Page 246 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

222 C h apter Ele v e n

The newer Xeon processor gives another 35–60% efficiency
gain over previous products.
• Intel’s Eco-Rack design for business data centers reduces
power consumption by 16 to 18%. If it were used by all ser -
vers and data centers in the United States, this technology
would save the equivalent of the energy used by 986,000
homes. Each Eco-Rack saves about $44,000 annually in elec-
tricity costs. Many data centers have adopted “virtualiza-
tion” technologies to further lower energy costs by reducing
the number of servers required for a given service load.
• Microsoft has adopted a commoditized manufacturing ap -
proach to make data centers modular, scalable, efficient, and
as low-cost as possible. Its new Generation 4 design has a
Power Usage Effectiveness—the fraction of energy actually
used for computing—of 1.12, among the lowest yet achieved.
Additionally, by working toward a chiller-free design, Micro-
soft hopes to eliminate the use of water.
• Building on IBM’s experience in product stewardship and
DFE, IBM Global Business Services introduced an Environ-
mental Product Lifecycle Management service as part of its
corporate social responsibility practice. The company employs
more than 1,000 product life-cycle management experts world-
wide, advising customers in a variety of different industries.
• EPA’s DFE Program partnered with the electronics industry
(see Chapter 3) to perform a life-cycle environmental impact
assessment of alternatives to lead solder, helping to prepare
for a phase-out of lead in compliance with the European
Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive [3].
This chapter highlights the DFE programs of three leading com-
panies in the electronics industry, Xerox, HP and Sony, but there are
many more stories worth telling.

Xerox Corporation: Reducing the Footprint of Printing
A Pioneering Commitment
Xerox Corporation was one of the earliest firms to adopt DFE, and
enjoys a strong reputation as an industry leader in sustainability.
With $17 billion in annual revenue and about 55,000 employees in
over 160 countries, the company’s famed brand name is synonymous
with photocopying. Xerox introduced the first commercial copier sys-
tem in 1959, and its legendary Palo Alto Research Center produced
many breakthrough innovations, including the computer mouse.
Xerox has adapted to the digital age by offering a broad portfolio of