29 March 2010 - International
— Greenpeace activists unfurled banners
of every size today outside the offices
of Dell in Bangalore,
Amsterdam, and Copenhagen, just as Dell
executives meet to discuss a roadmap to
finally remove the worst toxic chemicals
from their electronics. The message around
the world to Dell's founder and CEO: "Michael
Dell: Drop the Toxics!" UPDATE
Dell continues to use
PVC vinyl plastic and brominated flame retardants
(BFRs) in all its computers, despite promising
to eliminate these toxic substances. The
giant PC maker committed publicly to be
off these chemicals by the end of 2009.
Well the deadline has passed and anyone
buying a Dell computer will be sadly disappointed
by what is in the box.
During production, use
and disposal, PVC is the single most environmentally
damaging of all plastics, and can form dioxin,
a known carcinogen, when burnt during sub-standard
recycling practices.
UPDATE: Monday should
have marked an end to the talking with an
internal meeting with Michael Dell to approve
a plan outlining how Dell will bring PCs
on the market free of the worst toxic chemicals.
However at the end of Monday we heard just
more talk and no action, with the meeting
apparently postponed. (Read more on our
blog)
BFRs which are highly resistant to degradation
in the environment and are able to bio-accumulate
(build up in animals and humans), can be
released from products during use and can
also form dioxins when burnt during the
type of basic recycling practices commonly
used in Asia and Africa.
Timing is everything
Dell's senior management team was set to
decide Monday whether to approve a roadmap
outlining quarter-by-quarter how to achieve
progress towards a PVC/BFR-free status:
for launching PCs free of PVC and BFRs.
That's why our activists in the Netherlands,
India and Denmark paid Dell a visit on this
important day.
Dell isn't the only
tech company in our Guide to Greener Electronics
to have broken its public commitment to
clean up. But for a company that aspires
to be "the greenest technology company
on the planet" Dell's lack of leadership
in launching products free of PVC and BFRs
is especially hypocritical and disappointing
for customers.
Dell can make it right
Our campaigners have asked for roadmaps
-- not just new phase out dates -- from
all tech companies that have backtracked
on their commitments for toxic chemical
elimination.
We also want the companies,
including Dell, to take a proactive position
to ensure that their commitments for PVC
and BFR elimination end up in the European
Union's RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances
in electronics) Directive. That way all
electronics makers will have to clean up.
Watch mobile video footage
from the action at Dell's building in Copenhagen.
Apple, HP, Acer and
Wipro already offer PCs free of PVC and
BFRs. Dell was the first company to provide
a timeline (end of 2009) for eliminating
these toxic substances in all its products.
At the time we gave them credit for this
positive move in the Guide to Greener Electronics.
However, it was also the first company to
backtrack on this commitment in May 2008
and despite a new timeline of 2011, the
revised commitment is now to remove these
substances in computing products only.
We want Dell to adopt
a position on the RoHS Directive and advocate
for it, as other leaders in the sector,
like HP, Acer, Apple and Sony Ericsson,
are already doing. Dell needs to play catch
up.
The iPad, internet,
climate change link in the spotlight
Greenpeace report shows
cloud computing GHG emissions tripling by
2020 - 30 March 2010 - International — On
the eve of the launch of the iPad, our latest
report warns that the growth of internet
computing could come with a huge jump in
greenhouse gas emissions. We follow the
data streams back to the data centres providing
a cautionary tale about how the boom could
see internet servers become a major cause
of climate change. But it doesn't have to
be that way, the great innovators of the
digital age can and should be leaders in
promoting an energy revolution.
"Make IT Green:
Cloud Computing and its Contribution to
Climate Change", shows how the launch
of quintessential cloud computing devices
like the Apple iPad, which offer users access
to the "cloud" of online services
like social networks and video streaming,
can contribute to a much larger carbon footprint
of the Information Technology (IT) sector
than previously estimated.
To be clear we are not
picking on Apple, we are not 'dissing' the
iPad, but maybe someone can come up with
an app that calculates the carbon footprint
of using different web sites based on their
location and energy deals. Apple is the
master of promotion, and while we marvel
at the sleek unpolluted design of the iPad,
we need to think about where this is all
leading and how like all good surfers we
can make sure our environment stays clean
and green.
The report builds on
previous industry research and shows that
at current growth rates data centres and
telecommunication networks will consume
about 1,963 billion kilowatts hours of electricity
in 2020. That is more than triple their
current consumption and more than the current
electricity consumption of France, Germany,
Canada and Brazil combined. However, the
report also shows how IT can avert climate
chaos by becoming a transformative force
advocating for solutions that increase the
use of renewable energy.
Download the PDF: http://www.greenpeace.org/make-it-green-briefing
As the internet grows
as a platform -- a place where more things
are done, not only stored away -- the IT
industry's hunger for energy will increase.
Efficiency is a hot topic in IT, but improving
energy efficiency is only part of the solution,
the industry also needs to take responsibility
for where it gets its energy from in the
first place. Simply put: will the cloud
run on coal or renewable energy?
IT companies like Microsoft,
Google, and IBM are now in powerful positions
at the local, national, and international
levels. They could use that influence to
promote policies that will allow them to
grow responsibly without fueling climate
change.
For example, Facebook recently announced
the construction of its own data center
in Prineville, Oregon, running primarily
on coal.
By choosing energy company
PacifiCorp, a utility that sources the majority
of its power from coal-fired power stations,
Facebook missed a chance to promote the
use of renewable energy and instead reinforced
the coal industry's grip on the United Sates
power grid.
Facebook members aren't
taking this sitting down. More than 365,00
have joined groups in the weeks since Facebook's
announcement, calling on the company to
quit coal and become a climate leader.
The IT sector has the
ability to help us combat climate change
by innovating to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and increase energy efficiency. Technologies
that enable smart grids, zero emission buildings
and more efficient transport systems are
key to cutting climate change pollution.
But, given the current expansion in cloud
computing, the industry also needs to get
its own carbon footprint under control.
We are calling on IT
industry giants to put their might behind
government policies that give priority grid
access for renewable sources like wind and
solar energy. IT companies should also support
economy-wide climate and energy policies
around the world that peak climate emissions
by 2015.
Please help us encourage
the 21st century's great innovators to look
beyond the cloud, to look beyond simply
cutting their fuel bills and towards an
energy revolution based on renewable energy
sources.
