No, you can't Photoshop your way to a smaller carbon footprint. But, as Adobe Systems is showing, you can gradually lower your energy dependence, one box at a time.
The San Jose software giant just unveiled 12 servers from Bloom Energy, a Silicon Valley startup selling parking space-sized boxes that generate clean power from virtually any fuel source. Now Adobe, which put the boxes on the fifth floor of its West Tower, claims the new additions will supply close to one-third of all the electricity it needs to power its headquarters.
Bloom says the installation of 12 boxes makes the Adobe deal its biggest yet. It was just a couple of months ago that we were at Cypress Semiconductor headquarters, when Cypress CEO TJ Rodgers told us that Bloom was helping his company ease its way off the grid.
Bloom seems to be onto something here. A very well-funded startup, it's providing the tools to help other companies do what they want (i.e., save money and go green). That's a proven recipe for success. Don't just help yourself, help others. It works very well for tool-making companies like Cisco, Juniper, NetApp and others in that arena.
For Adobe, it's putting more money where its green goals are. The company recently installed 20 wind turbines on campus, showing off another way to generate its own energy instead of relying on outside sources.
Watch this company's bottom line in the months and years to come. If it can prove significant cost savings by going green, others will follow. And that's great news for the likes of Bloom, and its boxes.
Scott is starting to get impressed with this whole "Green Tech" thing. He can be reached on Twitter: @scottbudman
