DellCAP Showed The Greener Side Of Dell
Dell invited the media, bloggers and green experts from around the country to attend its DellCAP event. The event was held at Dell's Executive Briefing Center in Round Rock, Texas, just north of Austin. Dell paid travel and hotel accommodations for all guests including me.
- The night before the event, @LynGraft captured some of us at the W Hotel. The facilities were outstanding, a real beacon for sustainability in Downtown Austin. The hotel has LEED certified buildings and reminders everywhere on ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. Here's some of their environmental practices.
- This is the video production set where some of us were interviewed. Dell plans to use the feedback internally on its intranet.
- There's always one night where some real networking gets done and you stay out a little late. Derek Markham snapped this shot below at The Gingerman in Austin. Paul Smith and Karen Solomon flank yours truly below.
- Paul Smith [below] and I lived the cliche -- it's always great meeting someone in real life after being acquainted online for so long. Paul is a tireless evangelist for all things green.
- There's few in the green industry with a stronger voice than Derek Markham, pictured below. Memo to media and corporate types: shoot straight with Derek and he'll do the same.
- If you're wondering about Karen Solomon [below], just do an internet search for Green Conferences. You'll find she's one of the women making a difference in sustainability. She understands the nuances and challenges of bringing the right people together to make a difference. Next time you see her, ask her about the "Heirloom Principle."
- Trisa Thomas, VP of Corporate Social Responsibility, kicked off the day with introductions and a broad look at Dell's sustainability strategy. Many of the attendees pressed Thomas for a green manifesto or creed, but there's nothing along those lines.That could have led to inauspicious start, but it didn't. Once we completed the intros and Dell went around the room, it was clear there was broad and substantive representation across the right lines of business. It wouldn't hurt to have the green scripture plastered everywhere around the campus, but it seems a creed should have its origins from within. I got that sense from the Dell team.Thomas prefaced much of her strategy around Dell's changing business model. If you've followed the company, it's clear that its recent tear of acquisitions puts Dell dead-center in the cross hairs of any large cloud, services or storage provider. All those acquisitions, as Thomas pointed out, have increased Dell's footprint. Because of that growth, it's become important to ask "what did we get” after that acquisition? I'd challenge Dell to go even further. Why not provide deeper scrutiny of potential acquisition candidates before the transaction? Deeper investigation is now common practice as the supplier’s supplier is just as important to the ecosystem -- the weakest link if you will. I bet in the CAP days to come, you'll hear less of 'what did we get' and more of 'here's what we have now.'
- Heather Clancy did an excellent job moderating.
- A nice wrinkle to the Powerpoint-free zone was the work done by Stacy Weitzner. I've never seen a group so eager to share information captured during a meeting. Well done.
- First part of the session was Goals and Dell’s Sustainability
Strategy
David Lear, head of sustainability, was quick to point out that the change in Dell's business strategy has helped it think more broadly about sustainable business. A few areas emphasized by Lear as Dell begins streamlining product development and resource management were the smart grid, battery technology, and procurement.Dell is also planning aggressive moves around its data center expertise, like this announcement, which certainly looks more interesting with Facebook's recent move to open source its own datacenter design.On the other hand, as Lear mentioned, 'the most efficient data center is the one you don't build, which echoes Dell's strategy around datacenter efficiency and optimization. - Below is a recent post from David as he settles in to his new role as Dell's Director of Sustainability.
