Last week in New Orleans, our Government Affairs team attended the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the nation's largest gathering of state legislators. We are a long time participant in NCSL events as well as a supporter of the NCSL Foundation, which gives corporations like Dell the opportunity to provide support for research and other activities on behalf of state legislators.
Such participation allows us to share our environmental responsibility experience and efforts with elected officials as well as demonstrate our commitment to Dell communities. State legislators across the U.S. are actively being challenged to protect the environment and manage rising energy costs, and in fact the event's plenary session this year was titled "Energy, Economic and Environmental Sustainability." The session featured a spirited discussion between Fred Krupp of the Environmental Defense Fund and Marvin Odom of Shell Oil.
I was one of the speakers on a panel entitled "Greener Gadgets, Greener Factories, and Greener Stores: The Business Case for Sustainability," along with representatives of Best Buy and the Product Stewardship Institute. My presentation focused on Dell's holistic lifecycle approach to green technology, focusing on product design, manufacturing, customer experience and asset recycling. I also discussed our company's leadership in going carbon neutral and reducing energy consumption, as well as offering convenient takeback programs to promote recycling and reuse of electronic products at the end of their useful lives. The moderator of the program, Sen. Harris McDowell (Del.), thanked the panel's participants for their leadership in promoting sound energy and environmental policies.
At a Dell-sponsored reception honoring North Carolina Speaker Joe Hackney, the new President of NCSL, Speaker Hackney thanked Dell for its support of the event and its commitment to the state he represents. We were also a sponsor of the very successful North Carolina Night event which most of NC legislators at NCSL attended. At the Virginia event, we were able to thank the legislators who supported the Dell model recycling legislation that was enacted in the 2008 legislative session and signed by the governor. At the Michigan event, we had the opportunity to discuss upcoming recycling legislation based on the Dell model that will likely be considered this fall. Dell has actively participated in the passage of such legislation in five states to date.
We look forward to continuing our partnership with elected officials as we seek ways to protect the environment and be more energy-efficient.