Sony Ericsson releases ‘Green’ mobile phones
Mobile phone group Sony Ericsson has unveiled two sustainable handsets, which the company claims have carbon footprints 15 per cent lower than current models.
The C901 Green Heart model features an electronic in-phone manual to replace the standard paper version, saving more than 90 per cent in paper, while the phone casing is made from a minimum of 50 per cent recycled plastics.
It also has an optimised display light sensor that uses less energy, and is covered with a waterborne paint that lowers exposure to volatile organic compounds.
The phone will also include the Walk Mate application, which will let users compare the steps they take to the equivalent journey by car.
The Naite model will feature many of the same innovations as the Green Heart, and will also come to market with the EP300 Green Heart low-power charger.
It will feature a carbon footprint calculator to show how much CO2 a user is saving by walking instead of travelling by car.
Dick Komiyama, president of Sony Ericsson, says, ‘Building on the established heritage of our parent companies, Sony Ericsson has worked continuously to become an industry leader in the area of removing harmful substances from the core of its phones and in creating industry-leading energy-efficiency chargers.’
Needs to charge through a KERS system!
It is fantastic to see that companies are looking to reduce their impact on the environment. However, in my view a 15% reduction in carbon footprint does not constitute a ‘green’ phone.
SonyEricsson will manufacture hundreds of thousands of these phones, most of which will still end up in landfill. We should look more towards implementing cradle-to-cradle closed-loop systems, and create products which are ‘good’ rather than ‘less bad’!
I think this is definitely a step in the right direction. It’s very difficult for consumers to asses the amount of energy and materials that have gone into manufacturing their product of choice.
If mobile phone companies can find a way to use this as a marketing tool it may change the way consumers make choices about buying their next TV or mobile phone.