We'll still need to continue to build power plants, but hopefully, we won't have to add as many if we can work on programs like these down the road," he says.

Companies like Rackspace are also increasingly concerned with their image as it pertains to energy usage. "The fact that dactacenters are going to be large consumers of power means that we need to work on [conservation]. We don't want to be the bad guys. People will eventually look for large-scale users of power and will ask them to cut their consumption," Engates says.

Finally, in addition to being an active member of The Green Grid consortium, Rackspace is working to foster environmental awareness and education among employees. For instance, the company had a its first "Green Day" event earlier this month, inviting more than fifteen vendors and non-profit organizations to present employees with environmentally friendly tips and product alternatives.

Posted by Ted Samson on June 11, 2007 09:26 AM

June 07, 2007

"Clean Tech Open" aims to push green ideas to profitability

California-based competition, with backing from Google and AMD, will give participants a chance at $100,000 plus valuable guidance

In 1998, there was a "South Park" that was amusingly prophetic of the dot-com boom. The characters discovered a colony of gnomes who'd taken to stealing underwear. When confronted over the theft, the gnomes explained it was part of the following ingenious business plan:

1. Steal Underpants
2. ???
3. Profit!

Indeed, the absence of "phase twos" -- actual plans to earn a profit on an arguably innovative ideas -- led the demise of many an Internet startup, and spelled dollars down the commode for many a VC.

Well, now aspiring entrepreneurs are spawning a new crop of green-tech ideas and are in search of seed money to help them bloom. As reported over at Green Options, a California-based non-profit called Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth, with financial backing from heavyweights like Google and AMD, has the announced the 2007 "California Clean Tech Open," soliciting green-tech business plans from start-ups.

Participants in the open will have a chance to win $100,000 in funding and services to get their green-tech businesses off the ground, plus they'll be able to attend workshops to build viable strategies to hopefully prevent the eco-efforts from wilting.

Team may enter ideas for one of six categories: Air, Water & Waste; Energy Efficiency; Green Building; Renewables; Smart Power; and Transportation.

AMD is offering $50,000 to the winner of the Smart Power category, which "encourages links between information technologies and electricity delivery that give industrial, commercial and residential consumers greater control over when and how their energy is delivered and used."

Google, meanwhile, is laying down the $50,000 for the winner of the Green Building category, which "focuses on reducing the environmental impact of building construction or operation through improved design or construction practices, new or innovative use of building materials, or new hardware or software applications."

Other sponsors include the Environ Foundation (for the Air, Water, and Waste category), Lexus (for Transportation), and PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E (for Renewables and Energy Efficiency).

Sixty finalist teams will be able to attend a series of workshops, aimed at helping them develop business plans to help them succeed in the marketplace. They'll also received mentoring services and other benefits.

All contestant will be able to attend an Executive Summary Workshop, on June 14, where they can learn more about application requirements and criteria. There's also a series of Innovators' Symposia Events, which will bring together clean-tech companies, entrepreneurs, scientists, and investors. The first one, on Smart Power, is June 28.

The California Clean Tech Open is open to all U.S. residents, citizens, and legal aliens, though all winners must establish their primary place of business in California. Participants need to submit their entry fees and three-page executive business summary by June 30.

For more information, go here.

Posted by Ted Samson on June 7, 2007 10:42 AM

May 23, 2007

HP gives WWF $2 million in tech, cash for climate-change research

Partnership another example of big-name IT companies like Microsoft, Dell, and Yahoo investing in environmental causes

HP gives WWF $2 million in tech, cash for climate-change research "Technology is part of the problem, but it's also part of the solution." That, paraphrased, is one of the comments that Dave Douglas, Sun's VP of eco-responsibility, shared with me earlier this month.

The problem he was alluding to was the environmental challenges the planet faces due to global climate change. (When, and why, did the term "global climate change" replace "global warming"?) The IT industry indeed contributes to the phenomenon as its operations and wares churn out greenhouse gas in the form of carbon dioxide.

But a growing number of tech companies are owning up to the responsibility and becoming increasingly better environmental stewards, not only by boosting the energy-efficiency of their products, reducing waste, and finding ways to shrink their carbon footprints; they're also teaming up with environmental groups, donating not only money but technology and resources toward solving the problems.

Among them is HP, which today is announcing a partnership with the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) to allocate more than $2 million in cash and equipment to the non-profit for establishing three projects aimed at addressing the causes and consequences of global climate change. (HP and the WWF aren't strangers to working with one another.)

The projects, which focus on analysis, research and data collection, include:

-- The Epicenter for Climate Conservation – Focused on advancing climate adaptation and resiliency strategies and projects worldwide, the Epicenter for Climate Conservation will be driven by HP technology and led by Dr. Lara Hansen, chief climate scientist of WWF.

