Lenovo PCs Get Green Thumbs-Up

Lenovo says that its line of ThinkPad notebooks, ThinkCentre desktops and ThinkVision monitors have received high ratings from EPEAT, a procurement tool funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to help purchasers evaluate PCs based on environmental attributes.

The EPEAT tool indicates that Lenovo not only met "green computer" standards, but also met requirements beyond the baseline measurements of environmentally safe PCs. A total of 42 Lenovo PCs were rated by EPEAT, indicating the breadth of environmentally friendly products available from Lenovo.

The ThinkPad notebooks and ThinkCentre desktops received an overall "EPEAT Silver" rating, indicating that Lenovo PCs met all criteria for healthy environmental performance, plus implemented optional activities beyond the minimum requirements.

Criteria that Lenovo met include manufacturing PCs with reduced levels of cadmium, lead and mercury to better protect human health and the environment. Lenovo PCs are also energy efficient, which reduces emissions of climate changing greenhouse gases. Lenovo also offers safe recycling options for the products.

EPEAT also highlighted that Lenovo has demonstrated a corporate environmental policy consistent with ISO 14001, the standard from International Organization for Standardization that sets guidelines for businesses to improve environmental management, and has managed the provision of product take-back service and auditing of recycling vendors.

"Lenovo consistently meets or exceeds applicable environmental regulations globally, and our environmental policy requires us to develop, manufacture, and market products that are energy efficient, protect the environment, and can be reused, recycled or disposed of safely," said Deepak Advani, chief marketing officer for Lenovo. "Representatives from state and local government, the electronics industry, manufacturers, academia environmentalists, and purchasers, developed the EPEAT tool, and we see it as a useful tool for the measurement of PC environmental performance."

Lenovo sets environmental goals for locations and products annually. These objectives and targets are established and driven in association with the management of significant environmental aspects. Lenovo's goals for 2007 cover recycling, energy consumption, and paper usage for manufacturing sites. For products, Lenovo's goals focus on energy efficiency, design for recycling and reuse, use of recycled materials and environmentally preferable finishes, among others.

"Lenovo's EPEAT Silver products demonstrate their commitment to protecting the environment," said Jeff Omelchuck, executive director of EPEAT. "As a voluntary performance standard, EPEAT is a powerful tool for purchasers and creates a clear set of rules for the manufacturers to follow to meet the environmental demands of customers."

Source: chinacsr.com/2006/09/19/743-lenovo-pcs-get-green-thumbs-up/