posted by Christine Dotts on February 26, 2009
Did you know that over 70% of the total US electricity consumption in the US is in commercial and private real estate? And in designing those buildings, over 80% of the builders and architects use two-dimensional - or 2D - to design those buildings. I learned this yesterday in San Francisco at the Cleantech Forum during a keynote speech by Intel Chief Executive of Sales & Marketing, Sean Maloney. Sean’s theme was “Global Cooling” - and he highlighted some of the industries, such as construction or transportation, that have the greatest opportunity to run cleaner and smarter by tapping today’s technology and computing power.
Now back to building design. Sean showed the audience what can be done with 3D applications. And supercomputers not required! This stuff can be done on today’s PCs. Conventional mainstream computing power can help drive some substantial savings on building construction and significant energy savings and CO2 reductions. It’s a tool from Autodesk called “EcoTect” and you can check out the demo here:
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tagged: Autodesk, Cleantech, Cleantech Forum, green 3D modeling, green design, green technology, greentech, Intel, Sean Maloney
posted by John Skinner on February 26, 2009
Like many of you, I’m thrilled to see technologies such as “smart electricity grids” finally receive such attention, in the highest halls of governments and mainstream press. As highlighted by Intel’s Sean Maloney in his closing keynote of the Cleantech Forum yesterday, technologies such as smart grids and smart buildings hold tremendous potential for enabling a lower-carbon future. But as worldwide government stimulus packages take aim at accelerating the deployment of renewable energy and related 21st-century infrastructures, society must ensure those investments are made “wisely”. The public electricity grid infrastructures we build today, and the technology standards we build upon, must serve us for decades. We have only one chance to do this (for a while at least), so we have to “get it right.”
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tagged: cleantech forum, intel open energy initiative, personal smart grid, smart grid
posted by Revital Bitan on February 21, 2009
Albert Einstein said that we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. Today, that philosophy is particularly relevant to the state of the environment. The organizers of a recent management forum organized by Ma’alah(Israel BSR affiliation) were apparently thinking along Einstein’s line when they chose as their focus the importance of change in the corporate mindset. The forum’s keynote speaker addressed the need to change the way we think about industrial waste: instead of starting from the approach that waste is a nuisance to be disposed of, we need to see it as a resource from which we might benefit.
Seeing things this way demands some serious out-of-the box thinking. We, at Intel, have been doing a lot more than just thinking about industrial waste and we’re proud of our modern take on this major, old “problem”. The forum’s attendees were introduced to Intel Israel’s new and exciting waste disposal initiative, a Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR) waste treatment facility, which was launched in mid-November at the Kiryat Gat Fab 28 facility. The MBR will recycle the waste water from two plants, Intel’s Fab and the neighboring facility of flash memory semi-conductor Numonyx, which is part-owned by Intel.
The largest and most advanced in Israel, the new MBR facility will render the water used in the factories’ production processes suitable for agricultural use. In a country like Israel where water is so scarce, this is a significant accomplishment. Green Prophet, an environmental news site dedicated to living green in the Middle East, calls on other companies to follow Intel’s lead.
Going one step beyond Einstein’s comments, Intel and other companies are seeking to avoid creating environmental problems in the first place. Corporate representatives to the Ma’aleh conference, among them Intel’s, said that they investigate the effect on the environment in the planning stages of a product. When a company adopts that kind of mindset, it is obviously concerned not only with how to be less “bad” for the environment, but also how to enhance it.
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tagged: CSR, Environment, waste, waste treatment facility, water reuse
posted by Will Swope on February 03, 2009
Friday was a strong day, with the opening two breakfast meetings being about the upcoming Copenhagen Climate Change meeting in December, and then about how ICT can help. I pushed that we should be establishing a common website for posting proof statements, and that we just need to be cognizant that NO ONE trusts industry right now. So even with the best of proofs, we’ll need clear systemic analysis or it will be very tough. Example, let’s say Microsoft sets up a video conferencing center. A million air miles are saved. Prove it! In fact, what is happening today is that many NGOs are criticizing Microsoft’s ‘excessive’ data center power usage which is increased by video conferencing.
There is a strong sense that companies have not engaged and our voices are mute…save Jeff Immelt from GE who is driving the US Climate Action Partnership. The other sense from the morning meetings is that no one can really work through the politics that the developed countries put the CO2 in the air and the developing economies are saying…”Don’t tell me to diminish my growth because you were careless with yours”. This will not solve easy.
Just a normal afternoon session sitting next to Al Gore and debating the best approach to dealing with power generation in Africa…ho hum. He is very deliberate with his words and had a great way of pushing by asking questions.
Met another Young Global Leader pushing his company (two years old) . Geez, these guys are impressive. His idea was to use your cell phone to take pictures of what you eat, then have the computer do all of the work to determine food groups and calories. It knows your health profile, and sends you (and if you release the data) your doctor daily/weekly/monthly summaries.
