Sustainable electronics

Sustainable electronics

Sustainable electronics are electronic products made with no toxic chemicals, recyclable parts, and reduced carbon emissions during production. "Sustainability is still very new, emerging business concept. Because of that, we lack uniform guidelines or standards applicable per industry sector that can help companies establish best practices." [1]

Brands

According to Rank a Brand Electronics Green Fair Ranking Report in 2014, none of the electronic brands met all of their green requirements for level A. The only company to reach level B was Fairphone, who met 60% of their standards. Level C was awarded to Apple and Nokia with 45% and 40% respectively.[2] The majority of the researched electronic brands were put into level D. These brands include Sony, Acer, Dell HP, Samsung, Motorola, Philips, Blackberry, Lenovo, Toshiba. They met less than 35% of the Rank a Brand criteria.[3] Rank a Brand generalizes their findings into 4 main categories: reporting on sustainability, climate protection, ecology, and fair labor. All brands report on sustainability. Nokia is the top brand for climate protection, and Fairphone is the top brand for both ecology and fair labor. Apple, although criticized for their sustainability efforts, is a strong second in all of these categories apart from ecology.[4]

Brand Label
- A
Fairphone B
Apple, Nokia C
Sony, HP, Acer, Samsung, Dell

Motorola, Philips, Blackberry,

Lenovo, Toshiba

 D
LG, ASUS, ZTE, HTC, Microsoft,

HUAWEI, Nintendo

 E

[2]

Companies who receive an E label are stamped with Electronic Greenwashing Alert, which means that consumer can not clearly find or understand their sustainability information and might find them self confused or misguided.[2]

Use of hazardous chemicals

Many hazardous chemicals and materials are used in the production of electronics. These substances are further outlined in this page about electronic waste substances.

No brand in 2014 had completely eliminated use of Phthalates, beryllium, antimony, BFRs, and PVC in their productions, but Nokia and Motorola have the best track record by eliminating 3 out of 5 above mentioned chemicals.[2]

Benefits

"Sustainable ICT will enable us to protect and enhance human health and well-being and the environment over generations while minimizing the adverse life-cycle impacts of devices, infrastructure and services."[5]

Electronics contain many chemicals that are known to cause issues with human health. A lot of these chemicals also easily seep into the environment, whether it be in soil, water or the air. A lot of e-waste is exported to third world countries such as China and India, where the waste is put in a landfill and the chemicals are allowed to seep into the environment. In the U.S. in 2011 only about 25% of e-waste was actually recycled.[6] [7] By using sustainable electronics principles, such as Green Engineering, chemicals can be prevented from entering electronics in the first place, or can be removed properly once a product has reached the end of its life cycle.

Green engineering is the process of using sustainable materials and methods to create products that can be used for long periods of time and can be taken apart and reused; ultimately fostering a sustainable way to build and use technology. Green engineering works to find solutions to the waste and hazardous materials that are frequently used in the building of technology today. The goals of green engineering are to use materials that will “conserve and improve natural ecosystems while protecting human health and well-being.”[8] Along with this, the EPA wants to have incentives to motivate companies and developers to have green engineering in mind when they produce their products. They want green engineering to become the norm as technology moves forward. The development of green engineering across communities and across the globe will promote a more sustainable way of life as humans continue to rely on technology to improve their daily lives.

Organizations

References

  1. ↑ "Key Sustainability Issues in the Electronics Industry: Sustainability Industry Report - SCM | Supply Chain Resource Cooperative (SCRC) | North Carolina State University". scm.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Dziamski, Mario (June 2014). "Sustainable Electronics Report 2014" (PDF). Berlin/ Amstgerdam: Rank a Brand e.V. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Dziamski, Mario (June 2014). "Sustainable Electronics" (PDF). rankabrand.org.
  4. ↑ Rampell, Catherine (29 October 2013). "Cracking the Apple Trap". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Sahle-Demessie, E. (15 October 2012). "Sustainable Electronics Roadmap" (PDF). US EPA. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Campaign Platform". electronicstakeback.com.
  7. ↑ "E-Waste". svtc.org.
  8. ↑ "About Green Engineering". EPA.gov. 17 August 2016.
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