Sometimes, green IT means quite a bit more than energy efficiency, and we regularly look at how expanding the power of technology beyond your data centers and PC fleets can bring big financial and environmental benefits to your company.

This week, we're please to present a follow up from Claudia Girrbach's article from last month, "How to Work with Your Vendors to Go on a Packaging Diet." This week, she finds a stunning example of how taking a holistic view of your IT department's impacts can lead to surprising gains.

In How Cisco's Packaging Diet Saves $24 Million a Year, Girrbach explores how reducing, resizing and redesigning its packaging saves Cisco 4.5 million pounds of waste and millions of dollars every year. Read all the details here.

We've also got an update on the brou-ha-ha between Greenpeace and Facebook over who has the greener data centers, and a look at how e-waste is getting its 15 minutes in the spotlight in the run-up to Earth Day's 40th anniversary.

This slideshow from Cisco Systems outlines some of the steps the company has taken to save $24 million per year as part of its sustainable packaging pilot.

This daylong event will help IT professionals go beyond greenwashing and get smart on the green IT topics that will have a profound impact on your organization's bottom line.