Better Products Come From Environmentally Conscious Design

In today’s fast-paced climate, technology is always improving. But what does that actually mean, and how are those improvements made? For Dell, the key to making a better product is keeping the big picture in mind. That means we consider the environmental impact of that product at each stage of its existence.

Taking the Long View With Our Design Specifications

At the heart of our approach to design is the premise that by thinking creatively, we can use resources better. Those efficiencies translate into greater possibilities for our technology. The result? You save time, money and energy — and you can feel good knowing that our products are made with minimizing their impact on the planet in mind.

All new Dell products follow our internal Design for Environment specifications. This framework reflects international standards and best practices, and it encourages products that comply with voluntary ecolabels. The specifications incorporate a number of elements.

Smart Design, Responsible Ingredients Approach

Making better products starts with finding better ways to build those products. One of the ways we do that is by integrating alternative, recycled and recyclable materials into both the devices we make and their packaging. For example, in 2010 we introduced renewable bamboo packaging, and in 2009 we shipped approximately 7.2 million pounds of postconsumer recycled plastic. This makes it easier for you to reduce waste.

At the same time, we work to reduce or eliminate from our products any substances — such as mercury, arsenic and brominated flame retardants — that could have serious negative impacts on the environment or human health. For example, we found a better way to ensure smooth display glass without the use of arsenic and introduced that innovation in our laptops and display monitors in 2009.

Learn more about our ingredients approach and our progress in eliminating toxic chemicals. 

Improving Energy Efficiency

Who says high performance has to mean high energy consumption? Thanks to our engineers’ intense focus on efficiency, Dell products use less and less power with each generation. For example, Dell desktops and laptops, already among the industry’s most energy-efficient, have saved our customers 25 percent or more in related energy costs since 2008, fulfilling a commitment we made that year. Meanwhile, our M-series PowerEdge™ blade servers can consume up to 20 percent less power than identically configured competitive offerings, while also offering performance-per-watt advantages.* 

We produce these tangible results by thinking about power efficiency from the get-go, and by taking into account the latest benchmarks from regulatory bodies and standards organizations at the product design stage. For example, take Energy Smart, an option available with Dell OptiPlex™ desktops. Energy Smart lowers your machine’s electricity consumption via factory-enabled power management settings for periods of inactivity. These 'time-out' settings are even more aggressive than those required in ENERGY STAR-certified computers.

Speaking of ENERGY STAR, Dell has been offering ENERGY STAR-certified products, which meet strict power efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), since 1993, shortly after the program began. Today, the majority of our products can be configured to be ENERGY STAR-certified — including virtually every business system, consumer laptop, and rack and tower server. We were also the first in our industry to offer products that meet the EPA’s stringent ENERGY STAR 5.0 specification for computers.

In another ecolabel 'first,' Dell was the first in the industry to achieve 80 PLUS Gold certification for a server power supply. 80 PLUS is a certification program that encourages energy-efficient power supplies for desktop computers and servers. (Power supplies convert AC power from electric utilities to the DC power used by most electronics.) The 80 PLUS Gold specification exceeds ENERGY STAR 5.0 power-supply requirements for computers, requiring 87 percent or more energy-efficient power supplies. Dell offers more 80 PLUS Gold-certified power supplies than any other tier-1 manufacturer.

Read more about Dell and ecolabels.

Design for End of Life and Reuse

At the earliest stages of product development, we think about longevity. Our products, parts and components are designed to be upgraded, extending the life of the product — if not for you, then for someone else who might be able to reuse the device.

We also collaborate with recyclers and asset recovery partners to determine what kinds of design features will make product recycling easy. Here are some of the techniques we use:

• Modularity — The majority of components found inside Dell products are easily removable, with standardized parts. This makes it easier to reuse or recycle them.
• Easy disassembly — The less complexity, the better. By designing smarter, we’ve cut down on the number of screws in our products, and the ones that remain are easier to access and more consistent in type. All parts are easily separable with commonly found tools.
• Minimal glues and adhesives — Glues and adhesives can create processing challenges for recyclers, so we have come up with other methods, such as innovative snap fits, to accomplish the same design goals.
• Restrictions on paints and coatings — We prefer integral finishes instead of exterior coatings, which can interfere with the recycling process or degrade certain plastics during processing. If paint is the only option, we use paint that is compatible with recycling.

When the time comes for you to say good-bye to your product, recycling it in a responsible way is convenient and easy. 

Learn about our recycling programs. 
Read about our e-waste policy.

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*Based on SPECpower_ssj2008 benchmark testing performed by Dell labs in July 2010 and reported in a white paper entitled, 'Power Efficiency Comparison of Enterprise-Class Blade Servers and Enclosures,' http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/pedge/en/BladePowerStudyWhitePaper_08112010_final.pdf, comparing a Dell M1000e enclosure fully populated with 16 M610 blade servers against both the IBM BladeCenter H enclosure fully populated with 14 HS22 blade servers and the Hewlett-Packard C7000 enclosure fully populated with 16 BL460C G6 blade servers. Actual results/performance will vary based on configuration, usage and manufacturing variability.