Each of us who are hoping for a greener future often take a particular interest in our own career path’s move towards a greener future. Automotive engineers push for greener workplaces and cleaner cars (both inside and out), politicians for… oh, bad example, and nerds like myself hope for our industry giants to take further steps towards that green, clean future.

Thankfully, I’ve picked the right team, as two of the giants of the technology world that are making great green steps in to the future.

First off is my personal favorite, Google, who seems to have a backroom that is just chock-full of hundred dollar bills. They’re dishing them our left, right and center to pay for lawsuits, acquisitions, and, as this latest story explains, green initiatives.

The nonprofit arm of the internet giant, Google.org, announced on Wednesday a $10 million request for proposal (RFP) from companies involved in commercial plug-in hybrid electric cars, as well as other sustainable forms of transportation (can you imagine how many bikes that would buy?).

The RFP process, which will take place entirely on the internet, hopes to accelerate the development of cleaner forms of transportation on a very large scale. According to Google.org, it is all in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by investing anywhere between $500,000 and $2 million in such companies.

Google.org is seeking companies with technologies, products and services that will accelerate widespread commercialization in the following fields:

• Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)
• Electric vehicles (EVs)
• Vehicle-to-grid solutions (V2G)

"While $10 million is a fraction of the total investment needed to transform our transportation sector, we hope this RFP will help catalyze a broader response. We need the automakers to bring these cars to market, but plug-in vehicles also need an entire ecosystem of companies (to) flourish," Google said in a statement.

This isn’t Google’s only step in to the world of green technology. In fact, Google has been one of the corporate pioneers of taking those responsible first steps towards a greener future. In June, Google initiated RechargeIT, a program to convert company cars to plug-in hybrids. This technology not only recharges the car, but also allows the car to feed power back in to the grid at times of high demand.

Google has also installed their own 1.6-megawatt solar array, pledged $1 million to nonprofit groups working to address global warming, and given bikes to employees in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Google isn’t the only company taking green steps, though. Microsoft has added a new element to their portfolio: a regional bus system. Complete with built-in Wi-Fi, the shuttle service is built primarily for Microsoft employees, many of whom are situated in Redmond, Washington. The 14-bus Microsoft "Connector" system, to debut later this month, was announced as Microsoft expanding offices in Seattle’s South Lake Union and Pioneer Square neighborhoods.

Though the bus system will be able to handle no more than 1,000 of its 35,000 employees, it raises the issue, and adds new fuel to the fire, of comprehensive regional transportation reform. "This is something that the county bus system should be doing and they’re not," said Stephen Gerritson, executive director for Commuter Challenge, a Seattle non-profit. "To some extent, Metro is dropping the ball here."

This is a big move for Microsoft, and the right move at that. While undoubtedly expensive (Microsoft’s general counsel Brad Smith refused to name the price attached to this program) this investment will definitely improve Microsoft’s image worldwide.

Microsoft is not the only big name in the tech industry to offer bus rides to its employees, though: Google (again) offers about 150 bus runs daily across the San Francisco Bay Area, to and from its Mountain View, CA, campus, spokeswoman Sunny Gettinger said. "Part of the reason that we do it is because we really want people to have the opportunity to be able to work at Google in Mountain View and not feel like they’re contributing to environmental issues by commuting," she said.

Many companies, especially the big companies with employees numbering well in to the thousands, should be watching these moves by Google and Microsoft. As big as Microsoft and Google are, their influence does not range as widely as companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonalds and General Motors. While all of these companies have taken green steps, let’s hope that the tech giant’s announcements raise the bar for all large corporations.

News.com - Google offers $10 million to ’sustainable transportation’ firms

Google’s RFP

Google.org

Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Microsoft giving workers free ride — with its own bus service

Mongabay - Business has to lead the Clean Up of the Enviroment

Image Courtesy of HugPug.com