| New Green Electronics
Guide, Save the Whale Week, Climate Change Bill, Levis leaves the ETI, ETA's Car Buyers' Guide and more |
Green Electronics Guide
The second edition of Greenpeace’s Green
Electronics Guide has recently been published. The first edition
was used in our Computers report in issue 104. We report below on any
changes to the rankings of the computer companies featured in our report.
The guide is updated every three months.
The guide ranks leading mobile and PC manufacturers on their global
policies and practice on eliminating harmful chemicals and on taking
responsibility for their products once they are discarded by consumers
(takeback and recycling). Companies are ranked out of 10 on information
that is publicly available and communications/clarifications with the
companies.
Lenovo made the biggest improvement whilst Samsung is the only company
to have dropped back. Companies are listed from highest to lowest ethiscore.
7 Dell – Same score as last time.
Loses points for not having models free of the worst chemicals. Strong
support for takeback.
6 Fujitsu-Siemens – Up 3 points from last time.
High score on chemical policy, some models free of worst chemicals.
But should improve takeback and recycling.
5.7 HP – Up 1 point from last time.
Needs to do better on the chemicals criteria especially phase out timelines
and greener products. High scores on takeback.
5.3 Acer – Up 3 points from last time.
Improved chemical policies but no models free of the worst chemicals.
Needs to improve on takeback.
5.3Lenovo – Up 4 points from last time.
Progress on most criteria but loses points for not having products free
of the worst chemicals, on takeback and recycling.
5 Sony – Up 0.3 points on last time.
Some models without the worst chemicals, loses point for inconsistent
takeback policies.
4 Samsung – Down 1 point on last time.
Scores points for timelines for toxic phase out but poor on waste criteria.
Loses points for inconsistent takeback policies.
3.7 Toshiba – Up 0.7 points from last time.
Some models without the worst chemicals and reports on recycling, but
no timelines for chemical phase out and poor on other waste criteria.
2.7 Apple – Same score as last time.
Low scores on almost all criteria and no progress.
Save the whale week
Save the Whale Week this year takes place between 18th and 23rd of June.
During the week, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) supporters
hold their own events to raise money for the anti-whaling campaign.
It is a very serious time for anyone concerned with the conservation
and welfare of our great whale species. This year will see decisions
being made at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Meeting in
Anchorage, Alaska at the end of May and at the CITES meetings (Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of flora and fauna) in
June which could mean the beginning of the end for great whales.
Last year, pro-whaling countries gained the majority of votes at the
IWC for the first time since the ban on commercial whaling was put in
place 20 years ago. This year they are expected to use that majority
to attack vital protection from commercial whaling and international
trade in whale products.
Last month, Japan proposed a review of the great whales currently protected
from trade, such as humpback, blue, fin and sperm whales. The Japanese
proposal will be considered at the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species (CITES) in the Netherlands, just days after the
conclusion of the IWC.
One country that is of particular importance in the balance of voting
on whaling issues is Denmark. By voting in favour of whaling at last
year’s IWC meeting, Denmark is going against the policy of the
EU, of which it is a member, and the majority of the Danish population
who oppose whaling. WDCS is now calling for the international community
to put pressure on Denmark to oppose any attempts to resume commercial
whaling and international trade in whale products.
You can a protest email to the Danish government from the campaign website
at www.stopbloodywhaling.org.
Climate Change Bill – could do better
The I Count campaign, backed by most of the UK’s environmental
and poverty campaigners, trade unions, women’s organisations and
faith groups, with a combined supporter base of 4 million plus, are
not happy with the first draft of the Climate Change Bill. Whilst welcoming
it as a pioneering opportunity to develop a legal framework for managing
carbon emissions, it falls short of the campaign’s demands by not
setting a annual carbon budgets to reduce emissions by at least 3% year
on year. Instead, the Bill proposes five year budgets.
This Bill puts into statute the UK's targets to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions through domestic and international action by 60% by 2050 and
26-32% by 2020, against a 1990 baseline. But campaigners argue that
scientists indicate that 80% should be the target by 2050 – with
a need for a minimum reduction of 30% by 2020.
The draft Bill also omits to ensure that all sectors of the economy
play their full part, including aviation and shipping. According to
the World Development Movement (WDM), “The government has got its
head in the clouds if it thinks that this bill will seriously tackle
climate change when it fails to include aviation emissions. Aviation
is our fastest growing source of emissions. It will be impossible to
make the necessary cuts if we do not include aviation in the targets.”
According to a latest report from WDM, ‘Dying on a jet plane’,
the richest 18 per cent of the UK population receive an effective subsidy
of £5.6 billion by not paying tax on fuel and VAT on flights.
