Dell Kicks Off Earth Day Early

Starting tomorrow, Dell customers and members of the ReGeneration can celebrate Earth Day a little early. For one week, Dell will match contributions to "Plant a Tree for Me", a Dell program that enables customers to offset the carbon impact of the electricity required to power the systems over their useful life.

During the Earth Day campaign, Dell will match consumer contributions of $2 to help offset carbon impact from a laptop purchase and $6 to help offset carbon impact from a desktop purchase. The company is also matching contributions from small and medium business customers when they purchase business laptops, desktops and servers during the month of April.

“Through ‘Plant a Tree for Me,’ we are providing customers a simple but tangible way to make a difference for the planet,” said Michael Tatelman, vice president of Dell's consumer business. “We cannot think of a better occasion to partner with our customers and give back to the Earth we all share.”

Dell gives 100 percent of these contributions to The Conservation Fund and the Carbonfund, non-profit organizations that plant trees in sustainably managed reforestation projects. "Dell led the industry in its direct-to- consumer approach, set the bar in product recycling, and now, through programs like ‘Plant a Tree for Me’, is leading the industry to address two of our world's most pressing environmental challenges — habitat loss and climate change," said The Conservation Fund's president, Larry Selzer.

CarbonFund estimates that customer contributions to “Plant a Tree for Me” in 2007 will result over time in the removal of approximately 150 million pounds of CO2, the equivalent of offsetting the carbon impact of the electricity required to power more than 225,000 laptops.

Dell customers in the United States can also realize instant savings on the InspironTM 531 Energy Star desktop on Earth Day, April 22. Based on the award-winning Inspiron 531, the Energy Star desktop is up to 46 percent more efficient than a standard PC and it has power management settings enabled to reduce CO2 emissions.

Dell is committed to becoming the "greenest" technology company on the planet. The company offers the technology industry’s only global, free recycling program for consumers, has pledged to become the first carbon-neutral computer company and is engaging customers across the globe in its environmental initiatives.

Energy efficiency: Energy Savings and CO2 estimates based on EPA power savings calculator data and Dell internal testing assuming an annual Energy Star Inspiron usage profile of 201 hours in active mode, 602 hours in idle mode, 1,104 hours in sleep mode and 6,854 hours in off mode.