Please see media contact details below for interview requests.
-------------
Samsung, Huawei and Amazon failing Greenpeace’s ‘green’
electronics guide
San Francisco, 17 October 2017 - Fairphone and
Apple are ahead of brands such as Samsung, Huawei and Amazon, which are failing
to take responsibility for their environmental footprint, according to
Greenpeace USA's latest Guide to Greener Electronics.
Greenpeace USA
scored 17 of the world’s leading tech companies based on their transparency,
performance and advocacy efforts in three areas critical to putting the sector
on a sustainable path: reduction of emissions through renewable energy, use of
recycled materials, and elimination of hazardous chemicals.
"Tech
companies claim to be at the forefront of innovation, but their supply chains
are stuck in the Industrial Age. We know they can change. Rather than fuelling
climate change, these companies need to show the way forward, just as some
companies like Google and Apple have with data centres run on renewables," said
Gary Cook, Senior IT Campaigner at Greenpeace USA.
Dell and HP follow
Apple and Fairphone with a C+, while eleven companies, including Samsung, Huawei
and Amazon, fall in the D and F range.
Despite its central position as
both the largest manufacturer of smartphones and one of the the largest
suppliers of displays, Samsung manufacturing system heavily relies on fossil
fuels. The company used more than 16,000 GWh of energy in 2016, with just 1%
coming from renewables.
Key findings include:
- Supply chains driving demand for dirty energy: Up to 80% of carbon
emissions over a device’s lifetime occurs during manufacturing. While
Apple, Google, and other internet companies are making progress transitioning
their data centers to renewable energy, nearly all of the companies have yet
to address the rapidly growing carbon footprint and dependence on dirty energy
in their supply chains. Apple is the only company so far that has committed to
100% renewable power for its supply chain.
- Planned obsolescence as a design feature: Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung
are among the companies moving in the wrong direction on sustainable product
design - many of their latest products are difficult to repair or upgrade. HP,
Dell, and Fairphone are the notable exceptions to this trend, producing a
growing number of products that are repairable and upgradable.
- Lack of transparency on supply chain impacts: Most companies, including
Amazon, Google, Huawei and the other Chinese brands Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi,
lack transparency on their suppliers, keeping the environmental footprint of
their supply chain hidden from view.
- Lack of transparency and monitoring of workplace chemicals: To protect
worker health and safety, all companies need to identify and eliminate
hazardous chemicals used in the production of their products, and improve
worker health and safety due diligence. Apple, Dell, Google, HP and Microsoft
are the only companies in the Guide that publish their list of substances that
must be restricted in the manufacturing of their devices (MRSL).
From
2006 to 2012, Greenpeace published the Guide with regularity, and as a result
saw steady progress from companies to phase-out hazardous materials and make
their devices more energy efficient.
“It’s clear the impacts of
the linear take-make-waste business model of device manufacturers extend beyond
the concerns of e-waste. We need to see greater ambition, more transparency, and
follow through from companies to address the environmental impacts of their
enormous supply chains. The current model cannot be maintained,” said
Cook.
Greenpeace is challenging the IT sector to take responsibility for
its rapidly increasing footprint on the planet by:
- shifting their supply chains to be renewably powered;
- reducing the cycle of constant consumption of more minerals and other
resources by designing long lasting products that use more recycled materials,
and;
- detox their products and their supply chain by finding alternatives to
hazardous chemicals.
[ENDS]
Notes to editors:
[1]
The Guide to Greener Electronics can be found at:
www.greenpeace.org/greenerguide[2]
Resource
Efficiency in the ICT Sector, Oeko-Institut e.V., 2016.
[3] Photos
and video can be accessed here:
http://media.greenpeace.org/collection/27MZIFJJT1MBE Media
contacts:Maria Elena De Matteo, Global Communications Strategist,
Greenpeace East Asia, phone:
+852-55749984,
mariaelen...@greenpeace.orgGreenpeace
International Press Desk,
pressd...@greenpeace.org,
phone:
+31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)
-----
Tristan Tremschnig
Communications Hub Manager | Asia
Pacific