Supply Chain Management | Product Features | Product Standards and Certifications
Supply Chain Management
SGI's environmental responsibility involves working closely with our suppliers and contractors to ensure that environmental protection, compliance, and continuous improvements are achieved. Two elements of SGI's Environmental Policy focus on this relationship between SGI and its supply chain.
- SGI clearly communicates its environmental policy, practices, and impact to interested parties.
- SGI strives to ensure that suppliers agree to comply with environmental regulations.
A number of supply chain management tools are used to meet these commitments:
Pre-Business Supplier Survey - Purchasing personnel require each potential supplier to complete a Pre-Business Supplier Survey (PDF 43K) that includes a notification of SGI's Environmental Policy and obtains information that pertains to SGI's Environmental Management System (EMS). If the supplier identifies that the product they will provide contains hazardous materials, they are required to complete an Environmental Assessment & Declaration (PDF 171K) for Suppliers.
Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) Contractor Qualification Questionnaire - The Contractor Qualification Questionnaire (PDF 65K) is used anytime an employee intends to purchase services that involve bringing contractors on an SGI site who will be engaged in activities beyond administrative tasks. Answers to specific questions trigger a review by EHS staff members who verify that compliance, training, and record keeping issues are appropriately addressed.
Standard Note on all Purchase Orders - Purchasing personnel inform suppliers and contractors of their responsibility to adhere to SGI's Environmental Policy by including the following Standard Note on all purchase orders: SGI maintains an Environmental Policy that extends to its suppliers and contractors. As a condition of acceptance of this purchase order, SGI has the right to request additional information about your activities, products, or services that pertains to our Environmental Management System.
New Equipment Purchase Review - Used anytime an employee intends to purchase equipment which, during installation or use, may involve environmental, health, safety or facilities issues. The form provides a series of checklists covering safety, environmental, utilities, plumbing, and energy considerations.
Hazardous Materials Purchase Form - Used anytime an employee intends to purchase chemicals or hazardous materials which have not already been approved for use. Identifies how and where the material will be used so that it can be reviewed and approved prior to its purchase.
Product Features
SGI considers the environmental impact of its products during the design process of the entire product line. Our major products include servers, visual workstations, and monitors (CRT and flat panel displays).
The SGI workstation and server hardware architecture is designed to allow for expansion and modularity. Rather than discarding an entire machine when it's obsolete, customers can enhance their SGI systems in terms of processors, memory, graphics processing, input/output interfaces, and other features, thereby extending the product's useful life. This modular and expandable design reduces the number of computers being discarded while meeting customers' changing needs.
This snap-together approach to system architecture allows SGI's customers to configure, and reconfigure their systems and allow for multi-generation system reuse.
SGI® Altix® Is Recognized As A 'Green' Server
SGI's award-winning Altix server line has consistently ranked among the industry's most energy efficient server systems which minimize environmental impact. Altix systems incorporate power supply units that have attained over 90 percent power efficiency - a significant advantage over most servers, whose power supplies are only 60 to 70 percent efficient. The EPA recently purchased SGI Altix servers for its own environmental science research use - a notable endorsement of SGI's "green" server systems. [More information]
Product Standards and Certifications
SGI standard monitors (flat panel displays or LCD monitors) comply with the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO) eco-label to reduce their environmental impact during use. This stringent eco-label system sets strict standards for low power consumption, low emissions, safety, ergonomics, and recycling.
ENERGY STAR is a United States government-backed program that helps to reduce combustion-related pollution, thereby protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency. The ENERGY STAR certification mark identifies products that have specific energy efficiency features including maximum continuous output power ratings and low-power modes. Although most SGI products (i.e., systems and servers) are very powerful and specifically designed to be continuously available, some products (e.g., SGI's LG monitors) meet or exceed ENERGY STAR performance guidelines.
