From milk bottles to laptop packaging – Dell unveils green packaging plan

Dell has continued in its quest to establish itself as the self-proclaimed "greenest technology company on the planet", announcing a wide ranging packaging reduction strategy designed to eliminate about 20 million pounds of packaging materials and cut costs by more than $8m (£5m).

Under the new strategy, the company announced what it has claimed are the industry's first targets for cutting packaging for PCs and laptops, committing to reduce packaging levels by 10 per cent worldwide by 2010 – a move that is estimated will save more than 150,000 trees.

Dell also pledged to increase sustainable content in cushioning and corrugate packaging by 40 per cent and ensure that 75 per cent of packaging components are curbside recyclable by 2012.

The company said that it would also increasingly deploy lightweight air filled cushion technology to reduce the need for heavier cardboard and make greater use of 100 per cent recycled High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) thermal-formed cushions made from waste materials such as milk and laundry detergent bottles.

According to its calculations an estimated 33 million recycled milk jugs will be integrated into desktop and laptop packaging in 2009.

In addition, the company announced the US launch of Dell Greenprint Advisor a new web site designed to help firms optimise their sustainability strategies. Dell said it planned to expand the web site for a global audience in the coming months.

Tod Arbogast, director of Sustainable Business at Dell, urged other IT firms to set packaging reduction targets as part of "a global green packaging strategy ".

His comments were echoed by Adam Werbach, chief executive of Saatchi & S aatchi S, the advertising giant's sustainability consulting arm, who argued that with companies likely to cut material and transport costs by reducing packaging levels, there was no excuse for inaction.

"Excessive packaging is among the most solvable challenges today," he said. "Changing the packaging paradigm presents an opportunity to increase business and brand value through sustainable innovation, resulting in positive environmental benefits."

The impact of poor packaging policies on consumer brands was highlighted earlier this year, when Dell found itself at the centre of criticism from industry bloggers over its use of large packages to send relatively small items.

Pre-empting the development of its formal green packaging strategy, the company responded by instructing the responsible supplier to use less packaging and introducing a new metric on which to judge its suppliers' performance, based on the amount of void space contained in the packaging they use.