Dell has met its carbon neutral goal ahead of schedule, achieving a major milestone in its commitment to be the ‘greenest’ technology company on the planet and fulfilling a pledge to operate efficiently, maximize investment in green power and responsibly offset remaining impacts.

“We’re driving ‘green’ into every aspect of our global business,” said Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell. “This includes setting new standards for energy efficiency and green power, delivering environmental and cost savings for customers and aligning key growth priorities with our focus on preserving our shared Earth. Every company can join Dell and the ReGeneration in this long-term commitment.”

Dell met its goal early by implementing an aggressive global energy-efficiency campaign and increasing purchases of green power, verified emission reductions and renewable energy certificates. Since 2004, the company’s annual investment in green electricity from utility providers, including wind, solar and methane-gas capture, has grown from 12 million kWh to 116 million kWh, an increase of nearly 870 percent. Earlier this year, the company announced that its global headquarters campus is powered by 100 percent green energy.

Dell today also announced that it is making additional investments in wind power in the U.S., China and India. Combined with green electricity purchases from utility providers, this equates to 645 million kWh and the avoidance of more than 400,000 metric tonnes of CO2e.

The company is already saving more than $3 million annually and avoiding nearly 20,000 tonnes of CO2 through facilities improvements and a global power-management initiative.

“I want to thank our employees for working so hard to make this possible,” said Mr. Dell. “As always, our work is only getting started and this has never been more true than our focus on green.”

Dell is also partnering with Conservation International on a habitat and forest preservation initiative in the Republic of Madagascar. The company will help protect more than 591,000 acres of tropical forestland threatened with destruction, preventing more than 500,000 tonnes of CO2 from going into the atmosphere over the next five years.

“We commend Dell on its climate leadership and for showing how well-designed forest protection projects can generate such compelling environmental and social benefits,” said Peter Seligmann, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Conservation International. “By reducing its own environmental footprint and protecting forests, Dell is addressing the major drivers of climate change – energy use and deforestation – while also delivering significant biodiversity and community benefits.”

Dell currently ranks ahead of HP, IBM and Apple in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership Fortune 500 registry and is working alongside utility and government partners to encourage greater supply of green energy.

“Dell’s success in meeting its carbon neutral goal in less than a year is impressive and should serve as a model for other U.S. companies to follow,” said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, a leading coalition of investors and environmental groups that worked closely with Dell on its climate change strategy. “The company’s commitment to boost the energy efficiency of its operations and its green power purchases before focusing on carbon offsets is the right approach for achieving carbon neutrality.”

Strategies for a Low-Carbon Future

In September of 2007, Dell announced its carbon neutral goal and a commitment to achieve that goal by the end of 2008. That goal has been achieved five months ahead of schedule.

The company is also setting a new industry standard by helping customers and suppliers achieve their own environmental goals. In June 2007, the company announced that it would require primary suppliers to report CO2 emissions data during quarterly business reviews. Dell was the first IT company to join the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Supply Chain Leadership Coalition to help suppliers with emissions reporting.

Earlier this year, Dell became the first major computer manufacturer to list an 80 PLUS Gold power supply for servers. Dell’s new 80 PLUS Gold power supply meets July 2009 Climate Savers targets for servers more than a year ahead of schedule, which require 92 percent minimum efficiency for the power supply unit at 50 percent of rated output. The company was also the first major computer manufacturer to list an 80 PLUS Silver-certified power supply for desktops. Last month, Dell launched its first “hybrid” PC.

Based on worldwide unit sales beginning in 2005 with power-management features enabled, Dell estimates that OptiPlex desktop systems alone have helped customers save more than $2.7 billion and avoid approximately 26 million tons of CO2.

In September 2007, Dell announced “Plant a Forest for Me,” a program enabling organizations worldwide to share best practices and, as partners, facilitate the planting of trees in sustainably managed reforestation projects. Partners include AMD, ABN AMRO, Ask.com, CGI, Staples, Salesforce.com, Targus and WellPoint.

For more information on Dell’s energy and environmental initiatives, visit www.dell.com/earth. To join with the company and thousands of others in lending a voice and saving the planet, visit www.regeneration.org.