Thursday 5 July 2012

IBM saves $43m on electricity costs

IBM saved $43million (£27.5m) on its electricity bill in 2011 after a company-wide programme to cut back on energy use.

The global technology giant saved 378,000 megawatt hours of electricity last year - enough to power almost 34,000 average US homes for a year.

According to its latest Corporate Responsibility Report released this week, the huge energy conservation was the result of on-going programme involving 2,300 conservation projects at more than 364 IBM facilities around the world.

The New York-led computing multinational behind such technology as the 'Holey Optochip' which transfers data at high-speeds (pictured) says energy saving must be more than just a “passing fad”.

It has already slashed nearly six billion kWh over the last decade, saving $442 million (£233m) in the process.

Wayne Balta, Vice President of Environmental Affairs and Product Safety at IBM said: "In order for sustainability to be more than a passing fad, it must be sustained over the long term. From the impact of our operations and products on the environment, to how we manage our global supply chain, environmental leadership is a strategic imperative.”