Greenwashing?

Apple consistently receives high scores from its customers concerning its green initiatives. For instance, in a recent Greenfactor survey, Dell, HP, Apple and Microsoft were rated as the greenest companies by American consumers. However, their actual green scores according to a Greenpeace survey were much lower.

So, are companies like Apple greenwashing - knowingly fooling the public into believing that they are more environmentally friendly than they really are? I'll leave it to you to decide and regardless of your conclusion, this is a good video to watch:



What's interesting to me is that companies like Nokia and Sony have eliminated these chemicals from their production process and are among the top ranked green CE companies, however, they have been unable to leverage this advantage through advertising or some sort of awareness campaign. Too bad for them.

CES Goes Green

This years CES show in Las Vegas was greener than ever with most companies unveiling new green products and initiatives.

Some of the hightlights included:

- Sony boasted new, energy-efficient televisions: The BRAVIA VE5-series have a zero-watt standby power switch, motion and light sensors that minimize energy usage, and micro-tubular Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (HCFL) that cuts power consumption by almost 40 percent compared to its other LCD HDTV models.

- Toshiba unveiled the Super Charge Battery, which is touted as a longer-lasting battery with a target recharge time of 90 percent in just 10 minutes.

- LG Electronics announced that it is setting records with a new 32-inch TV which uses more than 50 percent less power than the average 32-inch LCD TV. The Korean company also showed off a self-sustaining mobile phone stand powered by wind and solar power that can charge up to 104 handsets per hour.

- Samsung talked up its e-designed its next generation of TVs that use LEDs as their primary light source, rather than traditional Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL). Samsung redesigned its plasma HDTV line to use less material and less energy, MarketWatch reports.

Green features are often more important than the brand name, according to a recent study from the Consumer Electronics Association.

For the full article, please visit Environmenal Leader.

Despite The Economy, Green Consumer Segment Still Growing

The following graphs come from a Boston Consulting Group report on Green Comsumers. The findings are interesting:

1. Despite the current economy, consumer demand for green products is still growing.


2. Most consumers think its important for companies to be green.


3. Awareness and choice are the most important factors for consumers to buy green.



More to follow!...........

LG Solar Powered Cell Phone

LG recently showed off an eco-friendly cell phone at the 2009 Mobile World Congress. Armed with a solar panel built in to the back cover, it only needs natural light to charge - if given 10 minutes of direct sunlight, the user can make a 3 minute call. The best part of the gadget is that it can be put on any LG phone. The company also has redesigned their packaging with recycled paper for the box and printed material.

Lowering The Cost Of Play: Game Console Energy Consumption

Over 40% of all American homes contain a video game console. A fact that is addining up to some serious energy use. A study conducted by NRDC and Ecos Consulting found that game consoles consume an estimated 16 billion kilowatt-hours per year - roughly equal to the annual electricity use of San Diego!

The study also found that if users unplugged their machines after using using them, power consumption would be reduced drastically. Please follow this link if you are interested in reading the full report.

Which TV Brand Uses The Least Energy?

In the 32" segment, Toshiba has the lowest average yearly costs followed by Philips, Samsung and Sony while LG and Panasonic rank lowest on the list. Keep in mind that the graph represents the average cost of all models per brand, so some models may cost more or less than this average.


In the 40-42" segment, Toshiba, Samsung and Sony have the lowest average yearly energy costs. Once again, LG and Panasonic are at the bottom of the list.

Home Energy Consumption Breakdown

How many people knew there TV was using more energy than there fridge! Pretty surprising stuff.

Green Perception Versus Green Reality

When it comes to "green" consumer electronic brands, consumer perception does not match reality. A GreenFactor study conducted by Strategic Oxygen and the PR agency Cohn & Wolfe found that Americans ranked Dell as the top "green" consumer electronics brand, followed by Apple, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft. Hitachi, NEC and Nintendo were perceived as the least "green".


This graph shows peoples perception of how "green" a company is relative to their real "green" scores according to a Greenpeace rating sytsem. Greenpeace ranks electronics companies based on two criteria: 1) there ability to eliminate the use of hazardous substances during production and 2) whether or not they offer takeback and recycling programs for their products once they become obsolete.

Sony, Samsung and Nokia had the highest ratings. Surprising, considering these companies were ranked 14th, 13th and 7th, respectively, by consumers'. Greenpeace ranked Dell 12th, Apple 14th, HP 13th and Microsoft 17th, considerably lower than the perception consumers' had of them - especially in the case of Microsoft.

The results highlight two points: 1) there's a huge lack of awareness among consumers' and 2) some companies PR and marketing campaigns are better than others!

Google PowerMeter

The idea with the Powermeter is that if people knew how much electricity they were using to run individual electric appliances, they’d cut down use.
Google cites figures showing that regularly viewing real-time energy use prods people to cut electricity by 5 percent to 15 percent on average through behavioral changes. That could translate to saving $60 to $180 per year for a U.S. household with an annual average electricity bill of $1,200.

The PowerMeter will work on an iGoogle home page when it becomes available to the public sometime later this year.
According to The New York Times:
Google plans to enhance PowerMeter with “social” tools that will allow users to compare their electricity consumption with that of their neighbors or friends. And it plans to allow third parties to develop their own applications that would enhance its usefulness. A programmer, for instance, could create a tool that normalizes the data for variations in weather.
Even though it’s not ready for prime time, Google is providing info on the product in the hope of interesting potential partners.