Electronics Slowly Turn Green
Greenpeace International recently surveyed environmental responsibility among consumer electronics companies, and released the findings during last week’s CeBIT information technology fair in Hanover, Germany. While the group gave kudos to Sony, Apple, Nokia and other companies for greening their product lines, it also said the industry as a whole has a long way to go toward comprehensively reducing toxic substances and increasing energy efficiency and recyclability. Greenpeace researchers tested 37 different new products that 14 major electronics manufacturers had selected as their greenest offerings.
Zeina al-Hajj, who leads Greenpeace International’s toxics campaign, said the group’s survey—which it has conducted periodically since 2006—has helped spur a dialogue with the world’s leading electronics manufacturers. But she stressed that token efforts to green up one or two products will not solve the problems the industry is helping to create.
"It’s not enough just to offer a green computer for the tree-huggers," she says. "Environmentally friendly devices must become a general trend and dominate mass production."
Source: Greenpeace; MSNBC