Disclosure: Dell is a client of the author.
At Dell Technologies World this week, one of the most interesting reports I received was from Cassandra Garber, Vice President ESG (Environment, Social and Governance). That's because when I first spoke to Dell in the early 2000s about this topic, they were on the wrong side of the ESG effort.
There are two types of companies that talk about sustainability. One guy treats it like a marketing tool with little substance; the other treats it more like a religion. Dell's original effort was basically, "if you buy a product, we'll plant a tree." It looks good, but it's also a clear indicator that you're only talking about this important topic. Since then, Dell has embraced its ESG commitment, funded it, and created showcases of its efforts, such as Concept Luna, the sustainable design project that could redefine the tech marketplace and make it much greener.
Let's talk about how Dell has increased its ESG focus and credibility.
Passion makes the difference
Getting the ESG right requires leadership from someone who is backed by business leaders who are passionate about the work. Garber is passionate about ESG. Her eyes lit up as she spoke about the work that helps advance executive compensation and rewards programs. Speaking with several product managers at Dell, I found that they were also in on this effort and were proud of projects like the Concept Luna, the first fully durable laptop that Dell uses to show what's possible.
This passion spans the business, starting with Michael Dell and Jeff Clarke at the top and running through CMO Allison Dew and all the product managers I met at the event. Dell takes this effort seriously and shows how aggressively it is changing things like management metrics and business success metrics.
Moon Concept Explained
As for the Concept Luna, I had the chance to see it completely taken apart and put back together, and the speed at which you could take the laptop apart was just amazing. With a little practice, you should be able to completely disassemble the machine in minutes. Dell even used organic materials that can be safely dissolved to reduce exposure to contamination when the product is ultimately disposed of. (And that concept fully encompasses the "right to repair" effort that's running in the industry now.)
Liquid immersion cooling
Another interesting concept at the fair was what looked like a modern, insulated cryo-sarcophagus with a shell-shaped opening at the top. Seriously, it looked like something out of a science fiction movie. It contains a non-conductive liquid in which the servers are placed, which is much more efficient at dissipating heat than air and also much cheaper. (This technology has been particularly useful for crypto mining.)
The liquid should also reduce the risk of water intrusion, which can cause corrosion and damage submerged computers. Even at the highest performance levels, you shouldn't experience any heat-related failures.
The sarcophagus is open at the top, that would be great in future Dracula movies, but it served a very important and practical purpose: to reduce the costs associated with cooling, while dramatically increasing cooling efficiency.
Unfortunately, the booth exhibiting this material was unstaffed, so I couldn't get the full backstory. But it seemed to be part of that effort.
Advancing ESG
Getting ESG right requires several things to come together well. One of the most interesting efforts I've seen was led by former HP CMO David Roman, who used HP's philanthropic budget to increase HP's marketing impact while improving the effectiveness of the good HP was trying to accomplish in that moment. What he did was give certain celebrities the opportunity to spend that philanthropic budget if they, in turn, became advocates for HP. They jumped on the case at no cost.
At Dell Technologies World, Dell Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President Allison Dew had actor Matthew McConaughey on stage; McConaughey is clearly passionate about ESG-type projects. Imagine if he became a passionate supporter of Dell: how powerful would he be? I think Dew could pull it off, and I think Garber's passion would be incredibly hard to turn down. So I'm expecting incredible ESG progress for next year's event.
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