Facilities and IT

2008 Highlights

• Subscribed to Austin Energy GreenChoice, a renewable energy program, to provide 10 percent of the total electricity usage at NI corporate headquarters
• Eliminated all disposable polystyrene, paper, and plastic products from on-site cafeterias at NI corporate headquarters, resulting in an estimated 50 percent reduction in waste
• Started the NI Green Team, an all-volunteer internal organization working to reduce the ecological footprint of NI and its employees
• Reduced total electricity usage per employee by 13 percent at NI Hungary
• Per employee at NI Hungary, reduced natural gas usage by 5 percent and water usage by 27 percent

2008 Challenges

• Due to vendor restrictions, NI cannot measure the nonhazardous waste sent to a landfill from its corporate headquarters
• The cost of recycling electronic waste is increasing
• Data for all NI operations worldwide was not available in 2008, but NI will obtain data for additional branches in future reports

2009 Commitments

• Reduce annual water usage by 1 percent, or approximately 500 m³, per employee at NI corporate headquarters (to 0.22 m³ per employee)
• Reduce annual energy usage by 1 percent, or approximately 87,000 kWh, per employee at NI corporate headquarters (to 37 kWh per employee)
  • Evaluate software tools for efficiently managing power settings of employee computers
  • Install more energy-efficient lighting
• Increase the amount of waste recycled annually by 10 percent, or approximately 9,100 kg, per employee at NI corporate headquarters (to 4 kg per employee)
• Measure the nonhazardous waste sent to a landfill from NI corporate headquarters, which will help NI set future goals for reducing waste
• Evaluate ways to reduce paper use at NI corporate headquarters, such as through double-sided printing and copying, and develop a plan to execute in 2010
• Investigate setting up pretax flexible spending accounts that U.S. employees can use for commuting costs such as mass transit passes
• Refine greenhouse gas emission calculations

Reducing Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

NI made several efforts to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2008. The company subscribed to Austin Energy GreenChoice, a renewable energy program, to provide 10 percent of the total electricity usage at NI corporate headquarters. In addition, NI took the following measures to reduce electricity usage at NI corporate headquarters:

• Installed more energy-efficient lighting in one of the three buildings
• Replaced the metal halide light fixtures in the manufacturing warehouse with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs
• Installed energy misers on vending machines
• Installed motion sensors in the restrooms

NI also moved its Oracle enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and related systems from Dublin, Ireland, to corporate headquarters. During this move, NI replaced older servers and storage systems with new, more energy-efficient models and reduced the overall number of systems through consolidation, which reduced energy consumption.

Additional efforts at NI Hungary reduced total electricity usage per employee by 13 percent.

In addition, NI is a member of the Clean Air Partners Program (CAPP) of Central Texas, a coalition of industry and civic organizations proactively working to ensure Austin air is clean and healthy for living and working. The program promotes clean air business practices, such as employee carpooling, renewable energy, and water conservation techniques. As a member of this program since 2004, NI reports annually to the organization on emissions and reductions achieved. In 2008, per-employee emissions decreased, but overall emissions increased due to the rising number of employees. This will be a challenge going forward as NI evaluates its greenhouse gas calculations and sets goals for reducing emissions.

NI Green Team

The NI Green Team is an all-volunteer internal organization at NI corporate headquarters working to reduce the ecological footprint of NI and its employees. The team, started in 2008, is organized into several subgroups. Each subgroup sets goals specific to its focus area and meets regularly to make progress toward achieving those goals. Subgroups and examples of specific projects include the following, with a heavy emphasis on internal education initiatives:

• Energy and water use - Encourage employees to turn off lights when leaving a conference room, shut down computers before leaving work, and so on
• Events - Coordinate Earth Day activities and year-round lunchtime presentations on environmental topics
• Food and drink - Promote local and organic food
• NI products - Investigate ways to optimize the amount of packaging used for NI products
• NI grounds - Educate employees about the natural habitat on the campus, including wildlife and plant life
• Office supplies - Find ways to reduce excess use of office supplies, such as paper
• Recycling and waste - Publicize which materials are recyclable and where employees can recycle them
• Transportation - Promote carpooling, biking to work, and use of public transit

Commitments

In 2009, NI is taking the following measures to continue the reduction of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions:

• Evaluate software tools for efficiently managing power settings of employee computers at NI corporate headquarters
• Investigate setting up pretax flexible spending accounts that U.S. employees can use for commuting costs such as mass transit passes
• Refine NI greenhouse gas emission calculations following the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, including pursuing third-party verification of the calculations and joining the Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Leaders program, an industry-government partnership that works with companies to develop comprehensive climate change strategies

In addition, a new commuter rail with a stop close to NI corporate headquarters is scheduled to begin operation in 2009. NI is working with the organization managing the rail line to make it easy for employees to commute to work by rail and connecting bus routes.

