Dell has released its annual 2020 Legacy of Good update, continuing the company’s long-term commitment to society, team members and the environment. The report summarizes efforts during Fiscal Year 2018 (Feb. 4, 2017 – Feb. 2, 2018). The report and corresponding activities are rooted in Dell’s acknowledgement of its responsibility to realize a sustainable and prosperous future.
Dell’s purpose as a company is to drive human progress through technology. One of the ways the company brings that to life is through its Legacy of Good commitment – to put Dell technology and expertise to work where they can do the most good for people and the planet. For Dell that means investing in innovation that reduces environmental impact, supports a transparent supply chain and ensures an inclusive future workforce.
“The Legacy of Good program reflects what’s possible when people and technology come together with purpose,” said Christine Fraser, Chief Responsibility Officer, Dell. “Our customers, partners and teams care about this work now more than ever, and we will continue to seek innovative ways to deploy our resources, design out waste, celebrate inclusion and address the greatest need.
“The idea that technology should be a driver of human progress is central to how Dell thinks as a company. Our Legacy of Good program captures this idea and spells out our commitment to drive human progress by putting our technology to work where it can do the most good for people and the planet. We also see technology as the key to unlock regenerative solutions that will help make a positive social and environmental impact – building a legacy of good,” said Rajeev Kapoor, Vice President and CSR Champion, Dell India.
Highlights include –
Sustainable design and innovation
Dell believes transitioning to a circular economy is critical to enable human progress in the future. The company’s deep supply chain expertise, design strategy, and global electronics recycling infrastructure puts the company in a unique position to advance a circular model. Dell has pioneered sustainable design innovation in a multitude of areas, including:
- Closed-loop recycling:In the reported period, Dell brought closed-loop plastics recycling to its enterprise portfolio in Europe, recycling more than 35,000 lbs. of plastic from e-waste into new enterprise products. Global recycling programs including Dell Reconnect, in partnership with Goodwill® Industries, and the Asset Resale and Recycling Services have now recycled more than 20 million pounds of plastics and gold to make new computer parts. Cumulatively, Dell has used 73 million pounds of recycled material in new products since 2013, keeping the company on track to meet 2020 goal of 100 million pounds.
- Gold reclamation:At the same time, Dell closed the loop on gold, up cycling used gold from e-waste into new motherboards in the Dell Latitude 5285 2-in-1 and into a jewellery line, The Circular Collection, in partnership with Bayou with Love, founded by Nikki Reed. A Trucost study found the gold reclamation process led by Dell partner, Wistron Green Tech, has a 99 percent lower environmental impact than traditionally mined gold. The program received the Best of People’s Choice Award at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
- Global e-waste tracking: This year, Dell is piloting the use of global tracking technology to monitor the responsible recycling of used electronics. In addition to piloting its own electronic tracking program, Dell has partnered with Basel Action Network to deploy trackers across Dell’s consumer takeback programs. The use of multiple tracking methods enables greater visibility and transparency as Dell looks to ensure compliance with the high standards held for its US recycling partners. Results will be reported in approximately six months following the pilot period.
- Intercepting ocean-bound plastics: Dell’s XPS 13 2-in-1 laptop ships in packaging made with recovered ocean-bound plastics. The packaging, which received a Best of Innovation Award at CES, will begin shipping on the broader XPS line and commercial product portfolio later this year. To scale the work, Dell in partnership with the Lonely Whale, created NextWave, a consortium of companies dedicated to scaling use cases for ocean-bound plastic materials in manufacturing while creating economic and social benefits for stakeholders. NextWave hopes to divert 3 million pounds of plastics over five years, the equivalent of keeping 66 million water bottles from washing out to sea.
Investing in a Transparent and Diverse Supply Chain
Dell is committed to maintaining an innovative, diverse, ethical and transparent supply chain that ensures good working conditions and a sustainable approach for their suppliers around the world. Highlights include:
- A new virtual reality experience that allows users to look around an actual supplier factory, see the living conditions for workers at the factory, and observe an engagement session featuring customers and workers. The 360-degree videos are available on Dell’s supply chain site.
- More than $3 billion invested annually with women- and minority-owned suppliers and small businesses in the past six years.
- More than 200,000 workers in the company’s supply chain are monitored through the company’s weekly working hours monitoring program.
- In China, Dell has improved its ranking from No. 3 to No. 2 overall in IPE’s Green Choice Alliance’s Corporate Information Transparency Index.
- Dell publishes reports on key supply chain sustainability topics twice a year.
Enabling the Workforce
The only way to ensure that the innovation we put in place today carries through to tomorrow, is by engaging everyone we can in today’s workforce and ensuring the next generation is equipped with the skills to thrive in an increasingly tech-centric world:
- The company continues to build a flexible work environment that serves a diverse set of work styles. More than 58 percent of Dell team members utilized Dell’s remote work opportunity at least one day per week. The company was also ranked No. 9 on Top 100 Companies with Remote Jobs in 2018.
- Dell is proud to score a 100 on the HRC Corporate Equality Index for the 14th year in a row.
- Dell was named as World’s Most Ethical Company by the Ethisphere® Institute for the fifth year in a row.
- Enabling an inclusive workforce, more than 28 percent of team members belong to an Employee Resource Group (ERG). Dell hosts 13 groups with 338 chapters across 60 countries.
- 1.1 million people have gained access to technology and technology skills through Dell strategic giving programs this year. The company has helped a total of 11.2 million people since 2013.
- $50 million has been committed to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives focused on underserved youth since 2014.
- Dell donated a $650,000 grant to benefit more than 400,000 youth and 3,000 educators in 422 locations in Ethiopia. The entire project, through a partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry for Education and Camara Education, will deliver more than 30,000 PCs to more than 1,000 schools, benefitting 1.2 million students between 2016 and 2019. The $12 million innovation project will also include more than 16 million hours of information and communication technologies education training to more than 3,000 teachers and school leaders.
