Towards Greener Electronics

This report, the third annual survey from Greenpeace, scores 44 products across seven categories of electronics for their environmental impacts.

Across seven categories — desktops, laptops, netbooks, mobile phones, televisions, monitors and smartphones, Greenpeace noted three main trends from this year’s report:

Significant reductions in the use of hazardous chemicals. More products than ever before are PVC-free and BFR-free. The use of phthalates, as well as beryllium and antimony and their associated compounds, are being eliminated in every product category. Although the previous survey showed that the use of RoHS exemptions could be drastically reduced, we have yet to see this progress in the industry.

 

Exceeding energy efficiency standards. Almost all products meet or exceed the current Energy Star standards established by the US EPA. Electronics companies seem to put much more effort in improving the energy efficiency of their products rather than assessing thoroughly (and reducing) the “embedded energy” — that is, the energy spent during the production of each product.

Product lifecycle responsibility must improve. Lifecycle management is still the weakest point of electronic products, with very little use of recycled plastic, a variety of take-back practices (generally improving) and little marketing efforts to prevent fast obsolescence of products.