HOWZAT

Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder has invested in ethanol fuel technologies. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the Google founders, have provided funds for solar power research.

Mr Dell said that environmental concerns have become key in Dell's relationships with its customers – both consumers trying to lead greener lives and companies hoping to cap soaring power bills for IT systems.

He added that his company's recent partnership with Wal-Mart, a radical departure from the group's famous direct sales model, was only the first part of a "massive expansion of retail channels" and that similar partnerships with big UK retailers would be announced soon.

Dell's latest green initiative – dubbed Zero Carbon Initiative – also contains a pledge to cut the carbon it emits per dollar in revenue it collects by 15 per cent by 2012.

It comes as Mr Dell seeks to reposition his company after claiming back his position as chief executive this year.

His return followed Dell falling behind Hewlett Packard, the leader in the PC market.

Dell also expanded its Plan a Tree for Me programme to the UK and the rest of Europe.

Under the scheme, Dell customers can contribute to the cost of a tree to offset the carbon emissions produced by the use of their computer over an average lifespan of three years.

The scheme costs £1 for a laptop computer and £3 for a desktop machine.

The soaring costs of powering IT systems are becoming a significantissue for companies.

Fujitsu Siemens, the IT group, recently estimated that the UK's largest 200 companies could collectively save £123 million a year were they to turn desktop machines off at night.

Meanwhile, according to the BroadGroup consultancy, a large data centre – where the hardware that stores digital information is run – can produce a carbon footprint the size of Leicester's.

Advances in desktop technology already mean that the latest Dell PCs use far less energy than their predecessors of only a year ago, Mr Dell said – with the average annual power bill in the US for the latest Dell desktop falling from about $100 to about $25 in the past year.

The group also unveiled a public relations drive to build "the greenest PC on the planet" by canvassing the public for ideas through IdeaStorm.com, the website that Dell started after criticism that it neglected to listen to its customers.

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