Tech Coalition Backs Electricity Conservation

A coalition led by Google and Intel and including Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Hitachi, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, Sun and Yahoo, is backing a plan to make computers and servers more energy efficient. The plan aims to cut the amount of electricity computers use by one-half by making them more energy efficient. Currently, most computers lose about one-half of the power it uses and servers lose about one-third.

It is expected that making them more efficient will raise prices slightly, but save consumers more on their electricity bill.

Boeing's Recycling is Profitable

Boeing made over $60 million last year from its recycling program. This article also highlights a few other companies in the Seattle area that have environmentally-friendly initiatives or products. The other companies mentioned are Costco, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Nordstrom. Apparently, Microsoft is claiming that the "sleep" feature in its new Vista operating system is a big energy saver. Also, a data center being constructed by Microsoft is using green building techniques and hydropower.

Q&A with C.K. Prahalad

Thanks again to Fast Company for this - some questions posed to C.K. Prahalad. I first heard about Prahalad because a couple of pieces he co-wrote for the Harvard Business Review were required reading in my Strategy class last semester. Then I had the pleasure to see him speak at the Fuqua School of Business in Durham last semester, as well, at a talk hosted by their Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) . Prahalad is the author of The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, which essentially says that companies could boost their business while helping to alleviate poverty by making the 5 billion or so people who live in poverty a part of their target market. At the talk I saw him give, he gave examples of companies already doing this - most examples given were companies outside of the U.S. In this Q&A, he does say that companies such as Procter & Gamble and Unilever and a little outfit called Microsoft are dabbling at the bottom of the pyramid.

Prahalad's thesis certainly is an interesting one - the Q&A here is a good, quick read.

And be warned - I'll be posting more from Fast Company in the next few days. Great stuff.