Greenpeace hands out green grades to electronics makers

Yahoo News 9 Jan 09;

LAS VEGAS (AFP) - Consumer electronics manufacturers are making greener products than a year ago but more progress needs to be made before they can claim a truly environmentally friendly product, Greenpeace said Friday.

In its second greener products survey, "Green Electronics: The Search Continues," the environmental activist group assessed the progress made by consumer electronic companies in greening their products over the past year.

The Greenpeace survey was released at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where manufacturers have been seeking to outdo one another this year in touting how green their products are.

The CES organizers have dedicated a special area in the convention hall to Greener Tech and among the products unveiled here was a mobile phone made of recycled plastic water bottles from Motorola.

For the survey, Greenpeace said 15 companies submitted 50 new products they considered their greenest for evaluation: mobile and smart phones, televisions, computer monitors, notebook and desktop computers, and game consoles.

The products were graded on use of hazardous chemicals, energy efficiency, innovation, promotion of environmental friendliness and lifecycle -- whether they can be recycled and upgraded.

"Progress is being made," said Casey Harrell, Greenpeace International toxics campaigner. "We're no longer having to cajole people about the need for green.

"These companies understand both what green is and the need for it," he said. "We're moving in the right direction."

The Greenpeace survey found that fewer products contain harmful PVC plastic and hazardous chemicals and more post-consumer recycled plastic is being used in televisions and monitors.

Electronics manufacturers are also taking back more used products and engaging in more recycling, Greenpeace said.

But the "race for the green winner is still on," Harrell said.

"We're on the hunt for a truly green product that is free from toxic chemicals and excels in energy efficiency and durability," he said.

"The electronics industry has taken encouraging strides towards increasing the green features on some gadgets over the past year but none stand out in all environmental categories."

Greenpeace said the Lenovo L2440x wide computer monitor scored highest in the monitor category with 6.9 points on a 10 point scale.

Other category leaders were the Sharp LC-52GX5 television (5.92), the Samsung F268 mobile phone (5.45), the Nokia 6210 Smart phone (5.2) the HP Elitebook 2530P laptop (5.48) and the Lenovo ThinkCentre M58 Desktop (5.88).

Submitting products for the survey were Acer, Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, Hewlett Packard, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, RIM/Blackberry, Sharp, Samsung, Sony, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba.

Greenpeace said the following companies refused to take part: Apple, Asus, Microsoft, Nintendo, Palm and Philips.

Among the green initiatives announced at this year's CES was a joint program by Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba to recycle televisions and other gadgets they sell in the United States.

The global firms on January 15 will begin using an Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management network of 280 locations as collection centers for their products.

The network will have at least one recycling center in each US state and intends to expand to at least 800 drop-off points.


CES 2009: Greenpeace says gadgets could be greener
Consumer electronics getting greener but there’s room for improvement, says Greenpeace
Claudine Beaumont, The Telegraph 10 Jan 09;

Gadget makers have a long way to go before their products can be considered truly eco-friendly, according to a new report from Greenpeace.

The environmental campaign group called on the industry to “put its foot on the accelerator” and move towards a truly green manufacturing process.

Greenpeace tested 50 gadgets put forward by 15 of the exhibitors at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to test how eco-friendly their new product ranges really were.

The devices were measured on three criteria, including the use of dangerous chemicals, power consumption and recyclability.

A 24in widescreen monitor made by Lenovo was named most eco-friendly gadget, scoring 6.9 out of 10, while Acer’s Veriton computer scored lowest, with 3.3 out of 10. Among the other products, Samsung scored 5.45 out of 10 for its F268 mobile phone, while Sharp’s 52in LC-52GX5 television scored 5.92 out of 10.

Six companies – Asus, Microsoft, Nintendo, Apple, Palm and Philips – refused to take part in the survey.

“We're pleased to say that the electronics industry has taken encouraging strides towards increasing the green features on some gadgets over the past year, but none stand out in all environmental categories,” said Casey Harrell, a Greenpeace campaigner. “The race for the green winner is still on.”

Greenpeace said that fewer electronic products contained PVC, and that hazardous chemicals were being used less often in the manufacturing process. It also noted that the flat-screen LED displays used in most modern televisions used less energy than non-LED televisions, and did not have mercury in their backlights.

It said that many manufacturers had introduced comprehensive “take-back schemes” and recycling plans in order to help consumers correctly dispose of unwanted gadgets.

"The electronics industry is heading in the right direction,” said Harrell. “To stay in the race, each company needs to put its foot on the accelerator, applying any progress it has made across all of its product lines and adopting each other's best practices.

“We're confident that, as part of the most innovative industry on the planet, these companies can step up to this green challenge."

All of the large manufacturers attending CES have emphasised the eco-friendly nature of their new product ranges, highlighting the use of recyclable materials and responsible disposal programmes for unwanted gizmos.

Many are promoting the energy efficiency of their televisions, home audio systems and computers, saying that reduced power consumption is good for the environment, and also leads to lower household bills.

A steady stream of attendees at the show have been looking at the wares on offer in a special section of the conference set aside for green products, such as portable fuel cells and backpacks with built-in solar panels for quick charging of mobile phones, laptops and music players.