Hewlett Packard Launches Power to Change Campaign

Posted by jmcgill on December 15, 2009 under HP | 2 Comments to Read

Green IT is all in the hardware, right? Not anymore, it isn’t.

Hewlett-Packard just began its Power to Change campaign, an initiative designed to promote sustainable energy practices among computer users across the entire country. As part of the effort, HP has released on the campaign’s website a gadget that can reportedly reduce the energy used by your computer by up to .646 kilowatt hours every day. Taking a step back and viewing energy savings over the long term, one could see a major reduction in the carbon footprint of any frequently used PC. Other companies have launched similar gadgets and widgets, encouraging consumers and professionals alike to power down their PCs when not in use.

HP specifically wants to target one particularly notable demographic within the PC market: college students. The Power to Change Campaign includes a contest to see which universities can save the most energy by powering down their PCs at night or when idle. HP hopes to bring attention to the enormous savings possible with such an action. According to a recent press release, HP claims that shutting down 100,000 extra computers every night would be equivalent to taking 2,140 cars off the road. Whether or not that’s possible is one thing, but the comparison certainly makes the benefits of Green IT clear.

Hewlett-Packard has garnered quite a bit of positive attention in recent days over making the number one spot on Newsweek’s Green Company list. Of all the Fortune 500 companies ranked by the magazine, HP was considered the most environmentally friendly and was the only firm to have 100% Green Score, a number which takes into account manufacturing emissions, the impact of the logistics chain, and other factors. The company was especially praised for its initiatives to reduce GHG emissions. Dell placed second on the list, receiving high praise for its efforts to decrease the energy consumption of its PCs. Four of the top five companies (HP, Dell, Intel, and IBM) are computer manufacturers, showing the world that Green IT is officially in vogue.

Interestingly enough, HP only ranked #14 on Greenpeace’s annual corporate ranking. The environmental group criticized the company for continuing to use polyvinyl chloride in its products. PVC and BFRs (brominated flame retardant) are high on Greenpeace’s no-no list, which explains the low ranking despite HP’s other considerable efforts. No Green IT company is perfect.

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