The report shows that the richest 18 per cent of the UK population account
for 54 per cent of all air travel, while the poorest 18 per cent account
for just 5 per cent. More information from www.wdm.org.uk
I Count’s ‘Step-by-Step Guide to Climate Bliss’ is a
pocket sized book highlighting the little things we can all do, to make
a planet sized difference. Whether it’s embracing your jumper,
loving your legs or sharing a shower, this little guide shows how simple
steps can lead to giant leaps in stopping climate chaos. It costs £3
from bookshops and Amazon.
To join the I Count campaign or for more info, go to www.icount.org.uk
Levi leaves the ETI
Levi Strauss & Co. formally resigned from the Ethical Trading Initiative
(ETI) at the beginning of February. The resignation followed the company’s
suspension after it had refused to adopt the “Living Wage”
provision of the ETI’s base code. The suspension happened in December
following two years of discussion between the company and the ETI’s
membership disciplinary panel. According to the ETI, Levis had argued
that it could not commit to the Living Wage provision in the Base Code
because it did not believe it could implement it with its suppliers.
The ETI Board explained that to remain members, companies must adopt
all provisions of the Base Code in full. An ETI spokesperson said "Hopefully
this will send a signal that although we certainly don't expect perfection
from our member companies, there is no compromise on the nine principles
of the Base Code - companies can't pick and choose which of them they
want to sign up to".
ETA’s Car Buyers’ Guide
On March 15 the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) announced
this year’s Car Buyers’ Guide. The Guide highlights the best
and the worst cars in Britain in terms of their impact on the environment.
The Honda Civic Hybrid takes the top award for the second year running,
winning the overall award as well as the award in its own Small Family
Car category. Vauxhall wins the Supermini category with its Corsa 1.3
CDTi, and is also overall runner-up. The Toyota RAV4 5 Door diesel manual
rates as the greenest off-road vehicle in Britain.
For the first time this year the ETA has introduced an Innovation Award
in order to champion a motor manufacturer that has demonstrated environmental
innovation through a new product, or project, or in its production processes.
The winner for this first award is Saab for its Bio Power Flex-Fuel
Technology. Saab has developed the first production car that runs on
E85 bio fuel. However, Ethical Consumer’s recent report on Petrol
& Diesel (issue 105, March/April 2007) was sceptical, at best, about
a future for biofuels.
The Environmental Transport Association (ETA), Britain’s motoring
organisation for people concerned about the environment and the ethical
alternative breakdown service, publishes their Car Buyers’ Guide
annually for their members and for the general public as a whole.
For the complete Car Buyers’ Guide visit www.eta.co.uk
Climate challenge game
The BBC has broken new ground in launching an interactive climate change
game entitled ‘Climate Challenge’ on BBC.co.uk.
Climate Challenge players log on and take “the hot seat” and
attempt to guide Europe from 2000 to 2100 while all the time making
choices that could make the difference between a safe or dangerous future
for humanity. Climate Challenge is on the BBC Science
and Nature website.
The choices made by each Climate Challenge player are the real ones
that government also has to tackle. Can you juggle the demands of running
a country? Can you deliver food, water, and clean energy for a hundred
years? Would your ideas save the planet? Or will you just get voted
out of power as you make the wrong choices?
Our climate change expert, Dan Welch played the game and said “You’ll
be pleased to know I headed off cataclysmic climate change, going carbon
neutral by 2070. Unfortunately, I’ve left the economy in ruins,
creating starvation, hyper-inflation and mass unemployment fuelling
extremism that is likely to undo my legacy. I suppose something had
to give…”
As part of the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA) Climate Challenge Fund, a second version of the game will be
developed for school children to play as a learning aide.
Ban the bulb
The end is in sight for the energy inefficient incandescent bulb. Despite
the world’s biggest lighting company, Philips, saying that it would
stop making them by 2010, its hand has been forced in the EU. As part
of the EU’s 2020 Vision of “A target of 20 per cent energy
efficiency savings by 2020, requiring homes, offices and streets to
switch to energy-saving lighting”, the EU Commission was asked
to draw up proposals on energy efficiency requirements for office and
street lighting "to be adopted by 2008" and on incandescent
bulbs and other forms of lighting in private homes by 2009.
After the summit, Gordon Brown pledged to phase out old light bulbs
by 2011, but Currys have done much better and announced they would stop
selling incandescent bulbs after current stocks have run out. Now lets
hope there is a race among retailers and manufacturers to see who can
stop selling or making them the quickest.
Greenpeace have started a campaign which is focussing at the moment
on lobbying the government and retailers but will involve some consumer
action in the summer. Watch this space or www.greenpeace.org.uk
Using government figures, Greenpeace has calculated that the UK could
save 5.1 million tonnes of CO2 per year by banning the bulbs - the equivalent
output of the 26 lowest emitting countries combined. This would negate
the emissions of an entire medium sized coal fired power station.
Elsewhere, Australia, who haven’t even signed the Kyoto Protocol,
announced that it would ban the sale of them by 2009 and California
may soon announce a similar ban by 2012.
