05 March 2008 - Hanover,
Germany — The Sony Vaio TZ11 laptop, Sony
Ericsson T650i mobile phone and Sony Ericsson
P1i PDA have come out on top in our first
survey of greener electronics products.
Some products were more advanced than others,
but there's definitely room for improvement
as none of them scored over 5/10.
We conducted a survey
of the main brands of desktop PCs and notebooks,
mobile phones, and Personal Digital Assistants
(PDAs), assessing them on their use of hazardous
chemicals, energy efficiency, overall product
lifecycle (recyclability and upgradeability)
and other factors such as the promotion
of environmental friendliness and innovation.
We contacted market
leaders and invited them to submit their
most environmentally-friendly products currently
available. In addition, we placed ads in
trade magazines and on websites encouraging
other producers to participate. Each company
could submit a maximum of three products
in each of the product categories.
Thirty-seven products
were assessed, from fourteen major electronics
brands who agreed to provide information
for the survey at the end of 2007. The companies
submitted information on their most environmentally-friendly
products. Sony Vaio TZ11 notebook, the Sony
Ericsson T650i mobile phone and the Sony
Ericsson P1i PDA came out top.
The best rated desktop
came from Dell (Optiplex 755) and HP (dc51000)
but these and other mobile phones, laptops
and PDAs didn't score above 5/10.
Our survey was based
on voluntary participation by companies
willing to submit their products to our
critical evaluation. Unfortunately, not
all the companies we invited agreed to participate,
and in the game consoles category in particular
we received either no submissions at all
or they came too late to be included. Non-responders
included: Acer, Apple, Microsoft, Nintendo
and Sharp.
Since submissions closed,
several companies have launched products
that showcase new environmental innovations.
Nokia's Evolve phone uses more recycled
plastic and has a highly efficient charger.
Apple's Mac Book Air eliminates the use
of toxic mercury and arsenic to raise the
bar on toxics reduction.
Because the electronics
industry is moving fast we are at the world's
biggest IT fair - CeBIT in Germany, to check
out which companies and products are on
the cutting edge of environmental innovation.
Our experts will be investigating the facts
behind the hype and highlighting the leaders
and showing up any superficial green claims.
Check out the updates on green innovations
at CeBIT
on our blog.
Our survey also reveals
that while no individual product could yet
lay claim to being truly green, there are
plenty of individual innovations by different
companies in toxics reduction, energy efficiency,
longer lifecycles and recycling. The key
to making a comprehensively greener product
is combining innovation in each of these
areas.
We will continue to
challenge electronics manufacturers to take
responsibility for the entire lifecycle
of their products - from production, through
manufacture and to the very end of their
products' lives - and to clean up their
products by eliminating hazardous substances
and replacing harmful ingredients through
safer alternatives or design changes while
producing energy efficient products.
Manufacturers need to
embrace a truly comprehensive approach.
Consumers should not have to choose between
a toxic free product or an energy-efficient
one. They should not need to ask if being
recyclable is better than being durable.
When a product offers
all those standards and is marketed with
consumer-friendly services extending the
lifespan as much as possible, then we can
say there is a true green electronics product
on the market.
Read the full 'Searching
for Greener Electronics' survey and where
companies stand in our Guide to Greener
Electronics that ranks companies overall
policies and practice.
