As a neighbor and frequent visitor to California for work, family and play, the California drought and the millions of residents who are adjusting their water habits are frequently on my mind. At the end of May, I cycled from Santa Barbara to the San Diego-Mexico border. The beautiful California coastline and mild temperatures were a welcome break from the oppressive Arizona heat, but I couldn’t help notice the impacts of the drought – from desiccated landscaping to empty farm fields to active discussions at each coffee shop, restaurant and pit stop along the way.
With limited rainfall and no easy fix to the drought in sight, it’s clear that everyone across the state – from homeowners to large corporations – must step up and play their part to conserve water. That includes all of us here at Intel. I’m proud to say that we have focused on conservation in our business operations for years, and we continue to integrate environmental considerations across all facets of our business.
In the past two years, Intel has reduced fresh water consumption by a third at our sites in Santa Clara and Folsom, California – saving more than 80 million gallons per year – and we have plans for further reductions.
We achieved this initial reduction through a variety of initiatives, including:
- Reductions in landscaping water usage from smart controllers and irrigation, including drought-resistant landscaping designs
- Improved fixtures for sinks, showers and restrooms at our sites
- Cooling tower and chiller plant optimization
- Using outside air for data center cooling
Our commitment to water conservation predates the California drought, and we’re continually looking for new ways to conserve water. Since 1998, Intel has invested more than $220 million in water conservation programs at our global facilities, which have saved more than 48 billion gallons of water – enough to supply around 470,000 U.S. homes for an entire year. In 2014, we internally recycled approximately 3.9 billion gallons of water.
For more information about Intel’s sustainability initiatives, I encourage you to take a look at our
2014 Corporate Responsibility Report and learn more about our
water policy and strategies. In addition, we would love to hear what you are doing so that we can learn and further improve our own practices. In the meantime, as the temperatures continue to soar into the triple digits in the Phoenix area, I can only daydream of the Malibu coastline and my next cycling trip to California.
Todd Brady is the Director of Global Public Affairs and Sustainability for Intel Corporation. In this role he leads state and local government affairs, media and community relations, corporate volunteerism and sustainability at the company's major manufacturing and office locations around the globe. In addition to overseeing regulatory and community engagement strategies in the US, China, Southeast Asia, Israel, Ireland and Latin America, he directs Intel’s global initiatives to make Intel “smart & green” by leading corporate-wide sustainability programs such as climate, energy and water conservation, green design and the integration of internet of things (IoT) solutions to create smart and green offices, buildings and facilities of the future. During his 20+ years at Intel, Todd has represented the company publicly in numerous forums and led industry-wide initiatives in many national and international committees. He has authored more than 20 papers in scientific journals and conference proceedings on a variety of sustainability topics. In 2009, he was named by Scientific American as one of ten outstanding leaders involved in research, business or policy pursuits that have advanced science and technology. Todd holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and a MS in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.