Personal Computers

Personal Computers: Over £61m is wasted every year by the FTSE 200 companies who don’t turn off PCs at the end of the day and generally purchase power-hungry machines.  However the market for green PCs is growing following electricity price rises, and the introduction of new so-called “netbook” computers has helping drive demand for computers with high energy efficiency.  The ever increasing complexity and power of modern PCs, with some containing four different processors, means the demand for energy to power them is also ever growing.  However new technology is also helping to ensure that only the minimum energy needed is consumed. One technological innovation is so-called Cloud computers.  These take their name from the fact they rely upon a “cloud” server to retrieve and store data, thereby not having to store any data on the original computer itself. This in turn eliminates the need for large, power-hungry, desktop computers.  A new range of these computers is currently available in the US with brands such as CherryPal and Zondu offering cheap, low specification machines for both business and personal use.  Despite the cheap cost of these computers even more frugal options exist to cut your electricity consumption, free software is widely available on the internet to help you get the best efficiency out of your current computer.

An environmental certification scheme such as the EPEAT in the US and the TCO Scheme in Europe will help you choose a PC that offers some degree of environmental credentials as both schemes test efficiency and production/returns policies.  The materials used in the production process are checked (including hazardous heavy metals and flame retardants) and the manufacturer’s made-to-be-recycled policy is included in the final mark awarded.  Both schemes have recently launched their latest iterations with the EPEAT 4.0 and the TCO 5.0 - the top performing IT equipment will receive an EPEAT Gold or TCO award.

Manufacture: The manufacture and disposal of personal computers (PC's), indeed all computers, significantly impacts the environment. The rate of technological development isexacerbating this problem as the lifespan of personal computers continues to shorten. The manufacture of PC's is very material-intensive and particularly fossil fuel-intensive, so large volumes of damaging greenhouse gas emissions are generated in the process. A typical desktop needs roughly ten times it's own weight in fossil fuels to manufacture. By comparison, the manufacture of a refrigerator requires roughly its own weight in fossil fuel.

Disposal: Disposing of the hazardous materials and substances used in computer equipment can have a very damaging effect on the environment and on individuals. Particularly notable are: Brominated flame retardants (now eliminated from manufacturing processes in Europe where they were widely used before 2002) Lead and Cadmium.

There are significant health risks for both workers and users of water supplies near the landfill sites where poorly managed disposal of old computers exposes these dangers.

The E.U has recently introduced 2 directives to address these concerns:

1. The RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive, introduced in Jan 2003, aims to minimise the environmental impact of waste electrical and electronic equipment by reducing the quantities of four heavy metals and two brominated flame retardants used in manufacturing. Products placed on the EU market on or after 1 July 2006 may not contain more than the specified limits of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).
2. The WEEE Directive, introduced in Feb 2003 to address the environmental impact of both the manufacture and disposal of all electrical and electronic equipment, not just computers. This directive has not yet been implemented in the U.K but is likely to come into force in the near future. The Directive aims to: Reduce the waste arising from electrical and electronic equipment; and Improve the environmental performance of all those involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic products.

A number of manufacturers have implemented policies and programmes to comply with these directives, but Dell have the most complete offering in the U.K.

Dell implemented RoHS at the beginning of 2003 and have a free of charge disposal programme when you purchase a new Dell computer. They will remove your old PC dispose of it (within WEEE guidelines) irrespective of manufacturer. In addition, Dell will arrange to dispose of any end-of-life Dell PC, free of charge whether or not you are replacing it with a new Dell PC. Full details of the programme can be found here.

News Update:

Windows Vista Power Management Features Can Help UK Companies Reduce Their Carbon Footprint. New research highlights additional power management benefits of Windows Vista for businesses.

London, March 21, 2007 - Microsoft today announced the results of an independent study[[1] The full study entitled Power Consumption, Windows Vista versus Windows XP is available upon request1] carried out by PC Pro Labs into the energy consumption of Windows Vista and the potential reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The study compared energy usage between Windows XP and Windows Vista and clearly showed that the power management features in Windows Vista could help massively reduce the carbon dioxide generated by an organisation, equal to 45 tonnes per year for a business with 200 desktop PCs. In addition, these features could also deliver savings on energy bills of up to £ 46 per desktop PC per year....