Dell, as a Founding Partner of Team Earth, is joining CI at an exciting launch event in NYC during the UN's Climate Week to bring attention to the need to protect tropical forests in any effort to halt climate change.
Guided by the wisdom of a blue-ribbon panel of the world's best scientists, Team Earth is a cross-sectoral collective action platform that will galvanize the scaled impact of leading companies, powerful brands, NGOs and others to come together to address the most critical issues facing people and the planet.
Dell is known for its leading-edge technology and customer service. Today, Conservation International (CI) recognizes Dell as a valued partner in our collective effort to preserve habitat and reduce carbon emissions.
Making a Difference in Madagascar
We've worked closely with Dell to develop a vital reforestation program in the Fandriana-Vondrozo Forest Corridor, which stretches along Madagascar's eastern escarpment.
IN THE NEWS: Check out the latest partnership between CI and Dell.
This 239,169 hectares (591,000 acre) area, one of the largest and most varied of Madagascar's planned protected areas, will ensure the survival of many of Madagascar's endemic threatened species. These include the golden bamboo lemur and the greater bamboo lemur, as well as the Malagasy poison frog.
The project will focus on conservation activities to avoid deforestation and protect the rich and unique biodiversity of this magnificent area. Dell's commitment will prevent more than 500,000 metric tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere over the next five years, effectively offsetting the company's fuel usage and business air travel over this period.
It's an effort both Dell and CI feel is extremely vital. According to CI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Seligmann, “By reducing its own environmental footprint and protecting forests, Dell is addressing the major drivers of climate change – energy use and deforestation – while also delivering significant biodiversity and community benefits.”
Tackling a Powerful Problem
The burning and clearing of forests is a major – though often overlooked – source of greenhouse gas emissions. With 19 million metric tons of CO2 entering the atmosphere each day, deforestation is responsible for about 16 percent of all the world's greenhouse gas emissions – more than all the cars, trucks, planes and trains combined.
In a phenomenon commonly known as the greenhouse gas effect, CO2 emissions created by deforestation and other sources trap heat in the earth's atmosphere, making it difficult for the atmosphere to cool.
To help combat this increasing threat to our planet, CI is developing Conservation Carbon projects that span the globe. Our hope is that these innovative projects will be a model for broader efforts to significantly curb climate change and protect the biological diversity on which life depends, while simultaneously improving the economic well-being of forest-dependent communities.
Important Changes, a Powerful Partnership
Dell has met its carbon-neutral goal ahead of its schedule, a major achievement in its commitment to be the "greenest" technology company on the planet. Dell currently ranks ahead of HP, IBM and Apple in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership Fortune 500 registry.
CI's close partnership with Dell represents an important milestone our efforts to work with leading companies to tackle climate change while maximizing the business value of environmental programs.
To learn more about Dell's conservation efforts, please visit www.regeneration.org.