Sustainability

Substance control

Substances of concern

Sony Mobile considers the following substances undesirable in our products on environmental grounds.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs)

The boards and casing of the very first Sony Ericsson branded mobile phone, the T68i launched in 2002, were already free from brominated flame retardants (BFRs). We were the first manufacturer to offer a full range of products, including accessories that were BFR-free (free from BFRs in boards, cables and casings). Some BFRs are banned under some regulations, such as the EU RoHS directive, while others are still used by the industry. At Sony Mobile, however, we decided to phase out all BFRs and use alternative fire protection mainly because of the risk of BFRs forming dioxins in uncontrolled incineration and that BFRs have proven to be toxic, highly resistant to degradation in the environment and are bioaccumulative. We have continuously phased out these substances, and at present our new products are free from all halogenated (brominated and chlorinated) flame retardants.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

We are concerned about PVC because it potentially releases hydrochloric acid and chlorinated dioxins when it is burned. Dioxins are highly toxic, persistent and accumulate in the fatty tissues of animals, especially oily fish such as salmon. Dioxins are known mutagens and carcinogens and also cause serious skin diseases. At Sony Mobile we have taken actions to remove Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) from our products. For example, we have worked hard to find alternatives to PVC in charger cables. Since 2007, all new products have been PVC-free, and since the end of 2009 our whole range is completely free from PVC.

Beryllium, antimony and phthalates

Beryllium has been used in the past in the form of beryllium copper in connectors of various kinds. All Sony Xperia™ products are now beryllium-free.

We are currently finalising the phase-out of antimony substances, and phthalates. Many of these substances are considered hazardous to both human health and the environment. All of these substances also cause problems in waste treatment or product recycling.

Antimony is used in some specific solders because of its unique properties. There are also other applications for antimony such as moisture protection and in electronic components. For moisture protection, alternatives have been developed and replacement is well on the way, but for some other electronic components no alternatives have been identified and this use is exempted from the phase-out plan until replacement materials have been identified.

All Sony Xperia™ products are phthalate free, with respect to those phthalates targeted and regulated by the EU regulation (DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP, DNOP). We are striving to go beyond the legal requirements and aim to phase out all phthalates from our products