Setting big goals, taking action, creating a legacy

As an industry leader in environmental sustainability, Dell is committed to bringing real change that benefits people and the planet. The Conservation Fund’s unique ability to use market-based approaches to conservation made us an ideal partner when the company sought business-minded solutions for its ambitious sustainability efforts. Together, we are inviting Dell’s customers and employees to join us in creating a Legacy of Good to improve our environment and strengthen communities.

Challenges

• Invite customers to join Dell in decreasing the environmental footprint of their IT equipment.
• Plant trees and protect forests that benefit our climate, clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, provide habitat for wildlife and deliver benefits to our communities and our economy.

Solutions

In 2007, Dell and The Conservation Fund launched the Plant a Tree program to engage customers in addressing two of the greatest environmental challenges of our time: habitat loss and climate change. Dell created a convenient way for its commercial customers and individual consumers to add a small payment (just $2 for a laptop) to their order. These donations help The Conservation Fund to protect forests in Northern California and plant trees in national wildlife refuges across the country.

Dell has also led multiple marketing initiatives to increase awareness and engage all people, not just customers, to join in. It’s made gifts of trees on behalf of employees and customers, encouraging each of us to join a broader coalition of champions working to protect and restore America’s forests. As a result, hundreds of thousands of trees have sprouted at wildlife refuges across Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland and Texas that will restore habitat for ocelot, black bear and eagle and will help control flooding.

“Our partnership with Dell merges smart conservation with innovation, producing measurable results that make a lasting difference. Dell’s commitment to engaging its employees and customers in its vision for progress and the environment is nothing short of inspiring.”

—Larry Selzer, President and CEO, The Conservation Fund

Results

All told, support from Dell and its customers has resulted in more than one million trees planted.

In Louisiana’s Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge, Dell-sponsored trees are restoring areas vital to the survival of the Louisiana black bear. The bear was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1992, but thanks to vast support for restoration from public and private leaders including Dell, the bear was removed from the list in 2016. In addition to supporting habitat for wildlife, restored forestlands can act as sponges, soaking up rising waters and protecting downstream communities from flooding.

In Kansas, Dell is a partner in the Fund’s ongoing efforts to restore more than 1,400 acres of native oak and hickory trees at Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge. Today, the budding forests are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for migratory birds including the yellow-breasted chat and indigo bunting. They are open to the public for wildlife-dependent recreational uses.

Dell also supports The Conservation Fund’s Garcia River, Big River and Salmon Creek forests in the coastal redwood region of Northern California. Here, we are implementing sustainable forest management practices that keep these forests financially viable and environmentally healthy. Through changes like light touch harvesting and widening impaired riverfront buffers, we have improved water quality and habitat for coho salmon and steelhead trout and habitat for spotted owl. Dell’s support of improved forest management here will trap more than 8,700 tons of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of almost 21 million miles driven by an average passenger vehicle.

“Now more than ever, it’s not enough to just do less harm. At Dell, we’re looking for ways to use technology to build a lasting legacy—to drive more “good” through everything we do. Our efforts to protect and restore forests are an important part of that: since we began working with The Conservation Fund in 2007, Dell employees and customers have helped us plant more than one million trees—trees that benefit our climate, restore habitats and support green entrepreneurs.”

—David Lear, VP Sustainability at Dell

Looking Forward

Since the start of our partnership, Dell’s environmental initiatives have evolved tremendously. Today, our work complements Dell’s 2020 Legacy of Good plan, which outlines Dell’s commitment to doing 10 times as much good as the footprint that Dell is leaving behind.