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Anixter Green Initiative
1. The Green Initiative "Today's corporate leaders are already very conscious of using green practices when considering new facilities, and they expect green building to have an increasing impact in the future” Source: Siemens Building Technologies
As the green movement turns mainstream for corporate America, organizations in markets spanning consumer products, banking, airlines and chemicals are cutting emissions and looking for ways to get involved. According to findings from the new McGraw-Hill Construction (part of The McGraw-Hill Companies) SmartMarket™ Report: Greening of Corporate America commissioned by Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. and Siemens USA, profitability of America’s corporations will be closely tied to proactive sustainability practices and Green Building principles. The landmark study shows that most U.S. corporate leaders are interested in sustainability, with the majority looking at proactive ways to make it a consistent part of their mission. Research analysis demonstrates that the majority of large U.S. corporations are poised to embrace Green as a cornerstone of their corporate philosophy. The data indicates a tipping point in corporate America, from those mostly uninvolved, to mostly involved in Green, will be reached in early 2009, but perhaps as soon as next year. That translates to 82 percent of corporate America greening at least 16 percent of their building stock. "Today's corporate leaders are already very conscious of using green practices when considering new facilities, and they expect green building to have an increasing impact in the future," said Brad Haeberle, director of marketing, Siemens Building Technologies. "Moreover, they believe that green building is in their company's best interests, not only for the clear economic benefits, but for the market differentiation and competitive advantage," he added.
So what does it mean to be green? GREEN is a term now widely used to describe products, processes and physical structures (commercial and residential buildings) designed and constructed with minimal negative impact to the environment and with an emphasis on conservation of resources, energy efficiency, and healthful interior spaces. The objective of the “green” movement is to create a culture of environmental responsibility. In a nutshell, the GREEN initiative in the IT industry can be boiled down five main areas: Materials reduction Energy efficiency Increased recycling Packaging reductions Hazardous material reductions
Now, let’s discuss the key trends and drivers and how they relate to the Green movement. Environmental and Social Responsibility is one of the most influential aspects of the green initiative. Conserving natural resources and reducing negative impact on environment are the top concerns among organizations and communities around the globe. Protecting the environment is essential for the quality of life of current and future generations. The challenge is to combine this with continuing economic growth in a way which is sustainable over the long term. Energy is central to our lives. We rely on it for transport, for heating our homes in winter, cooling them in summer and running our factories, farms and offices. However, fossil fuel is a finite resource and is a major cause of global warming. So we can no longer take energy for granted. We have to use it more intelligently and develop alternatives. Energy use is particularly inefficient in buildings - especially data centers - and to combat this, energy performance standards and certification requirements are being implemented around the world. According to the aforementioned study, rising energy costs were identified as a fundamental driver of green building in corporate America, with an overwhelming 75 percent of participants listing that trend as a major motivator. “These results show us that the market can only grow for more efficient, clean-energy technologies, particularly as they relate to building design and operation.” The study also found that 63 percent of CEOs recognize financial benefits of green building and 67 percent see a specific operating cost benefit from Green. Additionally, 57 percent of respondents think green fosters innovation within their companies. Respondents clearly view both government and internal management as the strongest drivers pushing their organizations toward adoption of green policies and practices. Also, 60 percent of CFOs see the market differentiation sustainability activities and green building can provide their companies as a definite benefit, with over half of the other executive respondents agreeing as well. Finally, many developments in the greening of business are coming from legislative and regulatory compliance requirements. We will cover some of these in the slides to come.
