NEW YORK--There's a long way to go to make consumer electronics an environmentally sustainable industry and sometimes the best path isn't always clear.
Panelists and attendees at the Greener Gadgets conference here last week discussed the many ways that manufacturers could claim a greener product--a recycling program, less hazardous materials, and, increasingly, the embedded carbon footprint.
But to manufacturers--and the consumers themselves--what constitutes "green" is still a work in progress.
"I think that people are more focused on doing the right thing but there is very little for them to hang that on," said Ken Rother, the president and chief operating officer of environmental consumer Web site Treehugger.
Rother said that many Treehugger readers appear particularly concerned with carbon emissions so they would welcome standard ways to report how much energy use is embedded in a product.
But it's difficult to measure that carbon footprint in electronics cost effectively because the consumer electronics industry has a complex supply chain with multiple tiers of suppliers, said Aaron Dallek, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Planet Metrics, which makes software to help businesses measure their carbon emissions.
"The big question is how do companies approach this because...the ability to measure products' (carbon footprint) is not very good," Dallek said. However, it is clear is that designing products with fewer parts and materials reduces the embedded energy content, he said.
Representatives from different companies said that many decisions made in the name of environmental sustainability, such as reducing materials and packaging, reduce carbon emissions and save money.
For example, excessive plastic packaging for a small USB key simply adds cost to the manufacturer in terms of material and the embedded energy, said Ron Gonen, the CEO of RecycleBank, which runs municipal programs to reward consumers with coupons to recycle more.
Dell's decision to use LED screens in all its laptops by next year has a number of benefits, said Michael Murphy, senior manager of environmental affairs at Dell. Because they are 43 percent more energy efficient than current screens, batteries can last twice as long. It also eliminates the use of mercury.
The thinner screens also mean less packaging and less weight--which makes it "cheaper for everyone" in Dell's supply chain, he said.
Conflicted about regulations
Greener product designs aren't only driven by cost savings, though. IT and consumer electronics companies are facing a growing number of environmental regulations, notably European recycling and hazardous material mandates called WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) and RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive).
For Intel, meeting the RoHS directive meant taking lead out of most of its chips. The company exceeded the minimum standard because it saw that it could get a "marketing advantage" that way, said Stephen Harper, director of environment and energy policy at Intel, who spoke on a panel.
"We need a combination of minimum standards and we also have to allow for competition that will drive competition beyond the minimum standards," Harper said.
At the same time, Harper and Dell's Murphy complained some regulations are ineffective. The EPEAT standard, which mandates that government agencies purchase energy-efficient computer gear, is only followed by 11 percent of agencies in their procurement practices, Harper said.
Also, regulators need to harmonize regulations across regions and do a cradle-to-grave lifecycle analysis of environmental benefits when setting rules. For example, removing all lead from electronics could lead manufacturers to use equally hazardous alternatives, Harper said.
E-waste and recycling
The conference also highlighted the issue of electronics recycling as a way for manufacturers to be more environmentally responsible. But even though more than half of consumer electronics companies now offer recycling and take-back programs now, an estimated 98 percent of electronics are still not recycled.
Recycle Bank's Gonen said that society needs to attach a monetary price to waste, either through a fine or by rewarding consumers to recycle. Counting on consumers to "do the right thing" to protect the environment will keep recycling rates low, he argued.
"When you don't recycle your e-waste, there is a major environmental cost and a major economic cost," he said. "That is the way to motivate people. But first you need to give them the infrastructure, the information on how to do it."
Retailers, too, have a big role in recycling and in making the electronics industry more environmentally sustainable in general, said Parker Brugge, the vice president of environmental affairs and industry sustainability at the Consumer Electronics Association.
Inventor Saul Griffith calculates his carbon footprint to make the case for a green design revolution in consumer electronics.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)"There is a growing, very small percentage of consumers interested in eco-friendly products. What will really drive change is when retailers demand it," he said.
The keynote speaker, inventor Saul Griffith, argued that designers need to start to make "greener electronic object d'art" or heirloom products that can last decades as a Rolex watch or Mont Blanc pen does.
Dell's Murphy argued that Dell already designs its products for long life and modular upgrades and that company already runs a large refurbishing business. But other speakers conceded that designing products that last decades would represent a completely different way of designing and selling products in high tech.
But even without heirloom products, the industry can still do quite a bit more to be greener, taking advantage of new technologies in the process, said Carl Smith, president and CEO of Rechargeable Battery Recycling.
"Green is not a yes or no question--it's an attribute," Smith said. "It's a balance between technology advancement and meeting our environmental goals."
Green fatigue is now pervasive.
Numerous environment-theme blogs and news sites over the past week have pointed to a statement put out by Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., calling for the demise of all "green" labeling.
Since 1975, the university has been taking nominations for words that need to be banned. The top vote getters for 2008 were "green" and "going green." Also on the black list were the terms carbon footprint and carbon offset.
