Companies Decide to go Green (1-Oct-07)
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Cities in India have no organized system in place to manage obsolete e-waste, which are inevitably dumped in common dumping grounds without segregation. In addition, during the manufacturing stage of computers and mobile phones, most computers do not ensure safe disposal of these products.
Huge quantities of Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) are generated each year. One estimate says that the total number of obsolete computers originating in India is 20 lakh a year.
Due to the lack of legislation on e-waste in India, it mostly ends up in landfills or water bodies or is partly recycled in unhygienic conditions. Foreign countries also export huge amounts of e-waste to India in the form of reusable components.
Due to increasing pressure from environmental organizations, many companies have decided to go green with their products.
Greenpeace released their "Guide to Greener Electronics" in August 2006 which ranked 14 manufacturers of computers and mobile phones according to their policies on toxic chemicals and recycling.
The September 2007 company rankings are Nokia (8/10), Sony Ericsson (7.7/10), Dell (7.3/10), Lenovo (7.3/10), LG (7/10), Sony (7/10), Fujitsu-Siemens (7/10), Samsung (6.7/10), Motorola (6.7/10), Toshiba (6/10), Acer (5.7/10), Apple (5.3/10), Hewlett-Packard (5.3/10) and Panasonic (5/10). Nokia has always been on the top of the ladder since August 2006. Lenovo who has moved up the ladder from the lowest rank in August 2006 now ranks fourth. At the bottom of the ladder are Panasonic, Hewlett Packard and Apple.
Nokia has eliminated Plastic Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) from new models and is now eliminating (Brominated Flame Retardant) BFRs from the remaining applications mainly in new flexible circuits. Nokia takes financial responsibility for the electronic waste from its discarded products.
Sony Ericsson has a timeline of 1st January 2008 for eliminating the use of BFRs in two applications, and the same timeline for substituting phthalates, beryllium and some uses of antimony compounds. All new models of mobile phones put on the market from 2006 are free of chemicals like PVC.
Dell has strong precautionary principles, timelines for substituting toxic PVC and BFRs. It has announced its intention to provide global free take back and recycling services to individual consumers wherever its products are sold. Dell, however, has no models free of PVC and BFRs yet. Dell unveiled an environmental plan on Wednesday saying that they will make its operations carbon-neutral by 2008, a year earlier than it previously promised.
Lenovo has good chemical policies and commitments to eliminate all uses of PVC and BFRs and offers an extensive take back and recycling service. Like Dell, Lenovo does not have models that are free of PVC and BFRs.
LG has membership of a coalition that has been opposing producer responsibility and lobbying for U.S. consumers to pay an Advanced Recycling Fee (ARF). It has also launched models of mobile phones free of BFRs. “We follow the Environmental Declaration of Products (EDP) program. Our mobile phones use minimal standby re-charger power while our optical storage devices use non-flammable materials in the base structure and try to prevent fires and the release of hazardous gases,” says Moon Shin, managing director, LG India. There is improvement in its voluntary product take back and recycling efforts, but LG needs to provide more take back services for discarded products other than mobile phones.
Sony too has a membership of the US Coalition that has been opposing Producer Responsibility and lobbying for U.S. consumers to pay an ARF. The company has provided a timeline till the end of 2010 for eliminating PVC and BFRs in all new models of mobile products. It now has products free of BFRs and PVC, including models of the VAIO notebook, Walkman, camcorder and digital camera.
Fujitsu-Siemens has improved its definition of the precautionary principle and coverage of its take back and recycling program. Although Fujitsu-Siemens sells PCs which do not use BFRs, it has not yet set timelines for the phase out of PVC and all BFRs in all of its products. Fujitsu Siemens has yet to report on recycling rate as a percentage of past sales.
Samsung has fallen from 5th to 8th place. The company scores top marks on most chemicals criteria apart from the availability of products free of PVC and BFRs. “We have a quality control team who keeps a tab on the environmental norms and Samsung definitely follows international standards for all its products,” said Yuvraj Mehta, head of corporate communications, Samsung Telecommunications, India. They have improved its information to consumers on what to do with its discarded products. Samsung loses points for providing voluntary product take back of its electronic waste only in a few countries and only for some product groups.
Motorola falls from 6th to 9th place despite improvements in the geographical coverage of its takeback and recycling program. Although the company offers its customers an increasing number of models that are free from BFRs, it has still to provide information on PVC-free models and commit to timelines for eliminating all BFRs and PVC from its entire product portfolio. Motorola provides voluntary take back/recycling services in 57 countries, accounting for more than 90 per cent of global mobile phone sales. It has reported a recycling rate of 3.32 per cent, as a percentage of sales 12-24 months before – the average lifespan of a mobile phone.
Toshiba has dropped from 7th to 10th place. The company has committed to eliminate PVC and BFRs in all its products and has set a timeline of 2009. The company offers models of laptops whose circuit boards are free of BFRs and EcoMark-certified products without PVC. The company lacks support for individual producer responsibility, but has improved on geographical coverage of its voluntary takeback program and information to customers on what to do with their discarded products.
Acer has dropped from 9th to 11th place. It has yet to start selling products free of PVC and BFRs. Acer has also improved communication of its waste policy and practice, but still needs to do more on providing voluntary takeback and recycling of its end-of-life products.
Apple claims to have changed their policies which they call ‘the greener apple’. However, Greenpeace considers their products as ‘Poison Apple’. The company has slid down the ranking to 12th position with no new improvements, while its competitors race ahead. The company has committed to eliminate all uses of PVC and BFRs in its products by the end of 2008. It now provides examples of additional substances that it plans to eliminate with timelines, such as arsenic in LCDs and mercury, and Material Safety Data Sheets for all its products. But, Apple has yet to offer consumers products that are free of PVC and BFRs.
HP is now in 13th place down from 6. It has weakened its support for individual producer responsibility and has provided a substitution timeline for future substances. It was the first company to devise an electronic waste take back /recycling metric based on a percentage of sales. HP fails to provide timelines for the complete elimination of PVC and all BFRs.
Panasonic has dropped to bottom position after hovering near the bottom. It has added two models of lighting equipment free of BFRs and are manufacturing halogen-free printed wiring boards for certain applications and markets. Panasonic has committed to eliminating all uses of PVC in its products starting with internal wiring, as this hampers recycling. All have set a timeline of 2011 for getting PVC out of its notebooks. But, on BFRs, the company has yet to commit to their elimination in all products, although a timeline of 2011 has been set for getting BFRs out of notebooks and mobiles.
HCL has called for a Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) by committing to phase-out the Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Brominated Fire Retardants (BFR) in all its products by from 2009 and 2010 respectively. The company has been adopting environmental friendly measures under the ‘HCL eSafe’ policy.
Philips announced that by 2012, it aims for 30% of total revenues to come from Green Products, compared with 15% of group sales in 2006. This commitment is part of Philips’ latest EcoVision program that focuses on reducing the energy consumption of its products and facilities. Philips CEO Gerard Kleisterlee says, “Every one of us should contribute to saving our planet.” Philips’ fourth EcoVision program aims to increase the energy efficiency of its operations by 25% and double its investment in green innovations to EUR 1 billion in the next five years. Furthermore, the company is calling on its employees to be environmentally aware on a day-to-day basis in their working environment.
- Source: Tech2.com
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