The environmental ethic is alive and well within the tech community
as computer hardware and logistics giant Fujitsu Limited demonstrated with the
announcement of their new Green
Policy Innovation program. The goal
is to leverage their dominant position in the world of IT infrastructure to
reduce CO2 emissions by more than 7 million tons by the end of fiscal
2010.
To do this Fujitsu plans to both reduce the environmental
impact of the IT equipment they produce, and to provide IT based solutions that
reduce the operational impact of business. The line distinguishing the two approaches is a bit gray, but the basic
idea is to use efficient hardware to run a more efficient business.
On the hardware front Fujitsu’s goal is to “reduce the
environmental burden of IT infrastructure” by utilizing energy efficient
systems. Examples of this include
compact IT equipment such as blade servers and disc arrays. Fujitsu also offers high efficiency UNIX
based servers and has even thrown its hat into the virtualization ring with Systemwalker
Resource Coordinator Virtual server Edition. The potential of virtualization to create
flexible, energy efficient workgroups through thin client solutions has been
recognized by other mega companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and VMware, who all
have virtual server products available.
To reduce the impact of business Fujitsu offers a variety of
solutions to optimize operations and conserve energy. The Green Infrastructure Solution is a new
service that will help companies to design and implement more energy efficient
data centers. Transportation costs for
delivery vehicles can be reduced by using on-board logistics in combination
with centralized management systems. Similarly,
e-learning can eliminate unnecessary trips by employees for training. Recording and analyzing environmental
performance data will help businesses implement their environmental strategy
and measure the effectiveness of changes.
To those who are concerned with the health of the planet’s
environment it is good to see a company of Fujitsu’s stature taking a green
stance and promoting the product’s profit benefits as well as its moral
righteousness. A voice that earned $43.2
billion in revenue last year is one that will be heard by environmentalists and
capitalists alike.
It is nice to see that Fujitsu’s environmental agenda also includes
at least one line concerning the chemical impact of their computer products. Fujitsu plans to implement a chemical
management system, utilizing the company’s ECODUCE program. Introduced in 2000, the program aims to
promote the Design for Environment (DfE) methodology, prompt spill containment,
and environmental transparency within the company.
Ever since Al Gore’s movie swept the box offices,
it seems like good old fashioned toxicity has been swept under the rug by the
wave of global warming concern. But
having worked to remediate the brown fields of the Brighton neighborhood in
Boston, and watched contractors excavate a whole marsh polluted by
the AstraZeneca corporation here in the Bay Area, I can say that
contamination has a real and immediate impact that cannot be ignored because it
effects us where we live and it is damn difficult, if not impossible, to clean
up the mess.