Nehalem, Intel's newest processor chip,  is designed with the environment in mind. The company says the chip has has buku processing power and it's super energy efficient. Nehalem is the newest microprocessor chip, following the Intel Core II and IV series.

“Going into this project … we insisted on energy efficiency … and power,” said Steve Gunther, an engineer for Intel. The goal was to maximize every bit of energy efficiency, but offer more power than previous chips. Because adding more power generally requires draining more energy, the challenge wasn’t an easy one.

Nehalem engineers tweaked resources like the chip’s clock cycle and operating voltage, which have typically gobbled energy. A big part of increasing energy efficiency was cutting the energy that powers an idle machine. In other processors, when instructions are not being given to the chip to work, the chip is idle (a lot of the chip’s life cycle). But to keep that chip “active” enough for moments when instructions are sent, a typical idle chip stays fully powered. Eliminating the power associated with this step added a major bump in energy efficiency. The chip can run on Intel’s Turbo Boost technology, which scales the amount of performance the chip needs to run over multiple energy-efficient threads. So, performance can be scaled to peak performance or to run on less without the consumer noticing a stall. And the consumer saves energy.

Intel estimated that switching to Nehalem processors would save $2 billion in energy costs and 20 terawatt hours of electricity (based on calculations of the processors shipped in recent years that use $0.10 per kilowatt hour). The company suggests tnat approximately 2 percent of global carbon-dioxide emissions are associated with computers. So it has other environmental initiatives, include switching product materials to halogen-free substitutes over the next year and eliminating lead.

Intel’s John Skinner says the company's ongoing effort is to keep toxins from entering landfills by not constructing parts from them in the first place. “We removed lead so when semi conductors are recycled … the toxic materials are out early on,” he said.

Intel is also collaborating with their suppliers to remove toxic materials and components through the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), where purchasers can evaluate the environmental safety of computer parts prior to purchase.

“[Intel is] working with customers to take out hazards from other parts and more easily repurpose or recycle those parts. We are also working with Best Buy and other retailers to take back computers for recycling,” said Skinner. Intel has also reduced its packaging materials and has heavily invested in renewable energy, more than $100 million in solar power alone.