There are several indicators that green building is not a fad but has become a business standard for the design and construction industry, as the ACE (Architects, Consultants, Engineers) community reports a high level of participation in green building activities. The hospitality, education and government sectors have emerged as key growth areas for construction and green design. At the same time, there is a tremendous need for education on green buildings and, specifically, for more information on green building projects and applications. Looking specifically at data centers, consider the following factors: Money spent on power in the data center has doubled since 2000 Data centers consumed 1.2% of the total US power in 2005 Recently, companies are starting to build data centers near cheaper power sources (rural communities to take advantage of water and wind generation)
As mentioned before, legislative and regulatory compliance is among the key drivers behind the green movement. There are many standards and organizations supporting the initiative. Here are a few worth mentioning: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design ) is a voluntary standard created by members of the U.S. Green Building Council for developing buildings that are environmentally responsible. A LEED certification for a project illustrates a dedication to sustainability and energy efficiency. WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE): establishes regulations for ensuring proper treatment of wastes RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS): restricts the use of certain hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium, etc. in electrical and electronic equipment LPEU: promotes the 3Rs ( reduce, reuse and recycle) GPL: requires government bodies to take the lead in procuring environmentally friendly products and material The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is the nation’s foremost coalition of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. Their more than 9,000 member organizations and our network of 75 regional chapters are united to advance their mission of transforming the building industry to sustainability. ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. Results are already adding up. Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved enough energy in 2006 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 25 million cars — all while saving $14 billion on their utility bills. The Green Grid is a consortium of information technology companies and professionals seeking to lower the overall consumption of power in data centers around the globe. The organization is chartered to develop meaningful, platform-neutral standards, measurement methods, processes and new technologies to improve energy efficient performance of global data centers. EPEAT: created through IEEE. 95% of electronic products procured by the federal government must meet these standards, which include 23 required criteria and 28 optional criteria. This affects aspects including energy use, recycling and packaging
With our products, technical expertise and service offerings, Anixter is uniquely positioned to address your company’s green needs. First, Anixter works with industry leading manufacturers to provide a broad range of products that meet energy efficiency as well as RoHS compliance requirements. Whether Enterprise Cabling or W&C products, we can help specify and supply solutions that address environmental concerns. Some of these products include pre-terminated cable assemblies, Intelligent Infrastructure Management, Cable Management products and energy efficient Ethernet. Our technical expertise in data centers, industry standards, product and solution testing can be instrumental in helping you select and deploy solutions that would put you and your company at the forefront of some of the latest trends, including the green movements. Lastly, READY! Deployment services by Anixter, particularly in a data center space, are second to none in addressing energy efficiency and environmental challenges.
Now, let’s take a closer look at how our READY! Deployment Services can benefit your green deployments. While consideration for energy efficiency and environmental concern in the network planning and design phase is important, we feel there is a unique opportunity also exists to at the deployment process as well. The foundation for an efficient deployment is to manage the materials using the best practices of supply chain services to : Improve construction efficiencies -- single procurement source for all materials, whole order delivery by construction phase, less storage space, improved material management at the construction site Leverage transportation/deliveries -- less delivery trucks, leverage the delivery from one distribution center, less expedited freight (air and courier services) because of an 'in stock' inventory position for all materials need to complete the project Reduce construction waste at the job site -- kitting, packaging, labeling and, in some cases pre-assembly at the warehouses before it ships to the job site can reduce packaging waste and send it to the appropriate recycling center Once the design is complete, our team can work with you on a deployment plan that can make sure we are not wasting the environmental resources to 'get the job done.’ In addition, Anixter READY! Deployment services can help meet criteria in section 2.1 and 2.2 -- Construction Waste Management and earn up to 2 points in LEED certification process.
There are several examples of Anixter’s participation in this initiative that demonstrate why you can rely on us as a resource and expert. For one, we have recently partnered with IBM to support their “Project Big Green” The initiative is a key component of IBM’s major push for “green” data center installations. The project was launched in New York City on May 10 and we participated in a 45-minute panel discussion on “The Ecosystem View of Energy Efficiency”. Anixter was part of a select group of IBM business partners that were invited by the global IT and technology leader to participate in its data center Energy Efficiency Initiative. And in our very own backyard, Anixter is leading by example. In April, our distribution facility in Alsip, Illinois, received LEED-certification for new buildings from the United States Green Building Council. The LEED guidelines made possible a well-designed, environmentally-conscious workplace that has improved morale and productivity which ultimately results in lower operating costs for our company, and superior service for our customers. Additional skylights, recycled steel and an advanced air management system have all been employed at this facility. In addition, as discussed on the previous slides, Anixter takes its responsibility to the environment even further by creating offers through our READY!sm Deployment Services program that will help you meet LEED requirements.
So, lets talk a bit about what your company is currently doing to address the green initiatives and how Anixter can help you meet those goals….
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