(Credit:
TerraChoice)
One word-banning nominator, Ed Hardiman from Bristow, Va., summed up his lack of patience nicely: "If I see one more corporation declare itself 'green,' I'm going to start burning tires in my backyard."
Web site TreeHugger declares that the term green is "barely hanging on," while Willie Brent at his Mr. Cleantech blog speculates that many media companies will need to rethink their naming.
As a person who helped name the CNET Green Tech blog, I suppose I have something to answer for here.
And clearly, there are some real abuses. TreeHugger points to how the concrete industry--source of one of the most polluting industrial processes--has tried to paint itself green and sustainable.
Aggressive green marketing--also known as greenwashing--isn't very helpful to consumers who actually care about making environmentally conscious buying decisions.
But the answer isn't to ban the word green. Consumers simply need to be as savvy as they can and seek out as much information they can. Businesses should also get used to disclosing more--those with less to hide come out looking better.
Greenpeace puts out an electronics guide every year in which it drills down into a number of factors--use of toxics, recycling, carbon emissions, and corporate disclosures.
The same should hold true in other product categories--the more detail, the better. And this is where standards and certifications like Energy Star can really help.
For this to work, journalists and Web writers need to be as specific as possible in the terms they use, and try to give an environmental profile of different technologies.
After all, things aren't often black-and-white. There are many shades to being green.
Most energy-conscious people know that when it comes to home insulation, more is better. But homeowner Alex Cheimets is literally thinking outside the box with his "superinsulation" plan.
Rather than just blow in a few more inches of standard cellulose insulation in his attic, Cheimets is in the throes of an ambitious project to seal the outside of his home with two layers of insulating foam board.
Known in building industry as a superinsulated home, the foam blanket will keep hot (and cool) air in, and also block the cracks that let in outside air. If all goes as hoped, he will cut oil consumption by 70 percent at his 80-year-old, two-family home in Arlington, Mass.
A superinsulated home has foam insulation placed on the outside of the walls and ontop of the existing roof.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET Networks)For Cheimets, superinsulation has become a bit of a hobby, one that's been frustrating at times. He set off two years ago with good intentions--conserving energy for the benefit of his pocketbook and the environment. But like a cutting-edge user of new technology, he has had to overcome a number of unexpected hurdles, notably a lack of basic information and experienced contractors.
Luckily, Cheimets is persistent, organized, and, he admits, "a little obsessed."
Earlier this fall, contractors began work on the job, which is expected to be finished early next year. Along the way, it's become a pilot project that some hope will become a model for dramatically lowering energy consumption in the millions of existing homes.
Leading-edge green
Being a guinea pig for superlinsulated homes has paid off in some ways even before the home's co-owners receive next winter's heating bills.
Because his project is considered a model for retrofitting homes to be energy efficient, suppliers have donated windows and materials, halving the estimated price tag of $100,000.
... Read more
In a sign of "green" going mainstream, an IBM survey of CEOs finds that socially oriented customers are wielding more power, aided by social networking on the Web.
The survey, published Tuesday, drew on face-to-face interviews with 1,130 CEOs around the world. It found that CEOs feel less prepared as they would like to deal with the pace of change.
The first is the information omnivore, the type of consumer who is comfortable making his or her opinion known through Web-based tools like social networks.
CEOs said that these proactive consumers, or "prosumers," can be a positive influence if companies can design products based on consumers' expressed preferences.
In addition to being demanding about products, customers are carefully watching corporations' behavior, the study found.
Expectations for corporate social responsibility are rising. Concern over environmental issues has doubled over the past four years, with most of that reflected in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region.
CEOs said they will increase investments 25 percent over the next three years to better understand socially minded customers, which chief executives identified as the fastest-growing trend.
IBM itself primarily serves large enterprises, rather than selling directly to consumers. It does an annual survey of CEOs to find direction on their business directions and how they intend to sell to their customers.
In the area of clean tech, IBM has a number of initiatives including data center energy efficiency and reducing waste from silicon solar cells. IBM also has a decades-long corporate social responsibility practice.
You could call it grass-roots green.
The second season of Energy Smackdown, a TV show that challenges homeowners in the Boston area to "green" their lives, kicked off Sunday.
Cities in New Hampshire are also competing to lower their carbon footprint. Click on the image to see how different towns are faring.
(Credit: New Hampshire Carbon Challenge)Households, including my own, have signed up to take up several challenges to lower their carbon footprint and compete against families in other nearby cities--in this case between Medford, Cambridge, and Arlington, Mass.
There are a number of challenges, such as coming up with an energy-efficiency plan, reducing travel, and eating local food.
You'd be amazed at what people can do. One of the families that participated in last year's pilot show lowered its carbon footprint by 63 percent per person.
Echoing my Green Retrofits article from Earth Day, last year's participants from Medford said the changes are pretty simple and focused on energy efficiency.
