It turns out people just prefer thinner phones (or at least initially they do), and therefore HTC chose to take a holistic approach to improving battery life through power management optimization, choice of power density, choice of voltage and many more.

ENGADGET: HTC talks smartphone design: from inception to final product

Power efficiency and optimization calls for an intelligent combination of the automated monitoring of power conditions and the ability to adjust power, temperatures, computer performance and workloads on the fly.

FORBES: The Growing Energy Demands Of Living Your Life In The Cloud

In addition, two easy-to-use and reliable online tools for energy optimization and solar power generation will offer users a great overview of where, how, and how much energy can be saved or even generated on an individual basis.

UNESCO: Post-Conflict and Post-Disaster Responses

If you focus on that third area, value chain optimization, you can use your power as a buyer and try to work with suppliers to create more sustainable products.

FORBES: How to Make Triple Bottom Line Decisions in Real Life

The big idea: putting sensors everywhere that communicate in a mesh network and allow real-time tracking and optimization of everything from traffic to the power grid to the water supply.

FORBES: Researcher Throws A Wrench In IBM And HP's Sensor Networks