Computers, monitors and imaging equipment
Computers, monitors and imaging equipment are the cornerstone of information and communication technologies (ICT). The rapid expansion of internet and e-services is creating additional electricity consumption and vast amounts of electronic scrap. As Greenpeace highlights in its Green Electronics campaigns, this industry is still far from sustainable. The stock of personal computers and servers in Europe is expected to double by 2020 with increasingly powerful - and energy intensive - products.
Despite the voluntary Energy Star program, the sector is expected to consume 20 additional TWh of yearly electricity by 2020 (as much as the residential consumption of Belgium). And toxic electronic waste are still flooding our and developing countries’ landfills, with poor consequences for the environment.
What does the Coolproducts campaign want?
• Energy Star specifications to become at least a minimum standard in Europe in 2011.
• Energy and resource efficiency to be better addressed, i.e. not only during the use phase but also in the conception (The manufacturing of chipsets and electronic circuits is incredibly intensive in energy and very often underestimated in studies).
• Electronics to be made less toxic, more recyclable and recycled, and their lifetime expanded by easier upgradeability and repairability.
• High electricity consuming gadgets, such as digital photo frames, to be severely limited or banned once and for all.
What is the European Union doing and what’s our position?
Ecodesign measures on computers, servers, monitors, printers, copiers and other electronics are being discussed. For some products, the stakes are promising (i.e. Energy Star 5.0 could be made mandatory for medium-sized computers by mid-2011), but for other products a voluntary scheme by manufacturers will be privileged. This is the case for printing equipment, and NGOs from the Coolproducts campaign had to attend several meetings and work hard to get the first drafts from industry improved in ambition.
Alas, so far the scope of these measures is mostly focused on the electricity consumption in the use phase, and nothing more substantial is planned to make electronic products less toxic, more recyclable and more sustainable.
For imagining equipment, the European Commission is considering a voluntary agreement with the industry association. NGOs have repeatedly expressed concerns about the use of voluntary agreements in this process.
Further reading:
-Find out more about the EU process on our expert pages.
-Chose/compare the most efficient products at Topten.info