HP, Sun and Toshiba Put ‘IT’ in Green

The IT industry has had its knuckles rapped on environmental issues this week. A few vendors are taking matters into their own hands to better the environment and their every day operations, reports GreenerComputing.

Hewlett-Packard jointly developed a wearable printer-scanner with UPS to decrease the shipping company’s paper use and make its sorting and shipping more efficient. According to InformationWeek, HP is now free to sell the sp400 All-in-One mobile printer to anyone, including UPS’ rivals. HP is hopeful the device will be the first of a growing market segment.

Sun Microsystems revamped its OpenEco.org Web site. The social site equips its members with tools to calculate, compare and reduce carbon emissions. The enhancment to the site enables users to create a graphic of their carbon footprint from a number of sources such as business travel, electricity usage and mobile sources, says this InfoWorld article.

Toshiba is making plans for the long term. The company released its Environmental Report 2008 and outlined details of its strategy for its Environmental Vision for 2050 initiative. Toshiba has invested in renewable energy and plans to use clean nuclear power and geothermal power in its global operations. In addition, its long-term goal is to reduce the environmental impact of its own products and be a major contributor in increasing environmental efficiency by 10 percent over the next 40 years.