In this fully paperless edition of the magazine – in fact, our second annual green-themed issue – Jessica Clegg looks at ways in which several companies are automating energy hogs like servers, switchers and shared storage (“Clean Machines,” page 16) with the dual goal of reducing wasted energy and powering down users’ utility bills.

For companies like Grass Valley, greener practices begin in its factories. Involved since 2001 in California’s Waste Reduction Awards Program, or WRAP, Grass Valley has long been mindful of minimizing its manufacturing waste, recycling and conserving factory resources like water and power. Last year, the company diverted some 155 tons of metals and plastics from landfills, accounting for about 76 percent of its total waste output for 2008. This year, GV says it plans to push that percentage up to 78 percent or greater.

There are countless ways to envision – and implement – programs that noticeably improve our planet’s ecosystems. As one Grass Valley executive told me, why manufacturer another piece of hardware when you can be even more environmentally conscious and do it with software alone? He was not so indirectly referring to AJA’s new Ki Pro device (page 5), which captures ProRes 422 from any camera for immediate editing in Final Cut. He then pointed out that GV’s Edius, though optimized for the PC and therefore maybe not as instantly appealing to Apple users with a fully Mac-based workflow, has long supported native codecs, right in the software, from a variety of cameras. The circle logic continues: You could also argue that a little piece of hardware like the Ki Pro extends the life of your camera, thereby lessening the landfill from a different direction.

Do these steps cancel each other out? Hard to say. But as this country and countries around the world become more actively engaged in manufacturing recycling and waste management on even larger scales, we will move more quickly toward that common goal.

Calabash Animation’s Sean Henry, who some of you might remember from our Webinar on the Business of Animation last fall, doesn’t define he and co-owner Wayne Brejcha’s facility as a particularly “green” shop. That is, unless you count the large number of characters, from The Jolly Green Giant to Lucky the Leprechaun, inked by Calabash animators in the verdant hue. But we think taking Calabash paperless gives the studio plenty of eco cred. It’s more than just about saving trees – it’s about keeping more green in your pocket (see “Hot House,” page 28).

– Beth Marchant, Editor-in-Chief

bmarchant@accessintel.com