For AMD and its technology partners, being environmentally responsible is a way of life that's ingrained in their corporate cultures.

HP has recycled 1 billion pounds of electronics and is working on its second billion. Sun Microsystems is cutting down on rush-hour traff ic and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by allowing the majority of its employees to telecommute. Meanwhile, Dell is contributing to this effort by purchasing renewable energy and planting trees.

AMD and its technology partners have been addressing environmental and climate change issues for a long time. For them, being environmentally responsible is a way of life - and it's deeply ingrained in their corporate cultures.

For example, AMD recently released its 7th annual "Global Climate Protection Plan," which integrates climate protection into the company's overall business objectives. In addition, AMD is one of the founding members of The Green Grid, a global consortium of information technology companies seeking to improve the energy and efficiency of both data centers and computing devices throughout the world.

With more than 80 member companies to date, the board of director companies is a who's who of the computing industry, including many AMD technology partners. Members include AMD, APC, Dell, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft®, Rackable Systems, SprayCool, Sun Microsystems and VMware.

Both AMD and its technology partners are building products that are more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, even requiring their parts suppliers to become more environmentally conscious in the materials they use and in their manufacturing processes.

These tech companies are also practicing what they preach by reducing power consumption and environmental footprints in their own operations. They are even creating innovative initiatives - such as using recyclable materials in their packaging - which allow their customers to reduce their environmental impact as well.

AMD itself takes a holistic approach to energy efficiency, climate protection and related environmental initiatives. This unified approach is called AMD Green and is focused on leadership in products based on technologies that address the need to optimize energy use; leadership in industry and public policy initiatives that address improved energy-eff icient solutions and environmental stewardship; and leadership in its operations related to energy and environmental impacts.

While AMD's leadership is widely known through its energyefficient products and initiatives, such as The Green Grid and EPA Climate Leaders, the company's operational stewardship has also gained attention with recent announcements. These include exceeding its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by decreasing AMD's normalized greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 percent since 2002; expanding its wafer fabrication operations, which are powered by highly efficient trigeneration plants; reducing absolute perfluorocarbon (PFC) emissions by more than 95 percent below 1995 levels; purchasing 100 percent renewable energy for its Austin, Texas, operations; and reducing normalized energy consumption nearly 40 percent through efficiency improvements at its facilities around the world.

"AMD strives to be a leader in producing products that optimize energy use," says Larry Vertal, AMD senior strategist, "as well as taking a key role in industry initiatives that address improved energy- efficient solutions and aligned public policies. Finally, AMD is a leader in operational behaviors that address corporate social responsibility related to energy and environmental impacts."

HP'S ENVIRONMENTAL HERITAGE

At HP, environmentalism is embedded in the roots of the company because, in the 1950s, its founders decided that good citizenship should be one of HP's corporate objectives, says Pat Tiernan, HP's vice president of social and environmental responsibility.

HP, which began its recycling program for electronics equipment in the 1980s, recycled its 1 billionth pound of equipment this summer and plans to recycle another billion pounds by the end of 2010. The company recovered 187 million pounds of electronics in 2006 alone, Tiernan reports.

In the 1990s, HP began infusing environmentalism throughout the company - from product design to stipulating that its suppliers agree to a "code of conduct" that required them to be more socially and environmentally conscious.

Today, HP focuses on building energyefficient products. Its computers have sleep modes, while its servers have energymanagement tools. In addition, HP's Halo Collaboration Studio enables businesses to conduct meetings via high-quality videoconferencing. Rather than forcing its executives to travel and waste fuel, HP has used Halo to conduct international meetings, Tiernan says. (Turn to page 34 to read how DreamWorks uses the HP Halo Studio to facilitate collaboration on its animated films.)

"To be credible, we have to walk the talk and apply our own innovations, as well as offering our customers programs that benefit the planet," Tiernan says.

SUN SAVES WATTS WITH THIN CLIENTS

"We innovate, act and share," says Mark Monroe, Sun's director of sustainable computing. "We're coming up with products that are more energy efficient. We apply those [energy-saving principles] ourselves, and then we share them with our customers to help them operate in more efficient ways."

Sun, for example, has installed 29,000 of its Sun Ray thin-client computers throughout the company for its employees to use. While typical desktop computers take 100 to 180 watts of power, each thin-client computer uses only 4 watts of power, Monroe says.

Sun also introduced more powerful, energy-efficient servers, which it deployed in its own data centers about a year and a half ago. That allowed the company to consolidate servers and reduce overall power consumption.

This year, Sun plans to embark on another data center upgrade, using its latest servers to further its consolidation efforts and reduce energy usage. The company takes what it learns from its internal IT projects, and its consulting business uses that information to help customers design efficient data centers.

"It's important to set an example for our customers and share our experiences," Monroe says.

Another green initiative is Sun's Open Work telecommute program, which allows 56 percent of its employees to telecommute at least once a week, and about 75 percent to telecommute at least once a month. "We avoid commutes, and that reduces the impact on the environment," he says.

DELL'S GREEN INITIATIVES

This summer, Dell announced a goal of reducing the carbon intensity of its operations by 15 percent by 2012. The company's employees are environmentally conscious in every facet of the business, from product development, manufacturing and operations to recycling its customers' old IT equipment, says David Lear, Dell's director of environmental affairs. "We're taking a lifecycle approach to this," he explains.

Lear's environmental team is part of every product development team project to ensure that Dell's computers, power supplies and flat-panel displays are built with energy efficiency in mind.

In addition, a portion of the energy that Dell purchases is renewable energy, such as wind power. The company has also begun incorporating green technology into its buildings, including reflective materials that reflect the sun's rays and keep buildings cool.

In fiscal 2007, Dell decreased its electrical usage by 5 percent at its U.S. office facilities compared to the previous fiscal year, and has launched similar programs on a global basis.

Dell has developed several green initiatives for its customers. For one thing, it uses recyclable materials in its packaging. The company also recycles computer equipment for its customers, and it recently announced that it had recovered more than 78 million pounds of old, unwanted IT equipment from customers in 2006 - a 93 percent increase over 2005.

In another initiative, Dell partnered with two nonprofits, The Conservation Fund and Carbonfund.org, to use funds to plant trees in sustainably managed forests. If customers donate $2 for a notebook or $6 for a desktop, the money will go toward planting trees that will absorb carbon dioxide and offset the amount of emissions their computers will generate, Lear says.

SOLAR POWER AT AISO.NET

Affordable Internet Services On line (AISO.net), an Internet service provider in Romoland, Calif., went green six years ago by installing 120 solar panels to power its 2,000 square-foot data center. To further reduce its power consumption, AISO.net relies on servers powered by energyefficient AMD Opteron™ processors and uses virtualization software to fully utilize each server, reports Phil Nail, AISO.net's chief technology officer.

The company's focus on the environment has attracted customers from all over the world, including Europe and Africa. AISO.net recently hosted the Live Earth Web site, the 24-hour, seven-continent concert held in July to drive awareness of the challenges of global climate change.

"We've always been oriented to do what's best for the environment," Nail says.