By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
I had my doubts about Dell’s , when they trumpeted it in August, and it appears I was right. However, I may have been wrong when I said I felt they had made some major strides in that direction. At least, I get that feeling after reading a Tuesday Wall Street Journal .
The report notes that by Dell’s definition, it has reached carbon neutrality. The problem is that there is no standard for what a carbon footprint should include, and so every company calculates its differently.
Dell’s definition of their footprint excludes resources used to make their computers, transport them to customers, and the like. It only includes the emissions “produced by its boilers and company-owned cars, its buildings’ electricity use, and its employees’ business air travel.”
According to the WSJ, that amounts to about 5% of Dell’s actual footprint. Additionally, Dell is neutralizing that 5% mostly by purchasing carbon credits. While it’s no secret that many companies are doing so, the word “mostly” is unsettling.
In terms of positives for Dell, they took a swing at Apple’s “green laptop” claims. The WSJ also ran a similar story about on Tuesday. Apple’s claims of greenness appear to be as much about marketing as Dell’s. So perhaps Dell doesn’t have to feel quite so bad.
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