Michael Dell announced a program called “Plant A Tree for Me” which will ask customers purchasing Dell computers to donate money to the Conservation Fund and Carbonfund, which both promote ways to reduce or offset carbon emissions by planting trees. I’m big on tree planting, having spent countless hours planting hundreds of trees with TreePeople back in my youth, so I like this program.
A key aspect of this program that needs to be highlighted is that Dell is putting the decision to contribute on the buyer, and not giving a percentage of computer sales to the Tree program. Although it seems like a weaker move model, I don’t think it’s a big deal because Dell is currently under enormous financial pressure to perform. The distribution they are giving to these non-profits is a value added service and the company deserves kudos for that.