-- Information and Communication Technology Innovation as a Driver of Climate Change Solutions – This program will work to identify 1 billion tons of carbon reductions through the use of information and communication technology.

-- Climate Witness – An online forum to raise global awareness of the tangible consequences of climate change, Climate Witness will gather the stories of individuals and communities affected by global warming and share them with the world.

This announcement comes less than a week after Microsoft's big announcement that it would be teaming with the Clinton Foundation to develop a suite of technology tools, both software and services. designed to enable cities to monitor, compare and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Assisting in developing these measurement tools by ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives)—Local Governments for Sustainability and the Center for Neighborhood Technology. Microsoft will build the software using the knowledge base that ICLEI has acquired in developing its Harmonized Emissions Analysis Tool (HEAT).

Additionally, Microsoft recently launched its "i'm" initiative, built around Windows Live Messenger. Users of the Microsoft instant-messaging client can register to have a portion of a Live Messenger session's ad revenue go to one of various non-profit organizations, including The Sierra Club and stopglobalwarming.org (not to be confused with stopglobalclimatechange.org).

The list of tech companies embarking on environmental causes (and other socially responsible ones) doesn't end there, and while I've been, well, a bit skeptical of some of the other efforts I've seen, the fact remains that these companies are making an effort and are certainly helping to raise awareness about environmental issues.

Dell, for examples, teamed up with with The Conservation Fund and the Carbonfund.org earlier this to launch "Plant a Tree for Me" -- a program through which Dell, er, lets people donate money to plant trees in order to "offset" the carbon emitted by their personal computers, laptops, and general lifestyles.

And Yahoo announced its "Greenest City in America" Challenge last week, which I'm still shaking my head over: Essentially, the city that wins is the one whose residents use Yahoo services the most for the next couple of weeks. And the prize is a fleet of hybrid taxis, or else $250,000, which can be used for a eco-friendly project of the winning city's choosing.

While the contest itself is, to me, simply ridiculous (they should have called it "The Yahoo-iest City in the U.S." Challenge), it, too, raises awareness, such as through the info on the company's new green portal -- plus Yahoo is giving out 150,000 energy-efficient CFL lightbulbs to people who participate.

Posted by Ted Samson on May 23, 2007 12:01 AM

May 21, 2007

'Green to Gold' author, IT execs to dole out tips at Interop

There's a remarkable graph in the first chapter of Andrew Winston's book "Green to Gold." It's the kind graph that would likely capture the attention of the most skeptical of CEOs who has discounted the growing interest in more sustainable, greener business practices as little more than the a passing trend, the "blood-type diet" of the corporate world.

But sustainability certainly isn't just a new and passing trend; like eating right and getting exercise, it's the real deal. Many companies have been enjoying the benefits for years, but others are struggling to understand just how to embrace it.

If you fall into that group and you're going to be at the now-greener Interop this week, good news: Winston will be leading a panel on Wednesday, May 23 called "Green to Gold : Eco-Advantage Strategies for a Changing IT." Joined by executives from Intel, Yahoo, Sun, HP, and Google, the group will talking about the business case for embracing greener practices, what to expect in the future -- and the top 10 things IT departments can do.

But back to that graph I mentioned: In "Green to Gold," Winston and co-author Daniel C. Esty identify 100 companies they call WaveRiders: Companies that are riding the "green wave," acting as "environmental leaders [that] see their businesses through an environmental lens, finding opportunities to cut costs, reduce risk, drive revenues, and enhance intangible value." Not surprisingly, among them are IT giants like HP and IBM, as well as Dell, Intel, and Xerox.

The graph compares the stock performance of these WaveRider companies over the past 10 years to that of the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100.

Here's the result (click to enlarge it):

As you can see, the WaveRiders consistently beat the others.

Of course, that's not to say that "being eco-friendly" means your company's going to thrive, and high stock performance isn't necessarily a direct result of environmental consciousness. Winston and Esty are clear on those points in "Green to Gold."

But they also note that "a number of studies have demonstrated that environmental performance is a powerful indicator of overall management quality."

The WaveRiders have, at least to a degree, found ways to circumvent some of the obstacles Winston told me about, and that he discusses in his book.

One of the challenges: changing corporate culture to keep up with new green objectives. Winston describes a phenomenon he calls the middle-management squeeze: The high-level execs announce that the company is going green. The lower-level employees get excited. But the middle managers are tasked with these new environmental goals, lumped on top of their old goals. "Reconciling those goals is very challenging. [Upper managers] don't change the culture. They don't build it into any incentive programs. They just say they're going to become green. It's a problem."

For more about the panel, and to hear an interview between Winston and Curtis Franklin, go here. You can also check out Winston's blog at www.eco-advantage.com/blog.

