Dell has named actor and entrepreneur Adrian Grenier as its first Social Good Advocate as part of the company’s efforts to advocate for eco-friendly lifestyles.
“With our mutual interest in driving sustainability in business, film and music and supporting entrepreneurs, the partnership with Dell was an organic fit,” Grenier said. “Conspicuous consumption gets plenty of attention in our culture already. We’re going to work together to make conscious consumption sexy.”
The partnership is part of Dell’s 2020 Legacy of Good Plan, which is aimed at creating social and environmental benefits while driving better customer outcomes.
“We have made significant progress since launching the 2020 Legacy of Good Plan over a year and a half ago, and Grenier’s credibility and passion in this space make him a fitting ambassador to further Dell’s sustainability efforts,” Trisa Thompson, Dell’s vice president of corporate responsibility, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Grenier, a trusted voice among conscious consumers, to extend the conversation to a broader audience.”
Grenier appears in the forthcoming “Entourage” film based on the popular HBO series in which he starred. His credits also include the films “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding.”
Inspiring sustainable lifestyles
He discussed the partnership at a corporate social responsibility panel at South By Southwest Interactive on March 14. The actor founded a content platform called Shft.com to advocate sustainability in film, design, art and food. He also produced a sustainability-themed television series on the Discovery network Planet Green called “Alter Eco.”
By working with Grenier, Dell hopes to engage a broader audience with its social and environmental programs and inspire healthier, sustainable lifestyles.
“Adrian is a fantastic storyteller, and his content platforms have been able to really help people integrate sustainability into their daily lives in simple, easy ways,” said David Lear, Dell’s executive director of sustainability. “Dell is trying to do the same thing with our customers through technology.”
Recently, Grenier launched a Kickstarter campaign in search of The Lonely Whale to call attention to ocean noise pollution and find a whale that’s been heard since 1989 but never seen. Dell will provide support in the effort to find the whale.
“I’ve been at this for a while,” Grenier told GreenBiz. “I’m very honored that Dell has recognized that work and brought me on to fulfill this role.”
A focus on energy conservation
Grenier was interested in working with Dell because of the company’s efforts to measure progress in sustainability with its 2020 Legacy of Good Campaign. By that year, Dell plans to reduce the energy intensity of its products by 80 percent.
In addition to e-waste and energy use, as part of the Legacy of Good campaign, Dell also highlights population growth, clean water, the education gap, climate change as challenges to address.
By 2020, the “good” coming from Dell products will be 10 times the energy required to create and use it, the company envisions. In addition, by 2020, Dell expects to use only packaging that is 100 percent compostable or recyclable and will encourage the company’s workers to contribute 5 million hours of community service.
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