So if you run more and larger data centers than almost anybody, and you have an IQ above ambient air temperature, you’d already be looking for ways to cut your energy costs. And if you were really, really clever, you might figure out that some of the things you’ve learned and/or developed, or are learning and/or developing, might have value beyond your corporate borders.
So if you were, say, Google, maybe you’d do all of this in a way that not only bought you cost savings, but brought you a great amount of good press, by positioning your company as a committed explorer and developer of green/alternative energy. Which is precisely what Google has done.
The great thing about many environmental challenges is that they present opportunities for corporations of many sizes and types to “do well by doing good.” That is to say, a company can “go green” in ways that not only try to help the environment, but generate and/or boost revenues as well. Which is precisely what Google has done.
According to the rapidly growing bushel basket of stories already posted online, Google, hot on the heels of the Climate Savers Initiative it announced with Intel in June, is investing bushel baskets of money in alternative energy. Google plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars, initially focused on geothermal, solar, and wind power, under the rubric “Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal,” or the charmless, clunky abbreviation “RE
Anyway, Google’s created a new R&D division, to be run by its Google.org philanthropic non-profit. And even if the initiative never produces anything usable by the world at large, it is a great example of the combination of good process, and process done well.
The Take-Aways:
1. If they don’t already exist at your organization, argue, lobby, and work for policies that encourage and support:
+ awareness of energy-related and other environmental issues, and addressing of those most beneficial, challenging, and/or potentially threatening, to the organization and its ecosystem;
+ identification and exploitation of opportunities to “do good” organizationally, especially if and when such efforts can also contribute to revenues and/or reputational enhancement; and
+ sharing and promotion of your organization’s most positive policies and initiatives, across and beyond the organization, and including the communities in which it lives and does business wherever appropriate.
(By the way, some IT-enabled tool or set of tools for process capture and management and collaboration might possibly aid and abet such efforts. I’m just saying.)
2. If such policies are in place where you work, find as many ways as you can to nurture and grow them across and throughout the organization – and count yourself very, very lucky, professionally and personally.
Michael Dortch has been an analyst, 'information entrepreneur,' speaker, and writer about IT and 'the real world" for the past 30 years. After almost 10 years at the Robert Frances Group (RFG), Michael begins a new position with Aberdeen Group in September.
Dennis Byron is an analyst with ebizQ, focusing on Open Source Software as well as Business Process Management technologies.
