Greenpeace releases energy outlook report on India
Mar 26, 2009 Green Technologies
India’s 35 percent electricity demands can be met from renewable energy by 2030 and 50 percent of the projected energy requirements can be met simply from smart and efficient generation, distribution and use of energy, according to a Greenpeace International report. Using renewable resources can ameliorate the lives of the 600 million plus Indians who have no access to electricity today.
Greenpeace released the second version of the “Energy [R] evolution: A sustainable India Energy Outlook,” a report analysing the current scenario and calling for political will to back solutions for India’s energy that is secure, technically feasible and sustainable in a climate challenged world. The report shows how ambitions of economic growth and development can be met while curbing India’s carbon emissions.
“Unlike other energy scenarios that promote energy futures at the cost of the climate, our energy revolution scenario shows how to save money and maintain global economic development without fuelling catastrophic climate change. All we need to kick start this plan is bold energy policy from India’s leaders” said Sven Teske, Greenpeace International’s Renewable Energy Expert and lead-author of the report. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Greenpeace, India
Apple cold shoulders CSR report demands
Jan 20, 2009 Stars, Policy and Finance
Greenpeace Green My Apple
While Apple has been going to town, telling one and all that it makes the greenest notebooks, it has stonewalled efforts by shareholder groups to divulge more about its CSR activities. This comes a week after Greenpeace released its scorecard of green gadgets, which mentioned that Apple had refused permission for its gadgets to be tested. Apple has former US president and green evangelist, Al Gore on its board.
Apple issued a proxy filing last Wednesday in which it urged shareholders to vote against a shareholder resolution proposed by As You Sow, an environmental group co-sponsored by the New York City Office of the Comptroller and the Green Century Equity Fund.
The resolution would mandate the company to publish a CSR report detailing its approach to greenhouse gas emissions, toxics and recycling by July this year. The report would also require Apple to define “sustainability”, and would include a company-wide review of policies contributing to sustainable operations. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Apple, CSR, Greenpeace
Nokia offers N79 without chargers - an offer to recycle your old charger
Jan 16, 2009 Green Technologies, Natural Resource Conservation
Nokia N79 Eco
Nokia is now offering its N79 smartphone without a charger, so that you could reuse your old Nokia phone charger. Moreover, the packaging box is smaller too and for each phone sold, Nokia is donating $4 to WWF, the global conservation organisation.
Smaller packaging and lack of charger will improve the environmental impact by cutting the shipping weight and amount of plastics needed to make the charger. Amazon had started a similar effort last year, dubbed “frustration free packaging“.
Not good enough to ditch other phones just for this offer, but still a commendable effort. If you are interested, pick up the phone at the Nokia website.
Tags: Greenpeace, N79, Nokia, Recycle
Greenpeace state of electronics report 2009
Jan 16, 2009 Information of the Day
HP Elitebook -- Greenest laptop
Greenpeace published its latest report on the state of electronics at the end of CES 2009. It looks at the concentrations of hazardous substances like mercury, lead, and halogenated plastics, as well as the existence and efficiency of companies recycling efforts. It also examines the energy efficiencies of the devices themselves.
According to Greenpeace’s latest survey, electronics companies are showing real signs of improvement, though they still aren’t where they need to be yet.
Greenpeace reviewed 50 “environmentally friendly” products from Acer, Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, Hewlett Packard, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, RIM/Blackberry, Sharp, Samsung, Sony, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba, who all consented to the rigorous testing process. Sony was the only gaming console manufacturer to submit its product, the PS3, for testing, thus it could be considered the de facto winner in this category, but Greenpeace opted to not rank it due to lack of competition.
Apple, ASUS, Microsoft, Nintendo, Palm, and Philips were the biggest companies who refused to participate. Apple, which claims to have the “greenest line of laptops”, has had a bitter history with Greenpeace, barring the group from attending its shows. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Apple, Greenpeace
Dell snipes at Apple’s “greenest notebook” claims
Dec 20, 2008 Green Technologies
Fight!
We have seen Google and Micorsoft boasting about the efficiency of their data centers. We have seen Apple, who were in the crosshairs of Greenpeace, claim that its MacBook is the greenest laptop out there. But now Dell has come out and tried to puncture Apple’s claims.
Bob Pearson, VP—Communities & Conversations, Dell has blogged that Apple has just been making claims in ads, without backing them with facts, has not engaged in discussions about the meaning of being green and then, he goes on to highlight Dell’s own green initiatives over the recent years. Here is an excerpt:
“It was in one of our regular sustainability meetings that Michael challenged us to offer free recycling worldwide for consumers.A big goal and we did it. We hope Apple does the same someday. We challenged ourselves in 2007 to meet a carbon-neutral goal for our operations in 2008 and we did it in August, about five months ahead of schedule. We hope Apple decides to do the same. We challenged ourselves to see how much packaging we could reduce and this led to our recent announcement that we’ll eliminate 20 million pounds of laptop and desktop shipping materials.”
How times have changed! Computer makers are sniping at each other’s green credentials and trying to burnish their own eco-initiaties. Has environmental consciousness gone mainstream in a big way or what?
Tags: Apple, Dell, Greenpeace, Notebooks
CBS uncovers the dirty underbelly of electronic waste recycling
Nov 11, 2008 Information of the Day
CBS 60
CBS uncovers the dirty secrets of recycling of e-waste –deluge of PCs, cellphones, televisions and other electronic gadgets that are being discarded by users around the world end up in recycling facilities in China and other parts of the developing world, where all environmental norms are flouted.
People are being poisoned as the world goes about fulfilling its fetish for ever newer and cooler gadgets. The rejected stuff contains lead, cadmium and their unsafe handling is contaminating the water supply and land. The furnaces are spewing out dioxins. All this due to lax monitoring by those who are supposed to keep tab.
Watch the video. I am sure it will grab you. And think about it the next time you rush out to get your hands on the latests mac or Iphone.
Another shocking video is here.
Tags: CBS, E-waste, Greenpeace
Green Apple
Oct 15, 2008 Green Technologies
Apple Macbook
Recently, Apple unveiled its newest line of MacBook notebooks, and amid all the hoopla about the multitouch buttonless glass touchpad, it may have been easy to miss the fact that these areApple’s greenest computers ever.
The entire line of MacBooks now meets Energy Star 4.0, EPEAT Gold and RoHS environmental standards. The new MacBooks also got high green ratings for the things that were left out — the internal components are all PVC- and BFR-free, and the display is mercury and arsenic-free. That new LED backlit display uses 30 percent less power than standard displays, according to Apple.
Tags: Apple, Energy star, Green Computing, Greenpeace, Macbook, ROHS