Posted by Ted Samson on May 21, 2007 11:33 AM

May 17, 2007

Using Yahoo makes your city greener?

Yahoo's "Greenest City" Challenge requires more commitment to the company's services than to the environment

Using Yahoo makes your city greener? It can be difficult to pinpoint the greenest company of them all. There's just so many ways to measure an organization's greenness: its products, its practices, its propensity to spill oil, etc.

It also can be difficult to choose the greenest city of them all. If you want to be thorough, you can look at variety of criteria, such as air quality, electrical usage, environmental policy, as National Geographics or Homestore has done.

But not everyone has the time or inclination to be so thorough. You could take Forbes' approach and simply measure a city's ozone pollution and particles.

Or you might consider the approach Yahoo has devised: See which city's residents can earn the most "'green' credits" from using certain Yahoo services over the next three weeks or so, as part of the search company's "Greenest City in America" Challenge.

I'll explain how spending extra time on your computer and mobile device can earn you green credits in a moment. First, though, the rewards: There are, of course, the bragging rights for being deemed the most eco-friendly U.S. city in eyes of Yahoo. But the company is also offering a more tangible first prize in the name of conservation and environmental stewardship. No, not a green makeover for your local government buildings or schools. Not new trees for your local parks and public lands. Not even supplying new, energy-efficient buses for the local schools.

No, Yahoo made quite a bit of noise about the big top prize it's put on the table: a fleet (up to 10) of new hybrid taxi cabs -- perfect for the eco-conscious individual who doesn't want to walk or bike or take the bus or subway or train or carpool.

To demonstrate what a boon a fleet of hybrid cabs can be for a city's environmental well-being, Yahoo donated a bunch of them to New York City when announcing this promotion earlier in the week.

Of course, you might be thinking that more cars on the roads of NYC means more traffic congestion, which means more pollution -- but have you considered that it that might also have the eco-friendly effect of getting a few more people on the subway or bus?

Or perhaps there won't be an increase in traffic, because the hybrids are going to be displacing existing NYC cabs. Those, in turn might be sold off to a cab company in, I don't know, New Jersey, or somewhere in South America. (I found that American school buses go to places like Guatemala to retire.)

The point is, NYC will be a greener city, by golly, thanks to its shiny new gas-sipping hybrids.

Importantly, Yahoo won't make your town take the hybrid cabs. You can opt for $250,000 "to support eco-friendly programs in the city's region."

Also, as part of this promotion, Yahoo is giving out 150,000 energy-efficient CFL bulbs to individuals who participate, a move that I certainly can't knock.

So those are the stakes in Yahoo's search for the greenest city in America. Now, here's how it works: First, you register with Yahoo, providing your ZIP code so they know which city you're representing.

Next, you can check out Yahoo's newly unveiled green portal, Yahoo Green, where you select from a list of green pledges, like recycling or eating less meat or taking shorter showers. Choosing no fewer than one will earn your city 100 green credits. (Don't worry, Yahoo's going to take you at your word; no need to send them this month's and next's water or butcher bill.)

From there, you can mosey over to Yahoo Answers. For every "best" answer you provide to a question in the Environmental section of the site, your city earns 75 more "green" points. Taxing eco-conundrums posed by users include "What are the most effective yet simple ways people can save energy?" (Matt Dillon wants to know!) or "Who owns Marriott Hotels?" (That last one is really in the Environmental section.)

Not an environmental expert? No matter. You can earn 10 green points by simply providing a best answer for any question on Yahoo Answers. Now, you might be wondering why answering questions such as "What is the average life span of a fruitbat?" or "What kind of bear is best?" (Answer: black bear) or "OMG is my bf cheeting on me?!??" should bring your city closer to being deemed the greenest in the nation. Well, maybe it's like a "carbon offset" reward for not providing your answer on a piece of legal-sized paper, written in toxic waste and delivered via a non-hybrid taxi cab?

Finally, if you have a mobile device with wireless access, be sure to keep that battery charged so you can earn green credits performing daily searches for "eco-friendly" terms on Yahoo's oneSearch service. Each search reaps you 10 credits -- but Yahoo is limiting the number of points to 50 per day, no doubt in the name of energy conservation.

Notably, there are only five terms to choose from -- Organic Food, Public Transport, Recycle Center, Bike, and Ride Share (Hybrid Taxi Cab isn't on the list, for some reason), so be prepared for some redundancy. (Hey, no eye-rolling. It's not always easy or fun to be environmentally responsible. But maybe you can mix up the order each day to keep things fresh.)

