Bangkok--21 Apr--Spark Communications
“You can’t make a product greener — whether it’s a car, a refrigerator or a traffic system, without making it smarter in terms of smarter materials, smarter software or smarter design[i]”.— Thomas Friedman
Computers are an integral part of our lives. We use them to create, communicate, to entertain and be entertained. Can you imagine life without a laptop or a desktop?
Consumers are now more environmentally-conscious and look to strike a balance between being ‘green’ and using energy consuming devices.
Lenovo understands this balance and strives to achieve that in our products. Since 2005, Lenovo has used over 14 million pounds net of post-consumer recycled content plastics, equivalent to approximately 450 million water bottles. In 2009, over 30percent net of all plastic weight purchased to manufacture Lenovo monitors consisted of low halogen post-consumer recycled content, with every ThinkVision monitor released in 2009 containing a post-consumer recycled content component.
With Earth Day right around the corner, there’s no better time to consider how you can make a difference to our planet...and save the environment and some money in the process! Here are some easy tips from Lenovo on how to green your computing experience.
Ready, Set, Save!
Set your computer to switch to ‘sleep’ mode after 10 minutes of inactivity. The computer "awakens" upon touching the keyboard or mouse. You can either use Windows power management (Control Panel —> Power Options), or explore the other power options that your PC has. For example, if you are using a Lenovo ThinkPad, use Power Manager to adjust your settings and reduce power consumption.
Gartner[ii] estimates that a company with 100 PCs and a power management system uses approximately 3,650 kWh per year. But without a power management system to control their company’s PC energy use, that figure jumps to 39,521kWh. This costs an estimated additional THB 110,850 per year, which is certainly no small sum! Enterprises waste nearly US$4 billion each year powering PCs that are not in use.
If you use a Lenovo product, you can find out how much energy you’ve saved on Lenovo desktops, notebooks and monitors based on an estimated usage model for various configurations at http://lenovoweb.com/energycalculator/
Source: http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/appliances/index.cfm/mytopic=10070
Slim your bills down with an LCD monitor
LCD monitors use on average 50 — 70 percent less energy in on-mode than conventional CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors. With 8 working hours a day, the energy saving of choosing an LCD over an equal size CRT could typically be well over 100 kWh/year.
Lenovo ThinkVision monitors also contain over 25 percent post-consumer recycled plastic in mechanical plastic parts. The ThinkVision L2250p Wide monitor uses 65 percent post consumer recycled plastics with an additional 20 percent post-industrial recycled content and no virgin plastics in the chassis.
Make every day a green day!
Going green starts from the very beginning! Even when you are buying the next PC that promises to be the fastest or the prettiest, look for the ENERGY STAR? rating to identify energy efficient equipment. ENERGY STAR? computers power down to a sleep mode that consume 15 Watts or less power, which is around 70 percent less electricity than a computer without power management features. Desktops, laptops and monitors that meet 23 required environmental performance criteria may be registered in EPEAT by their manufacturers in 40 countries worldwide.
Don’t know where to start looking? Lenovo offers a full complement of ENERGY STAR? qualified ThinkCentre A and M Series desktops, ThinkPad Edge, X, T, L and W Series notebooks and IdeaPad S, U, V and Z series notebooks.
Green Product Packaging
Green packaging is on the rise! A study[iii] by industry research firm Freedonia Group forecasts demand for green packaging (defined as material comprised of recycled content, is biodegradable or is reusable) to increase 3.4 percent annually, to $43.9 billion in 2013. Green packaging growth is anticipated to outpace overall packaging.
Lenovo is an industry leader in the use of green, environment-friendly product packaging and reduced its packaging materials consumption annually by up to 750 tonnes in 2009 alone, i.e. approximately 20 percent of its total packaging volume. As part of this effort, Lenovo is using up to 100 percent recycled cushioning materials in packaging select ThinkPad notebooks, ThinkCentre desktops and ThinkVision monitors. This allows components to be stacked together and requires less packaging material to help minimise shipping costs and reduce associated energy use.
Recycle, recycle, recycle!
After you’ve gone all out to be green, keep it going by recycling your old PCs and peripherals! By recycling, hazardous metals are extracted and plastic pieces are removed and then reused to make new products.
Don’t just limit your green ways to your PC — Use recycled paper, install energy-saving light bulbs, and print less! These are simple, yet effective ways to ensure you enjoy a green computing environment.
Take the sustainable leap forward
Lenovo has taken a major leap forward in green computing across multiple areas, including selection of eco-friendly materials, energy efficiency, product packaging, product end-of-life disposal and recycling. To learn more on how Lenovo is contributing to the environment, log on to http://www.lenovo.com/green.
The latest 2010 Lenovo Sustainability Report can also be downloaded here: http://www.lenovo.com/social_responsibility/us/en/FY2010_Lenovo_Sustainability_Report.pdf