MBAs to the Environmental (and Financial) Rescue

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Also at SunGard, an intern from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business (Ross Full-Time MBA Profile) was able to locate $54,467 in annual savings by replacing the aging ventilation systems. At EMC there was a similar windfall. Updating the ventilation systems to provide more efficient cooling for the company's laboratories may save more than $100,000 annually. Many of the students participating in the internships also recommended cutting down on office-equipment costs by buying Energy Star-qualified equipment and dual-purpose printers and copiers. Fewer machines means less drain on power, even when they're idle. There's also the VendingMiser, which is estimated to make vending machines 46% more efficient.

savings in the millions

The ROI is impressive. Sandra Lehane, EMC's global facilities project manager, says one intern's report indicates that the changes, if implemented, could save nearly $650,000 annually. Sodexo's corporate citizenship director, Jeff Senne, says the company could save tens of thousands at its Buffalo office, where Schindall worked, and that the company also has plans to make similar changes at its 6,000 offices across the globe. If successful, those savings could be in the millions, not to mention the tons of carbon that wouldn't be released into the air.

And that's just the beginning. Last month, McKinsey released a report estimating that the U.S. could save a cumulative $1.2 trillion by 2020 by investing in energy efficiency, bringing down nationwide non-transportation energy use by 23% per year. Of course, there's a limit to how much environmental good it will bestow on the planet. Stopping global warming will still require at least some financial sacrifice.

Still, energy-efficiency projects may be the easiest way to win environmental converts in the corner office. And it helps to have a little MBA modeling magic to make the case that progress need not be financially painful—it might actually boost the bottom line. Says SunGard's Robins: "We're not interested in sustainability just for our own egos, just to make us feel better. We do it for competitive advantage as well. To identify these savings is a very important part."

Anne VanderMey is a B-schools writer at BusinessWeek.

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