Sustainability Report - Dell

Figure 25: Freight Transportation:Air Versus Ground OptimizationFigure 26: Trend in Transport-Related Emissions300Percent of Weight Shipped1008060402002000 2001 2002 2003 20042005Metric Tons CO2250200150100502000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Calendar YearCalendar YearTotalAir GroundGroundalternative work schedules, teleworking opportunities, orridesharing and matching services to encourage employees toreduce the number of daily commuting trips. The resulting fuelsavings also reduces CO 2 emissions.Regional HighlightsAirAs a member of the Central Texas Clean Air Partners program,Dell has been actively engaged in supporting community activitiesand developing internal programs to encourage employeesto find alternatives to driving to work alone. An internal Website that provides information about alternative commutingprograms, and a system for self-reporting of commuting milessaved, has been promoted across our major Texas campuses.Other activities included hosting commute fairs (employeeinformation sessions) and co-sponsoring events such as electriclawnmower discount events. In addition, Dell's team of commutersplaced second among private employers, and fourthoverall, in the annual Commuter Challenge competition amonglocal businesses and government agencies. The 99 participantsin the challenge collectively saved 945 single-occupancy vehicletrips to and from Dell's Central Texas campuses duringOctober 2005.Logistics Programs to Reduce EmissionsDell has continued our commitment to reducing GHG emissionsin our transportation networks while delivering computers andother products to our customers. Recognizing a global responsibilityto manage climate change concerns, Dell has continued tofocus on several voluntary initiatives that enhance air quality.Ground versus Air TransportationOne of Dell's key tenets for optimizing transportation costs isto maximize the use of ground transportation by trucks, whileminimizing the use of transportation by airplanes. Because airtransportation creates approximately seven times more GHGemissions than ground transportation, this optimization tenet isvital to reducing GHG emissions. Throughout the years, Dellhas implemented, and continuously enhanced, expeditedground transportation networks. Dell has implemented manufacturingand fulfillment planning processes, with patentspending, to increase the ability to meet customer expectationswith ground shipping instead of air shipping. Furthermore, Dellhas established manufacturing locations to allow the assemblyof computers closer to the customer, which reduces the totaltransit distance and minimizes the use of air transportation.Figure 25 illustrates Dell's trend for using air and groundtransportation as a percentage of our parcel shipments tocustomers for the past six years.This trend in optimizing freight transportation by shiftingfrom planes to trucks continues to be Dell's strategy for outboundshipping. By applying standard metric tons of carbonmeasures for emissions, the impact of Dell's optimizationefforts is apparent.In fiscal year 2006, Dell added a new manufacturing location inWinston-Salem, North Carolina, where we began assemblingand shipping desktop computers destined for customers in theeastern part of the United States. Previously, these computerswere manufactured in Austin, Texas or Nashville, Tennessee.Moving 1,200 miles closer than Austin (and 400 miles closerthan Nashville) enables significant optimization for transportingcomputers. Each mile reduced is fewer miles traveled by trucks,thereby reducing GHG emissions. Figure 26 illustrates the trendin transportation-related emissions. Dell will continue to refineour geographic manufacturing by using our Winston-Salemlocation to reduce GHG emissions.EPA Partnership: SmartWay TransportAs an EPA SmartWay partner, Dell has continued to dobusiness with carriers who are members of the SmartWayprogram. SmartWay carriers are committed to reducingGHG emissions.52 D E L L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y R E P O R T • F I S C A L Y E A R 2 0 0 6