So there you have it: If you and enough people in your community pledge to Yahoo to do at least one "green" activity in the next year, then spend time each day at your computers on Yahoo Answers, and on your mobile devices performing daily searches for the same five terms on Yahoo oneSearch, your city may just earn the title "greenest in America." Who knew being green was so easy -- and had so much to do with using Yahoo?

(Apologies to Green Wombat. After completing this post, I found your similar take on the contest. Glad to know I'm not the only one who's a bit skeptical.)

Posted by Ted Samson on May 17, 2007 06:46 PM

May 17, 2007

Green demands trickle down the supply chain

If you want to sell to the big-name IT vendors, you must inject green into your products -- and your practices

Government regulations, both national and international, impose a fairly high green bar for hardware vendors, limiting the toxic substances their wares can contain and the energy they can consume. But more IT vendors, such as IBM, HP, Dell, and Xerox, have been raising that bar even higher, scrutinizing not only suppliers' materials and manufacturing processes, but their overall environmental practices.

For companies aspiring to land a potentially lucrative deal with some of the more environmentally conscious, big-name tech vendors, that means you can't simply ensure those components you're hawking comply with the fine print of ROHS; you must have strategies in place to reduce energy consumption, conserve water, and e-waste, as well as to meet social-responsibility criteria such as those spelled out in the Electronic Industry Code of Conduct (EICC) and ISO 14001.

At a minimum, insisting that suppliers comply with various e-waste and energy regulations makes abundant business sense. After all, the last thing a company wants to endure is being forced to shelve millions of units of some product because one of its cables contains traces of cadmium. Not only does that sort of snafu cost a lot of money; it doesn't make for great PR: The public won't remember the supplier that delivered the toxic component so much as the high-profile vendor that got stuck with it.

But as long as a supplier is producing pieces and parts that conform to the strictest of environmental regulations, why should companies such as HP or Dell or IBM care that said supplier, for example, keeps the lights lit and faucets flowing all night? For starters, it's a matter of being consistent in your adherence to your business principles. "It reflects our own standards," says Judy Glazer, director of HP's global social and environmental responsibility operations. "We've minimized our own environmental footprint. We expect suppliers who are working on our behalf to do the same."

Indeed, a green-haloed company talking up its energy-efficiency while ignoring its supplier's wasteful ways would be like PETA having its annual dinner catered by Outback Steakhouse. (That's neither a knock at PETA nor at Outback, by the way.)

Of course, values are just part of the picture. Reducing waste throughout the supply chain means lower costs all around. "By working with suppliers on programs and initiatives to reduce environmental impact, we not only contribute to conservation and sustainable development, we can often see substantial cost reductions," writes John Gabriel, manager of supply chain social responsibility at IBM.

The processes vendors undertake to assess and help develop suppliers' environmental and social responsibility are quite extensive. The good news for suppliers: Vendors aren't going to make you figure it all out for yourself, nor will they simply tell you what to do. Rather, HP's Glazer describes it as a collaborative effort. "We start by introducing the code to our suppliers. We have an on-site auditing process to help them understand what the code really means in practice. Where there are gaps, if any, we ask them to develop corrective actions," she says.

It doesn't end there: Like IBM and other EICC members, HP offers training for managers at its suppliers, such as "interactive workshops on particular elements of the code of conduct," Glazer says.

The process is an ongoing one, too, which means suppliers don't get to reset on their laurels once they've reached a certain benchmark: "We're looking at suppliers to be continuously addressing areas of greatest opportunity," says Glazer.

Vendors are continuing to develop new ways to encourage suppliers to become more environmentally and socially responsible. "Our suppliers are reviewed quarterly in a business review that looks at a number of performance criteria including quality," writes Dell spokesman Bryant Hilton. "We have begun to include additional 'points' the suppliers can earn through environmental programs. The number of points affects the volume of business [we give them], so there is great benefit to the supplier to gain points.

"One new thing we are asking for is that suppliers report their emissions data annually," Bryant adds. "This will help Dell reduce our indirect climate impacts, and help our suppliers when we can work with them on reduction strategies."

Ultimately, of course, these efforts to green the supply chain aren't just to satisfy the demands of IT vendors. "IBM's clients -- including both companies and governments -- are increasingly seeking to procure from environmentally responsible companies and [are] including requirements for the environmental attributes of the products they procure in their bid specifications or preferences," writes IBM's Gabriel.

Or to put a figure to that interest, HP reports that "we had six billion dollars' worth of RFPs in 2005 that included socially or environmentally responsible criteria. It has only grown since then."

Posted by Ted Samson on May 17, 2007 03:00 AM

May 14, 2007

Report: Vendors' green messages are loud, but not clear

Vendors are pouring more green into their sales pitches, but their messages aren't reaching the right ears clearly.

