Greener printing

To reduce energy and paper usage, we began implementing the following changes across our entire printer fleet:

• Setting black-and-white printers to print double-sided by default.
• Purchasing newer printer models that are more energy efficient and have toners that yield a higher page volume.
• Encouraging employees in our U.S. offices to send larger print jobs to our onsite copy centers. Printers in our U.S. offices are also configured to switch to standby mode at preset intervals and automatically power down after business hours to help minimize energy use.

A more energy-efficient data center

At our San Diego headquarters, we’re supporting a growing demand for computing power and IT services with a modular data center that is much more efficient than traditional data centers. The HP Performance-Optimized Datacenter (POD) supports standard computing platforms as well as leading-edge technologies that will provide greater energy efficiencies. With a total area of just 320 square feet, the POD’s design dramatically reduces the amount of real estate and power needed to operate a large number of computing systems. The POD is expected to use 30 percent less energy to cool the hot air produced by IT equipment. It is expected to yield a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE™) rating of 1.18 PUE. (PUE, developed by The Green Grid, is a widely accepted measurement of data center energy efficiency. A rating of 1.0 indicates a facility that is 100 percent energy efficient.)

Monitors that use less energy

As part of our ongoing effort to reduce power consumption, we tested monitors from several manufacturers and found that the latest generation of 22-inch LCD panels used only 40 percent of the power required by the 19-inch panels we had been purchasing for several years—and they cost the same. We made the larger models our standard model in 2010, using them to replace or upgrade older models as necessary.

In 2010, Qualcomm facilities worldwide recycled more than 239 tons of corporate electronic waste, or e-waste. In addition to the regular recycling stream of older, unusable hardware, our IT team also targeted various internal sites each month and encouraged employees to drop off electronics they weren’t using. These items were then collected and reviewed for possible reuse or proper disposal.

IT e-Waste Collection (1,000 pounds)

In the United States, we use a California-based processor of electronic scrap that recently became one of the first in the nation to be certified under the Responsible Recycling (R2)/Recycling Industry Operating Standard (R2/RIOS) guidelines. These guidelines provide a set of practical procedures for electronics recyclers that can be audited and that will ensure safer, more environmentally sound recycling practices.

Server virtualization

Server virtualization is a means of increasing server density by running multiple independent virtual operating systems on a single physical computer. Virtualization lets us substantially reduce physical hardware and power consumption—we cut 384,228 kilowatt hours in 2010 alone. That savings in energy also saved 276 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of one year’s emissions from 52 cars.

Increasing telepresence

To help reduce our carbon footprint, reduce travel for our employees, speed decision making and foster collaboration, we implemented eight telepresence systems providing an immersive videoconferencing experience at locations in the United States and England, with systems to be implemented in other countries soon.