Dell Powers Oklahoma City Campus with 100 Percent Green Energy; Plans to Reduce Global Absolute Greenhouse Gas Emissions Additional 40 Percent By 2015

Dell now powers its 240,000 square-foot Oklahoma City campus with 100-percent wind energy, the latest action in its commitment to become the ‘greenest’ technology company on the planet. The company is partnering with Oklahoma Gas and Electric on the use of renewable energy and expects to avoid nearly 5,100 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

Dell also announced today a deliberate plan to further reduce its worldwide facilities’ greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2015. The reduction will be achieved through aggressive energy efficiency, on-site renewable-energy and partnerships with utility providers.

With today’s announcement concerning its Oklahoma City facility, Dell now sources about 35 percent of its U.S. energy use from green power and approximately 20 percent globally. The company is continuing to purchase enough green power, verified emission reductions and renewable energy certificates globally to cover its total electricity use.

Dell was recently recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its leadership in green power. In the latest EPA Fortune 500 Green Power Challenge rankings, the company increased its position to No. 3 from No. 12 in July 2008.

Last August, Dell announced that it met its carbon-neutral goal more than five months ahead of schedule through a combination of operational efficiencies, greater investment in green power and responsible offsets to cover remaining impacts. Since 2004, the company’s U.S. investment in green power and renewable energy certificates, including solar, wind and gas-energy conversion has grown from 12 million kWh to more than 553 million kWh.

Dell is also helping suppliers achieve their environmental goals. In June 2007, the company announced that it would require primary suppliers to report CO2 emissions data during quarterly business reviews. Dell was the first IT company to join the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration to help suppliers with emissions reporting.

Quotes:

“Integrating green power into our operations wherever and whenever possible is a key environmental and business strategy,” said Dane Parker, director of environment, health and safety at Dell. “It’s critical that our industry take a leadership role in the transition to a green economy. Aggressive energy efficiency and renewable-power targets are essential.”

“Dell’s ambitious commitment to reduce its global emissions by 40 percent by 2015 is precisely the kind of bold leadership we need in order to make the transition to a clean, green low-carbon future,” said Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group. “We’re proud to have Dell as member of The Climate Group – and we encourage other companies to follow their lead and set similarly aggressive energy efficiency and renewable-power targets.”

“We commend Dell for helping to lead the way to a 21st Century green economy,” said Jesse Langston, VP of Utility Commercial Operations for OG&E Electric Services. “When companies partner with utility providers to drive greater demand for green electricity, consumers across the globe stand to benefit.”