That's one of the findings in a Forrester report released today titled "Tapping Buyers' Growing Interest In Green IT." According to the study, 85% of respondents from the U.S. and 93% of those from Europe said that environmental concerns are "important" in planning IT operations. However, just 15% of respondents said that they have a high level of awareness of vendors' green initiatives.

"Vendor information about green characteristics is not moving up the chain of command to affect management decision-making. Maybe vendors should be revisiting their communication approaches," the report quotes an anonymous IT worker in the insurance industry saying.

The problem might not just be communication barriers, but also a problem with the message: The connection between going green and saving green isn't clear, at least to those who are in charge of writing the checks: "Show the long-term or even short-term cost savings, and people will buy. When you start saving energy, you save cost, also. It's win-win," an anonymous IT work from the energy industry is quoted as saying in the Forrester report.

Forrester Senior Vice President Christoper Mines, who authored the report, says that vendors' salesfolks may have to lead the charge in getting their respective company's green message across. "People like the corporate affairs types and lab types ... are the ones who are talking this up. But think about [vendors'] main channel to their customer base: The sales force. That's where the enterprises are going to get most of their information as to what the vendors are doing," he says.

The report also cites some misconceptions about sustainable IT, which vendors will need to erradicate. "Our interviewees clung to a number of old notions about computer operation, such as "It's better to keep equipment running 24x7" or, more generally, "Green means more expensive."

(One fascinating nugget from the report, on that note: "HP did a 2006 internal audit of some 183,000 PC monitors and found that a third of them were not set for energy saving — presto, $600,000 in annual energy savings.")

The haziness surrounding vendors' green pitches might explain why only a quarter of the companies Forrester surveyed said that "green criteria" were part of their IT purchasing decisions.

That percentage is bound to increase, though, and not for reasons I find particularly surprising: "Looking a few years ahead, though, our interviewees expect green to hold more sway in their decision-making, pushed by growing public awareness of environmental issues, ,anticipated government regulation, and greater need for energy efficiency," the report says.

Forrester's "Tapping Buyers' Growing Interest In Green IT" report is available here for $279.

Is your company clearly getting, or delivering, the message about going green?

Posted by Ted Samson on May 14, 2007 04:02 PM

May 11, 2007

IT has the power to cultivate a greener world

IT has the power to cultivate a greener world Consensus continues to grow among political leaders around the world that global warming is a very probable threat that needs to be addressed. The latest evidence of this shifting mindset is the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, released last week. The report is a major one, given its scope and number of countries involved, representing a large drop in a bucket of governmental studies and legislation aimed at addressing climate change.

Whether or not business leaders take seriously the threat of global warming, they would be well served to start finding ways to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions at their companies -- both in terms of their operations as well as their products. Acting sooner rather than later means they can stay ahead of stricter laws, as well as on top of the energy crisis that's already being felt in some datacenters.

"Energy grids are being constrained such that they can't deliver the energy that companies needs. Legislative schemes are being put into place to control [carbon emissions]," says John Frey, manager of corporate environmental strategies at HP. By not acting, companies themselves will be "inhibited from a growth perspective, or find themselves legislated or taxed into a corner. Most companies don't want to find themselves in that situation."

Frey concedes that legislation can help spur a change in a company's operations and its products, but waiting for laws to guide you isn't a prudent approach. "Legislation is not going to drive innovation. It is going to bring the high bar up a little bit for those that have not sought a leadership position and gotten in front of the issue."

Another benefit to staying ahead of the legislative curve: You get to participate in how legislation evolves. "As legislators are looking at whom they can invite in for a dialogue, it's interesting and satisfying that companies like HP are the ones that get invited to the table first," Frey says.

A member of the WWF's Climate Savers Program, HP has long employed sustainable IT practices, according to Frey, which has positioned the company well to stay ahead of legislation. Most recently, the company announced ambitious plans to reduce its energy consumption by 20 percent by 2010. And driving these company's efforts is indeed green -- both of the monetary and environmental perspective. "This is the right thing to do, just looking at energy efficiency from a cost of ownership perspective... When you look at it from the environmental perspective, it becomes an even better decision. It's not a logical leap a lot of companies make: 'Hey, our IT group can contribute to reducing our environment footprint.'"

Indeed, the IT industry has a major role to play in a day and age where servers, PCs, networking gear, storage, and applications are vital organs for just about any business, keeping that essential data flowing and operations moving. Frey observed that IT was not explicitly referenced in the IPCC report: "When this issue is talked about in a legislative framework ... the assumption is that all these segments, from power generation to general industry, all have an IT component."

That puts the IT industry in a potentially powerful and influential position as businesses worldwide adapt a greener, more sustainable state of mind, says Edan Dionne, director of corporate environmental affairs at IBM. (Dionne sent me some very thoughtful answers to my e-mail questions, which I am posting here for you to read.)

