If you're not as geeky about this whole green thing as we are, you might not have noticed Dell's new strategy to become the green computer manufacturer. Well...it's definitely a significant project, and at its head is Dell's director of worldwide environmental affairs, David Lear. Formerly HP's vice president of corporate, social and environmental responsibility, he's brought his passion and enthusiasm to the world's second-largest PC manufacturer with some stunning results. His recent appearance on CNBC outlined a $25,000 prize for the most environmentally friendly computer design, and under his leadership the company is ahead of schedule to triple its recycling between 2006 and 2009. He was kind enough to join us for an interview, and his desire for his business to be the "greenest in the world" seems grounded in a desire to create a win-win situation, where businesses and consumers save money while improving the world we all inhabit.

EcoGeek: You're at the bleeding edge of the green revolution in consumer electronics. How did you come to see environmental responsibility as a necessary part of your business strategy?

David Lear: Customers and our shared earth expect nothing less than full responsibility. This means investing in energy-efficient technologies, embracing responsible recycling practices, offsetting what can’t be reduced directly, etc., from the desktop to the datacenter. What we’re finding is that what’s good for business is good for the environment (and vice versa).

EG: With global warming, overpopulation, and peak oil looming on the horizon (just to name a few), there's a lot out there that could scare your pants off. What do you see as your role in working towards a better world?

As we noted recently, the people at Dell have committed themselves to being leaders in green technology. Their carbon offset program and other new initiatives have come out of nowhere in the last year or so (their excellent recycling program notwithstanding), and here at EcoGeek we've been watching them closely. Dell is now calling today's generation the "ReGeneration" which, when it isn't cheezy, is genius. They definitely want to appear to be at the head of green, and we're glad to report that they've been following through, setting an example by embracing third-party standards like the EPA's Energy 4.0 and EPEAT while incorporating green ideas from the environmental section of their IdeaStorm website.

Dell is taking the idea of user-generated content one step further at this year's OpenWorld conference in San Fransisco. You'd be hard pressed to find a better place to put a finger on the pulse of Green IT, and Dell aims to do just that with the "Dell Listening Wall": a low-tech version of Web 2.0-ish user-generated content which asks the question "What Does Green Mean To Me?"

Dell's collaborative effort with the Conservation Fund gives attendees an opportunity to have their environmental vision heard by answering the question in brightly colored ink on a transparent, LED-lit wall. I just got off the phone with Dell spokesperson Sean Donahue, who reports that it's "the most exciting project" he's been involved with in a long time. The entries are being reviewed by Dell executives, and many have already made it onto the Direct2Dell blog.