At the end of the meeting, a gentleman handed me his card and said that he was a major player in delivering health care in Bulgaria. He said he would very much like to meet with Intel and would be eager to help us establish ourselves in the Eastern European market. A Davos moment; could not have been planned, might even help us…who knows?
Dinner was listening to Jim Rogers (Duke Energy), Al Gore (again), and Gordon Brown (PM, England). Then a debate at the table with the Energy Minister of Denmark, the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Sir David King who runs Oxford University’s college on the environment, and the largest energy producer in Switzerland.
My Chief of Staff FORCED me to go to the Google party, where I met the CEO of Facebook, chatted with Larry Page and his CFO (Page was just back from being pitched to purchase a $40M ticket to the space station), Shai Agassi, Gore (again…), the first woman to reach the South Pole, and the technical advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan. Kind of like watching TV at home, but different.
Saturday was a quick hour on how to best communicate to young Africans on the dangers and proper actions to prevent AIDS (anonymous SMS messaging best so far, ~2000 questions a month), and someone is working on timing special encouragement to those at risk within 30 minutes of bars closing.
Intel Chairman Craig Barrett hosted an education forum where the audience was especially appreciative of his many years of leadership. It was nice for those of us from Intel to witness, and also sad for us to think about life at Intel after Craig.
My last meeting was lunch with the PM of Japan. While leaving, I told Carlos Ghosn that I had great respect for how he has turned Nissan into a powerhouse with product, brand, culture, and intellect. He still didn’t offer me a new Infinity.
All in all, a very productive, if sobering, five days of meetings and exchanges of ideas. Hope to be back next year.
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tagged: Al Gore, Copenhagen Climate Change meeting, Craig Barrett, ICT, Intel, US Climate Action Partnership
posted by Lila Ibrahim on February 03, 2009
I’m catching up with my notes from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, so let’s back up to Friday, as we finished the third day of discussions. Crisis continues to be the key topic — ranging from economic to social, political to environmental. I’m still inspired by Day One’s conversations around how we use this crisis as a catalyst to reshape the world we want to build. That requires new business relationships, new business models and new ideas.
As conversations focus on the many types of crisis facing the world today, education keeps coming up as an important area to invest and make advancements in. After all, people look at education as a way to build bridges and close the cultural gap during political and social crisis. When we can offer youth a better education, we offer them the hope of a better future. With the growing youth population in many emerging markets, getting an education is even more critical. For example, many conversations have focused on the mounting tensions in the Middle East - something I’m personally very connected to given my ethnic background. The thinking is, no matter where political crisis is looming, education can be a foundation for diplomacy and better understanding across borders. It keeps youth in school, engages them in learning and prepares for their future. Of course, job creation goes hand in hand with providing citizens a good education.
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tagged: crisis, Davos, Emerging Markets, Intel, Intel Learning Series, Intel Teach, WEF, World Economic Forum
posted by Bruce Sewell on February 02, 2009
Its hard to feel sorry for yourself at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland…the snow glistens in the crisp mountain air illuminated by a bright alpine sun; politicians, rock stars, media moguls and the captains of industry mingle effortlessly, safe under the vigilant but unfailingly polite gaze of about 2000 armed police…but then so many things are different today.
Instead of the usual mood of self satisfaction and privilege, the tone in Davos this year was positively defensive. Gone was the patina of entitlement, replaced instead with a palpable sense that at some profound level this collection of bankers, regulators and politicians had failed to read the writing on the wall, and for that omission the world as we know it will pay a stiff price. The good news is that while chastened by the financial crisis, this year’s attendees arrived in Davos with a resolve and a determination that I haven’t seen since I began attending. This was a no nonsense, get down to work, meeting. I didn’t see a single rock star (Bono doesn’t count because, well, he’s Bono). On the other hand we had an unprecedented number of Heads of State, all talking about what their governments would do to stimulate the economy, how the world community could turn this disaster into a long term opportunity, and how to make sure this kind of melt-down doesn’t happen again. Also present were most of the Commissioners of the EU, leading Finance Ministers from around the globe, and representatives from most of the major NGOs and multinational companies. In between the meetings to develop new green initiatives, to continue the fight against the digital divide, to resolve conflicts in the middle-east, and to advise President Obama on the first 100 days of his administration, a great deal of good old fashioned business got done.
From an Intel perspective this was probably our most successful Davos yet. We were able to engage, in depth, regarding the global sustainability challenge; continue our leadership role in education; renew positive relationships with several world leaders and leading regulators, and interact with a bunch of customers. Not bad for 4 days work. The schedule is grueling - most of us running on about 4 hours sleep each night - the support team probably even less. But putting aside all of the cynicism and the easy cheap shots, I leave Davos this year with a strange feeling. That in a time of great global uncertainty and with the prospect of prolonged economic suffering, this annual gathering of public, private, and academic thought leaders has re-committed to its core mission, “to improve the state of the world” and may just be our best chance for some kind of meaningful change.
Let’s hope so.
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tagged: Bruce_Sewell, Davos, global economy, Intel, World Economic Forum
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