"Improving the energy utilization of IT equipment and datacenters is important because the application of IT to business and societal energy-efficiency challenges offers us the opportunity to transform the way that society uses energy," Dionne says.

"For example, IT applications can manage power grids to reduce losses and enable distributed generation," she continues. "IT can introduce congestion-pricing schemes that reduce road traffic and encourage the use of carpooling and mass transit. IT enables businesses to improve manufacturing processes and supply chain efficiencies to reduce waste and energy usage. IT allows people to work remotely to reduce commuting requirements."

Big Blue, like HP, is a participant in WWF's Climate Savers Program, and it, too, has been tackling energy-efficiency issues for years. Just this week, the company announced its Big Green initiative, a $1 billion-a-year service initiative aimed at building and redesigning datacenters that consume less energy. The company also recently garnered recognition from the EPA for pledging to reduce total global GHG emissions by 7 percent from 2005 to 2012.

Dionne offers this advice for companies struggling with how to tackle reducing their energy costs and environmental footprint: "Do what IBM and some other leading companies have done: Assess their own potential impact on the environment; change the necessary policies, processes, and procedures; set benchmarks for achievement; establish a management system to monitor and report progress on those benchmarks; and take corrective action when needed."

Posted by Ted Samson on May 11, 2007 03:11 PM

May 11, 2007

IT has the power to cultivate a greener world

Posted by Ted Samson on May 11, 2007 03:11 PM

May 04, 2007

Sun's eco VP talks greening the data center and JavaOne

Sun's eco VP talks greening the data center and JavaOne Just in time for next week's JavaOne show, Sun Vice President of Eco-Responsibility Dave Douglas arrived in San Francisco yesterday afternoon. His first stop: the InfoWorld office to chat with me about his first year-plus in his green role; data-center issues confronting IT admins -- and solutions; and dealing with carbon emissions. You can watch the video right here.

Dave's been the VP of eco-responsibility at Sun for just over a year now, and judging by our conversation, he has a pretty full plate. No surprise there: Reining in energy waste entails far more than reminding employees to shut off the lights before going home at night.

Rather, Dave appears to be involved in multiple areas of Sun's business, from product development to internal IT operations. (It sounds rather like the chief sustainability officer position I wrote about a while back.) That's a lot to keep a watchful green eye on, but as he tells it, plenty of folks at Sun believe in the benefits of being environmentally conscientious, so it doesn't sound like he has to struggle with a corporate culture that's resistant to making necessary changes toward sustainability.

As an example of Sun's commitment to sustainability and waste reduction, Dave talked to me about how the company has made the annual JavaOne show a little greener this year.

For example, Sun saved 4.63 tons of paper by going with virtual direct mail campaigns, online surveys and feedback forms for the show. It also stepped up the use of recycling, and plus Dave noted that site for the show, the Moscone Center, has a 60,000 square foot photovoltaic array on the roof (designed to generate energy savings of 4.8 million kWh annually).

The company has made "green" purchasing decisions to keep food-trash compostable. Also, as swag, the company is handing out organic t-shirts, and notepads made from recycled paper and printed with soy ink. Read more about it here.

OK, so that alone isn't going to, say, reduce global warming, but it's a nice example of relatively little things companies can don't cost much (or perhaps even save money) and that are good for the environment. And Dave said that next year, the conference will be even greener. I'm curious to see how. Maybe it will take place in Second Life?

Like any other high-level techie in the IT industry, Dave is keenly attuned to the data center crisis companies are facing, and he shared some of the strategies he's been looking at, including consolidation and virtualization.

Sun's eco VP talks greening the data center and JavaOne One certainly inventive solution that Sun has devised to help companies deal with the lack of data center real estate is Project Blackbox, a project Dave was involved in developing, and he's clearly excited about it. For those who aren't the know, Project Blackbox is a portable data center that can be located just about anywhere, designed to support 10,000 simultaneous desktops without requiring an administrator. (It was also one of InfoWorld's 12 "crackpot technologies that could transform the enterprise.")

Carbon emissions are gathering more attention in the IT realm, and they're certainly on Dave's radar: He's written about the topic at some length on his blog. Tracking emissions is pretty important, as we're seeing increasingly strict regulations emerging.

We're also seeing some companies, such as Dell and Yahoo, embracing the notion of carbon offsets and neutrality. On that subject, Dave diplomatically said that Sun is looking at internal ways to reduce its carbon footprint as best it can -- in ways that are directly beneficial to business -- before exploring something like offsets. In addition to watching the video clip, you can check out Dave's comments on the topic here in his blog.

