Fujitsu raises the bar with national environmental sustainability practice

Fujitsu Australia Limited today announced the national expansion of its Sustainability Practice, helping more organisations minimise the environmental burden of IT itself and their carbon footprint through smarter IT solutions.

Chief Executive Officer, Rod Vawdrey said Principal Consultant, Alison O’Flynn would lead the practice from Melbourne, with consultants from the other states and territories ready to help customers address the business challenges posed by climate change.

“Fujitsu approaches its customers’ carbon challenges with a combination of distinctive thought leadership and bold ingenuity,” Mr Vawdrey said.

“Now, as we prepare to mark Wold Environment Day on Thursday (5 June), organisations across Australia can draw on our global record of achievement and research, through an agile, national practice that can take on their carbon challenges from a local perspective.

“A lot of IT service providers are now trumpeting their environmental credentials, but few, if any, share Fujitsu’s lengthy and notable record,” Mr Vawdrey said.

In 1993, Fujitsu established its Environmental Protection Program, which outlines the company’s approach to environmental activities around four key areas - products, factories, solutions and people.

In recognition of the Program, Fujitsu has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index every year since its inception in 1999.

In March this year, Fujitsu Limited became the first Japanese company to take a leadership role as a Contributor Member of The Green Grid, the global consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centres and business computing ecosystems.

In October 2007, Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand launched its Green IT service offering and a white paper called Green IT – Delivering Business Sustainability, which is available for download here.

“The environment is at the heart of everything we do at Fujitsu,” Mr Vawdrey said.

“From our wholehearted participation in the AIIA / Sustainability Victoria ByteBack Australia computer recycling service (Fujitsu pays for the collection and processing of its products, relieving taxpayers of the burden), to being the first company to commercially introduce notebook PC models featuring housings made with an environmentally friendly bio-based plastic that require less oil to produce, we are committed to making every activity green,” he said.

Speaking from Adelaide, where she is addressing the Committee for Economic Development of Australia’s (CEDA) Beyond Carbon 2008 event, Ms O’Flynn said Australian companies were reaping the rewards of Fujitsu’s holistic, ‘through the value chain’ approach.

“Through our frontline experience we’re able to help other organisations implement a range of strategic, environmentally sustainable initiatives supported by a roadmap of benefits,” Ms O’Flynn said.

“For example, one of Australia’s leading car manufacturers turned to Fujitsu to develop an environmentally sustainable IT strategy to complement its production strategy.

“Applying our Green IT Framework and Index, we quantified the alignment between the IT department’s plans and the company’s corporate sustainability strategy.

“Importantly, the scope of work included the extended IT environment and the key role technology will play in meeting the company’s corporate environmental objectives, including carbon emission reduction targets.

“This allows the company to commit to a more detailed Green IT strategy including targets and KPIs in line with its five-year Environment Plan and annual Sustainability Report, and communicates its intent to extend environmental measures across the IT procurement chain.”