Allstate Insurance Co. won the achievement award in the environmental category by achieving what few other companies have -- gaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for its new data center.

Anthony Abbattista, senior vice president of technology solutions at Allstate, said the company has cut its data center energy bill by over 50% due to facility design, cutting its data center total from five to two, and the use of virtualization technologies.

Prior to embarking on the project, Abbattista said he had to demonstrate to the business side of the company that the approach made sense.

"I kept the business case in front of us," said Abbattista. In doing so, he said, "we changed the company's view" of the importance of green approaches.

Similarly, Duke University, which won the leadership award in the innovation category, is using a SAS Institute developed tool to track energy usage and discover greenhouse gas hotspots.