By the Numbers

Natural Gas Usage

The following notes pertain to natural gas usage:

• NI corporate headquarters usage increased slightly due to the increased use of heated water for the purpose of washing dishes. This increased use was a result of eliminating disposable containers in on-site cafeterias.
• NI Hungary per-employee metrics are higher than NI corporate headquarters per-employee metrics because 55 percent of that facility is taken up by manufacturing operations, as compared to only 8 percent at headquarters, and employee headcount in Hungary is much smaller than at headquarters.

Office		2007 (m3)	2008 (m3)
Headquarters	Total	48,835	56,169
	Per Employee	22.4	24.5
Hungary	Total	328,403	395,697
	Per Employee	403	382

Purchased Electricity

Office		2007 (kWh)	2008 (kWh)
Headquarters	Total	19,699,124	20,838,000
	Per Employee	9,036	9,096
Hungary	Total	6,802,142	7,486,970
	Per Employee	8,346	7,234

Conserving Water and Nature

Water Usage

NI recently made several improvements to its corporate headquarters to reduce water usage, including the following:

• Installed water-saving aerators on faucets in restrooms, break rooms, and cafeteria kitchens
• Installed water-saving flush valves in toilets and urinals
• Installed water-saving shower heads in the on-site fitness center

Overall, these measures should save approximately 10.7 m³ of water per employee per year. However, 2008 water usage at headquarters was higher than 2007 water usage due to drought conditions. According to the Lower Colorado River Authority, 2008 was one of the driest years in Central Texas since the mid-1950s.

By the Numbers

Water Usage

Office		2007 (m3)	2008 (m3)
Headquarters	Total	45,043	50,037
	Per Employee	20.7	21.8
Hungary	Total	13,728	12,646
	Per Employee	16.8	12.2

Protecting Habitats

NI Corporate Headquarters

Most of this campus is still in its natural, unirrigated state except for building footprints, walks, drives, and parking. Multilevel garages provide most parking, which minimizes the amount of ground covered by impervious material. Developed landscape areas feature native plant materials that require minimal water to thrive, and the campus includes a number of critical environmental features, including limestone sinkholes. NI protects and monitors these features to ensure that storm water runoff from roads and parking lots does not enter them. In addition, through NI efforts, the campus is a Texas Historical Commission Recorded Site for evidence of flint knapping activity, or activity for making tools, by Native Americans.

NI Hungary

To develop this campus, NI reclaimed a brownfield site for reuse. During development, NI preserved all existing trees on the site.

Recycling and Waste Reduction

In 2008, NI eliminated all disposable polystyrene, paper, and plastic products from on-site cafeterias at NI corporate headquarters, resulting in an estimated 50 percent reduction in waste. NI also saw an opportunity to reduce waste by examining its printing and copying paper use habits. In 2009, NI is assessing these habits, identifying where and how the company can reduce paper use, and developing a plan to execute in 2010.

Challenges

The waste vendor used by NI corporate headquarters does not offer a way to measure the exact amount of nonhazardous waste sent to a landfill from the facility. As a result, NI can set meaningful goals only for the amount of waste recycled and not for reducing the total amount of waste. In 2009, NI will work with its waste vendor to find ways to measure the nonhazardous waste sent to a landfill from NI corporate headquarters.

In addition, the cost of recycling electronic waste is increasing. NI is working with its vendors and operations to find ways to minimize this cost so that it can continue to be a good steward to the environment.

Employee Profile

April Griffin, an NI staff technical writer, is also a member of the NI Green Team.

"I don’t use disposable plates at home, but I didn’t really think about it too much at work. I was really happy when NI moved away from using disposable containers. The process helped me realize that the things I do at home for conservation and financial responsibility should also be practiced at work. Before NI removed disposables from the cafeteria, I didn’t think about the money NI was spending because of my actions, which is money I myself wouldn’t spend in my home. I’m more conscious now about turning off my computer and lights because those things affect the bottom line and our ability to be a responsible citizen. And I’m part of that."

By the Numbers

Estimated Trash Sent to Landfill

Office		2007 (kg)	2008 (kg)
Headquarters	Total	564,467	402,025
	Per Employee	258.9	175.5
Hungary	Total	83,540	107,140
	Per Employee	102.5	103.5

Materials Recycled

Office		2007 (kg)	2008 (kg)
Headquarters	Total	147,178	95,568
	Per Employee	67.5	41.7
Hungary	Total	119,089	166,277
	Per Employee	146.1	160.7