In its 2013 corporate sustainability report, Dell announced that it achieved one of its key sustainability goals: to make more than 75% of its desktop and notebook packaging material either compostable or recyclable.With more than 75% of its packaging material recyclable at curbside, it is easier for customers to recycle, the company says (via edieWaste). Dell decreased packaging material from 5.9 million pounds in FY2012 to 5.3 million pounds in FY2013. Sustainable content in its cushioning and corrugated packaging increased to 42% this year, from 39.8% in FY2012 and 33.3% in FY2011.
In late FY2012, Dell surpassed its “cube”goal of reducing desktop and laptop packaging volume by 12.1%, as well as its “content” goal of increasing the amount of recycled packaging content used by 40%. The strategy behind these packaging goals remains in place, including the use of innovative, renewable materials like the bamboo and mushrooms in its cushioning. In FY13, Dell further reduced packaging volume by replacing rigid boxes with envelopes for shipments of more than 500 items such as software and cables.
The company says it "continued to close the recycling loop" by using 7.8 million pounds of recycled content plastics in flat-panel monitors and OptiPlex desktops —an increase of 6 percent over FY12. Content included recycled-content plastic from sources such as beverage bottles and CD cases to create the plastic housing of desktops and backing of monitors.
The company generated 14,293 metric tons of nonhazardous waste at its manufacturing and fulfillment facilities in FY2013, compared with 17,302 metric tons of waste in FY2012 and 32,095 in FY2011.
Dell's waste recycling and reuse rate was down in FY2013, at 96.1% at its manufacturing and fulfillment facilities, compared with 98% in FY2012; that number is up from 95.2% in FY2011.
In its catalogs, Dell sourced 93% of its catalog fiber from Forest Stewardship Council-certified sources in FY2013, compared with 86% in FY2012 and 77% in FY2011.