But energy efficiency is getting serious attention from policymakers, not just frugal consumers.
Ian Bowles, the Massachusetts secretary of energy and environment, spoke at the Energy Smackdown kick-off where he called energy efficiency the "cheapest fuel." The state is trying to avoid building new power plants by aggressively adopting energy efficiency plans.
When I mentioned solar electric panels to one of the remodeling experts who is advising Energy Smackdown, he said that replacing a refrigerator, adding insulation, and using infrared scans to test for air sealing leaks are far more sensible economically.
Ian Bowles, Massachusetts' secretary of energy and environment, speaks at a Medford school during the 'Energy Smackdown' kick-off.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com)One family has installed an in-home display of its energy usage and has made a game out of how significantly family members can decrease their consumption.
The show will give families a year to see how well they can do. In the meantime, the Energy Smackdown is a fun way to act on carbon footprints and sustainability--kind of like a reality TV version of "green" social networking sites.
So when anyone wonders whether there are consumers for green tech products, think of Energy Smackdown.
Update on May 4: The Boston Globe reports on efforts across the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gases at the community level.
When Benjamin Brown, the CEO of Web start-up MakeMeSustainable.com, hands you his business card, it's got "green" written all over it.
Rather than bleached white, it's the color of a supermarket bag and has a green fingerprint printed on the back.
MakeMeSustainable.com lets people see their energy usage and savings over time--as well as what their friends are doing.
(Credit: MakeMeSustainable.com)Brown's not the only Web entrepreneur going with the recycled paper look. A growing number of tech and media entrepreneurs are trying to enter the booming green-tech industry via the Web.
Over the past five years, many IT professionals have made the jump to energy-related companies. Former Microsoftie Martin Tobias, for example, was CEO of biodiesel company Imperium Renewables, while the head of ethanol maker Range Fuels, Mitch Mandich, is a former Apple executive.
These IT veterans made the move either because there are more job opportunities, or because they want to work in an environmentally oriented field. Although they may lack technical know-how in energy, they contribute the speed and entrepreneurial culture of high-tech start-ups, the thinking goes.
By contrast, people like Brown feel that tapping social networking on the Web is the best way to build a business with an environmental slant.
"There's a lot of noise and a lot of great clean technologies are going to be created," Brown says. "The reason I wanted to go towards the Web is because, in the end, it's the individual consumer who will be driving those concepts and ideas."
MakeMeSustainable.com is sort of like Weight Watchers for carbon-conscious consumers. It allows people to evaluate their individual carbon footprint and track it over time while teaming with others.
The company, which spent two and half years building the software, is in the process of raising a Series A round of venture capital, said Brown, who is 25.
Over the past few years, there's been an explosion in green-themed Web media. Many sites act as hubs for environmentally aware people, providing news links and tips. There are sites to locate suppliers of green products or even to find a date with like-minded greenies.
The green Web reflects growing awareness of environmental issues. With the growth of social-networking sites, getting the word out online is a natural, particularly for younger people for whom socializing online is second nature. MakeMeSustainable released a Facebook application in December.
For people with software skills, green Web businesses are a tech-related career path that dovetails with their personal goals.
"The people who have Web 2.0 in their DNA, let's call it, are very alert and sensitive to this," said Andy Zaleta, a partner at recruiting firm Battalia Winston. "There's a social awareness created by the younger generation online."
There are many sites, which are counting on advertising revenue, that aggregate environmental news and tips. A few are emerging that emphasize social networking. A site called Carbonrally, offers teams of people regular challenges, such as using PC energy-management software. Teams can compete as they track the impact of their changes.
Brown said that eco-oriented consumers are getting to the point where they want hard numbers to back up their good intentions.
"Who the hell knows what is eco or green and people are getting tired of greenwashing," he said. "There's so much information out there, what we're seeking to be is a trusted quantitative source."
Environmental marketing firm TerraChoice found that many retail products overstate their environmental attributes, a practice which risks causing skepticism among consumers.
The company sent people to big-box retail stores to find products labeled as green. In the process, it found that almost all of them committed at least one of what it calls "sins of greenwashing."
(Credit:
TerraChoice)
Most common was the "Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off," where manufacturers claim a product has a green feature, such as recycled paper content, but don't pay attention to potentially more important issues, such as global warming or water use.
Second most common was the Sin Of No Proof, where consumers don't have the means to verify claims. Click here for a PDF of the study which details the other "sins." It was released this month.
To many people, this may sound like nitpicking. If manufacturers use more recycled material or make an effort to use benign chemicals, they should be able to label their products as such. And clearly, you'd expect a company like TerraChoice, whose business is environmental marketing, to have high standards.
On the other hand, the more information that manufacturers can provide, the better. If a "green consumer" is purchasing in part on the basis of environmental attributes, why not be as explicit and detailed as possible?
TerraChoice calls for better standards and labels and for consumers to be more savvy in their purchases.
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