There was one question I'd meant to ask Dave, but we were running a little short on time (and frankly, I forgot): Earlier this year, Sun joined a bunch of other companies in calling on the federal government to help" achieve sizable, sensible long-term reductions of greenhouse gas emissions" from 60 to 90% reductions below 1990 levels by 2050. Why the wide range of 60 to 90%? Why 1990 levels as the baseline? And why wait until 2050? In other words, is this a sufficiently ambitious goal? I'll have to ask him next time I see him, I suppose.

One last thing: If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend (perhaps in town for JavaOne), you might want to check out Eco LIVE 2007 on Saturday, May 5. Dave will be one of the speakers, talking the challenges of reducing energy and resource consumption within IT. Robert Kennedy Jr. will be delivering the keynote. The event takes place at the Concourse Exhibition Center, 635 8th Street in S.F., and after the keynote, entrance is free.

Posted by Ted Samson on May 4, 2007 03:46 PM

April 04, 2007

No green-sanctimony intended (well, much)

No green-sanctimony intended (well, much) Blogger Rex Hammock has taken me (and InfoWorld) to task for an article I wrote for our final print edition in which I talked about the environmental benefits of our moving to a Web and events business. (So as to not make it too personal, perhaps, Rex gives me the psuedonym Tom in his post.)

My article was titled "Magazines vs. the environment." In it, I argued that InfoWorld's shift to an online-only publication happily happens to have positive environmental benefits, including saving trees (one weekly magazine subscription on average results in 90 additional pieces of mail, according to the USPS) and reducing fuel consumption and gas emissions involved in getting our magazine to mailboxes every week. (The New York Times had a great article on the general subject last year, by the way, as the publishing industry as a whole struggles with its effects on the environment.)

Whether or not you think that InfoWorld's shift to focusing on the Web and events is a good overall business move, the green benefits -- which I described as a "healthy by-product" to the transition -- are indisputable.

Rex, however, astutely notes that nowhere in the PR announcements about InfoWorld folding its print line did we or our parent compancy IDG ever, ever try to tout this as an environmentally-driven move. Yet his conclusion is that my article was an attempt at "retrofitting a green-reason for shutting down InfoWeek [sic]." (Again, he gently used a pseudonym, this time for the magazine, so as not to be personal.)

I don't agree with Rex's take on my motives for writing the article at all. I think if InfoWorld or our parent company, IDG, had wanted to add a big green spin to the move, they'd have left it to the coporate marketing team, rather than subtly injecting it in a single article written by the author of InfoWorld's Sustainable IT blog (i.e. me).

But more important, I think the leaders of IDG and InfoWorld are smart enough to know that savvy readers of the magazine simply wouldn't be fooled were we to try to convince them that we were suddenly oh-so green because InfoWorld, just one of IDG's print publications, is going online-only in the name of Mother Nature.

That all said, though, I do agree with what may be Rex's underlying point: A lot of companies are attempting to apply a overly green spin to existing or new business practices, something I wrote about last week. So I can appreciate -- and will exercise -- some cynicism when a company trumpets itself as being suddenly "green," just because, say, it's offering a 3% more efficient power supply, or its packaging is now 27% less toxic.

But on the other hand, I would still encourage companies to highlight what they're doing to reduce waste and increase energy efficiency. Sustainability is at the forefront of the minds of many a business leader; hence recent calls on the government to boost funding for alternative-energy research and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

And even those moves likely aren't being made primarily in the name of keeping the grass green and the skies blue (or less brown in Los Angeles); companies are increasingly recognizing that emerging technologies and business strategies that require less hardware or less energy consumption or less paper are often, by their very nature, green.

That all said, though, companies should exercise some restraint in flying a green flag above each and every announcement they make, because plenty of analysts and media critics are watching, including me. And Rick Hammock.

Posted by Ted Samson on April 4, 2007 09:02 AM

March 14, 2007

CEOs urge feds for green-tech funding, support

CEOs urge feds for green-tech funding, support Citing the all-important economic case for advancing green technology, TechNet today issued a challenge to Congress and the president to, among other things, invest more seed money in sustainable-energy initiatives and offer greater tax incentives to go green.

TechNet, a political network of CEOs, released its Green Tech Policy Agenda for America, spelling out the familiar and certainly important environmental and national-security-oriented cases for fostering green-tech growth, but also outlining the increasingly recognized business case for weaning the U.S. from its foreign-oil addiction and advancing more energy-efficient technologies such as solar, wind, biofuels, and fuel cell design.

"Clean-energy innovations are positioned to be the next great disruptive technologies with the potential to revolutionize the energy industry, spurring economic growth and creating new industries and jobs," the report says.

Emphasizing the sentiments of the report, John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco and TechNet co-founder, had this to say: "America has a unique opportunity to play a vital role in the world's transition to cleaner energy sources as companies continue to embrace solutions that drive efficiency and environmental improvement -- and make economic sense."

