It's great to see all of the "green" ideas popping up on IdeaStorm! We are part of the ReGeneration and continue to make protecting the environment part of the core of Dell. Over the past several months you've probably noticed several comments from todd_d, our environment liaison. We made a lot of progress in 2006 and 2007 towards our goals for environmentally-friendly packaging and being the Greenest Technology Company.

IdeaStorm members ewagnerjr2000 and nboyle both suggested that we look into greener packing materials. Over the past several years we have expanded our materials portfolio to include more environmentally-friendly materials and reduce the total overall materials we use (less cardboard, wood, plastic and paper). As part of this process we review packaging materials and test each of them to make sure our products will still be protected on their way to the customer.

So when we make a choice as to what material to use, we look at the test results, the environmental impact, the cost and other factors before making the decision. For the past four years we've been able to capitalize on changes to our packaging methods (like multipack and slipsheets) and materials to reduce packaging waste by one million pounds or more every year.

Check out the environmental responsibility section of our sustainability report and review pages 55-56 for more information on what we're doing to optimize packaging for our customers and the Earth. Stay tuned for FY08's sustainability report coming out later this year and continue to tell us your ideas on being even greener.

Link back to packaging ideas: Biodegradable packing materials ; Use less packaging materials than any other company

Link back to ideas on Dell being Green: Dell Staff can help the environment ; Do a Dell "protecting the environment ad campaign ; Dell tries to save the environment