Microsoft (MSFT) is working on an "environmental dashboard" to let companies monitor their energy and water use, waste management and other activities. "Global warming is a reality, it’s a top-of-mind issue for business decision makers, and it is not going away," wrote Microsoft exec James Utzschneider on a company discussion forum. "Companies will need systems to track and mitigate the impact they have on the environment." Utzschneider is the general manager for marketing for Microsoft Dynamics, which makes software to manage corporate finances, manufacturing, purchasing and planning, among other things. The environmental dashboard will collect relevant data from those activities and give executives a snapshot of their green bottom line so they can pinpoint ways to improve efficiency and minimize the impact on the environment.
Microsoft: Saving the Planet with Software
November 7, 2006 by Todd Woody
Green Wombat 
While Microsoft’s intent here is to be commended, it is hypocritical of them to be promoting this. After all, the hundreds of trillions of CPU cycles wasted by Microsoft software in defending itself against malware, combined with the trillions of CPU cycles wasted by Microsoft software because of bugs, combined with the trillions of CPU cycles wasted by Microsoft software ensuring that it is “Genuine” (or completing other DRM-related tasks), make for lots of watts that would be saved if users were running efficient software that did not need a million duct-tape patches to defend itself against virtual and economic threats. This doesn’t even consider the monsterous amount of hardware that Visa will require.
Now, if Sun had promoted such an endeavor, *that* would be something worth writing home about. (300 watts for 32 threads? WOW!)
Microsoft Dynamics Lauches “Environmental Dashboard”
Improving building efficiency and waste management are some of the most basic ways of “going green”. They can also save companies a fortune and make *you* a fortune if you can find ways to do it well for others. Sometimes…