Mobile phone makers and network operators have committed
themselves to a new green programme that aims to reduce the
environmental impact of their products.
The group, led by Nokia, the world’s biggest maker of mobile
phones, was created as part of a European Commission pilot project
looking at how different industries could work with stakeholder
groups to reduce the environmental impact of their products
throughout their lifecycle.
Nokia proposed the mobile phone sector to the Commission. Other
members of the voluntary group are Motorola, Panasonic, France
Telecom/Orange, Vodafone, TeliaSonera, Intel, Epson, Spansion and
Umicore. Big Nokia rival Sony Ericsson is not part of the
scheme.
The industry group of firms have been joined by environmental
experts from the WWF, the Finnish Environmental Institute, the UK's
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the European
Consumers' Organisation (BEUC).
The group has agreed upon a series of new initiatives to reduce the
environmental impact of mobile phones.These include reducing energy
consumption, eliminating the use of specific materials of concern,
improving the number of phones collected through take-back schemes
and recycled, and giving consumers more environmental information
about products.
Veli Sundbäck, Nokia executive vice president of corporate
relations and responsibility, said, “By working together with
environmental groups we have been able to find new ways to make
improvements at each stage of a mobile phone's lifecycle, from when
it is made right through to how it can be recycled. We are now
committed to turning these ideas into action and maintaining a
long-term commitment to this issue.”
To reduce the energy consumption of mobile phones the manufacturers
have agreed to take action by equipping phones with reminders to
unplug chargers once the battery is recharged. Nokia plans to have
these alerts in new phones by the middle of next year.
Nokia estimates that if this measure led to only 10% of the world's
mobile phone users turning off the electricity supply to the
chargers after use, this would save enough energy in one year to
power 60,000 European homes annually.
The group has also agreed to go beyond current regulatory standards
and eliminate or reduce additional hazardous materials used in
manufacturing, including certain flame retardants and
phthalates.
The mobile operators will work with manufacturers and the other
stakeholders to increase the amount of used or unwanted phones that
are brought back by consumers for recycling.
Over the next two years the group will look at the range of
existing recycling schemes operated around the world and identify
which work most successfully and why.
They will also pilot the use of incentive schemes in a number of
different markets around the world to understand how these can be
used to improve collection rates. The most successful schemes and
incentives will be identified and shared across the industry.
The group has also agreed to provide more information and guidance
to consumers about the environmental performance of mobile phones,
helping them to make more informed purchasing choices.
Matthew Wilkinson, policy adviser at WWF International, said,
“We will continue our stakeholder involvement in the project, and
look forward to the sector delivering on its commitments.”
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