Like Chambers, many business leaders are becoming increasing aware of the issues driving demand for greener, more energy-efficient technology, as evidenced by the growing number of "green" initiatives by companies like HP and Dell, as well as the unification of major IT players like Intel, AMD, Sun, IBM, and Microsoft in forming The Green Grid. "Corporations recognize that clean energy solutions are not only the right thing to do but make sound business sense," the report reads.

Venture capitalists also have jumped on board the green wagon: The TechNet report notes that North American VC funding alone toward green initiatives totaled $2.9 billion in 2006, up from $1.6 billion in 2005.

The federal government, however, has been slower in funding alternative energy initatives. "Overall federal funding for basic energy and applied energy research and development fell 60% in real dollars from 1978 to 2004," the report says.

Compare that to federal funding for life sciences R&D, which has grown by 6.2% annually from 1984 to 2005, engineering R&D which has grown by 2.1%, and physical sciences R&D, up 0.4% per year. Federal funding for energy research lags behind other research

To that end, TechNet is challenging the government to double annual funding for energy research, which is currently less than $2 billion.

Additionally, TechNet is urging the government to be an early adopter of green technology. "As the single largest energy consumer, the federal government's power and influence over the energy sector cannot be overestimated. By harnessing its spending power as an early adopter of promising energy technologies, the federal government can have an immediate impact in bringing companies to wide-scale commercial viability," the reports.

(Interestingly, the report says the government uses a whopping quadrillion BTUs of energy and spends nearly $15 billion annually on energy products and services.)

The report alludes to the reality that energy is the lifeblood of the modern business world and the threat of a power-shortage crisis is looming: "Demand for electricity in the United States alone is predicted to increase by approximately 50 percent in the next 25 years, while rapidly growing population centers in countries such as China and India, home to two-fifths of the world's population, will put substantial additional pressures on conventional world energy sources."

Other items on the TechNet GreenTech Policy Agenda include:

Designating a lead federal agency to elevate and oversee the energy research and demonstration mission
Funding structured university partnerships and research to generate a pipeline of innovation and talent
Funding public and private partnerships to support energy-efficiency initiatives and education
Increasing the level of incentives to spur new energy technologies
Increasing consumer incentives to change patterns of demand
Encourage technology neutrality enabling the marketplace to pick winners
Promoting standards based on energy demand to provide efficiency incentives
Designing recommendations for a national program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a market-based system
Developing industry best practices that promote and expand corporate commitments and contributions to clean energy

The report is available in its entirety here [PDF].

Posted by Ted Samson on March 14, 2007 01:50 PM

March 01, 2007
Austin tops U.S. green-tech incubators

TAGS: Green business

Green technology. Clean technology. Soy bean technology. Call it what you like, but make no mistake: Venture capitalists and entreprenuers are sowing the seeds for what will be a booming alternative-energy market.

If you're curious as to just where the green action is, you should check out the list of the country's top five incubator clusters for clean tech, recently compiled by SustainLane, a provider of online sustainability resources for government, business, and consumers.

Topping the list was none other than Austin, Texas. (Some Texans apparently refer to Austin as a blueberry floating in tomato soup, a reference to the city's traditionally liberal politics within the conservative state. Perhaps they'll start calling it the pea floating in Guinness -- the only oil-colored drink I can think of just now.)

Why Austin? According to SustainLane, much of it has to do with the city's Clean Energy Incubator (CEI), which was formed back in 1999 by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) in an effort to increase the speed of bringing clean-energy technology to market. Working with utility Austin Energy, the CEI is developing efforts like Internet-controlled irrigation and wind and geothermal energy technologies.

Not surprisingly, three regions in California -- reputed home to technology titans and tree-huggers alike -- were next on the list. San Jose was second, Berkeley was third, and Pasadena, fourth.

San Jose earned its distinction for its "long-time leadership in engineering know-how, combined with semi-conductor, nanotechnology and optics R&D, [which give] it a leg up in renewable energy development, particularly in solar energy applications."

Groovy, funky Berkeley achieved third place in part because it announced a $500 million center for biofuels and energy research last January. Most of its funding is coming from British Petroleum (BP).

Caltech -- which spawns clean-tech startups -- and non-profit Entretec -- which helps to manage their resources and hook the companies up with investors -- deserve some credit for Pasadena's No. 4 placement.

Last on the SustainLane list was the Greater Boston area. According to SustainLane, the region, with its ample supply of eager angel investors, is luring many a clean-tech startup, as well as drawing from Cambridge and MIT.

For more information about SustainLane's top U.S. cities for clean-tech incubation clusters, go here.

Posted by Ted Samson on March 1, 2007 09:18 AM