Lenovo Environmental Initiatives, Related Concerns

Lenovo Group, Ltd. announced its association with non-profit environmental group, The Climate Group, and new programs and products with green-oriented intentions. Elsewhere, a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report raises concerns about recycling practices.

Focal Points:

• In addition to its new association with The Climate Group, Lenovo launched a new offering with ECO International to recycle select Lenovo and IBM Corp. products for free, including the cost of shipping. The companies will also take back devices of any brand of electronics products including cell phones, music players, monitors, and PCs by paying customers for the residual value of the device. Lenovo has also announced its goal of improving its carbon efficiency by 10 percent above 2007 levels by the year 2012 by implementing energy conservation technologies and using greener materials in manufacturing. The company is also looking at ways to improve shipping to eliminate between 33 million and 66 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by improving shipping technologies and retooling packaging to incorporate more environmentally-sound materials. Moving manufacturing closer to customers was also listed as an intended improvement by the company.
• Lenovo also announced new additions to its line of ThinkVision liquid crystal displays (LCDs) monitors. The monitors are Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Gold rated and use packaging comprised of 65 percent recycled materials. Some of the new LCDs use highly efficient LED backlight technology, such as the L2440x wide screen monitor that requires only 29 watts of power during operation. The new monitors have also been certified as being GREENGUARD compliant to ensure low chemical emissions including allergens, carcinogens, and irritants. Available now, pricing for monitors ranging in size from 17" to 24" ranges from $240 to $750.
• A new GAO report focusing on the recycling of cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors is coinciding with congressional hearings on the export of the toxic arbitrage. The GAO reports that a number of U.S.-based firms are willing to illegally export broken CRT monitors for disassembly in developing nations where environmentally-sound procedures and worker protections are unavailable. Although demand for CRTs remains strong in many geographies, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversight was found to be extremely lax in ensuring that proper procedures were followed for exporting hazardous materials. The high costs of proper disassembly in the U.S. and other nations with strict environmental oversight makes it far more attractive to send hazardous materials offshore for further component recovery or landfill disposal.

Experton Group believes Lenovo is improving its end-of-life capabilities and promotions to better compete with offerings from other top-tier vendors. Earlier this year, the company unleashed a new program to more comprehensively target enterprises and consumers looking to unload their older equipment by partnering with numerous recycling facilities worldwide. New programs and marketing are intended to make its environmental initiatives and supporting programs better known and more available to customers of all kinds. Additionally, the introduction of newer technologies incorporated into monitors aims to ensure the highest levels of energy efficiency of LCDs from any brand. Lenovo has stated that it identified the correct set of environmental criteria and conducted rigorous testing of all participating facilities worldwide, though Experton Group has not yet had the opportunity to examine Lenovo's criteria or approval process. IT executives should understand that all recyclers claim to have the highest levels of expertise in de-manufacturing and materials recapture; however, Experton Group's findings of actual capabilities varies widely depending on vendor. The smaller and less-visible a recycler is, the more prone these vendors be to taking shortcuts due to the lack of oversight and costly in-house processes.

The GAO's findings of CRT disposal processes only barely aims at the tip of the toxic arbitrage iceberg as the many new vendors entering the fold do so to "make a quick buck" and assume that their poor abilities will not be caught for years to come, if ever. Unfortunately, this pragmatic view is true in many cases. IT executives should understand that due diligence and "best effort" reviews of end-of-life capabilities requires much more than just a single line in a request for proposal (RFP) or a vendor's agreement to cover current and future liabilities. Such agreements will likely be looked at harshly by developing nation environmental oversight committees, which Experton Group believes will become more powerful and willing to impose penalties for non-compliance and blatant disinterest.