By Sustainability team
27th August 2010.
11:13

Are smartphones really that green?

Smartphones are not “green” and it is a very relevant topic at busniessgreen.com.

Not Green but they may well be sustainable and some are definitely more green than others. There will always be an intrinsic environmental impact from all products but human society can become sustainable and IT and Telecom needs to be key enablers for us to achieve that.

James says “But these environmental benefits will only be realised if people really do use their smartphone for everything and stop buying other gadgets…” and continue “Otherwise, smartphones have simply been awarded extra points in the new O2 rating system that they do not really deserve” This is very true but on the other hand if the functionality is not there then it cannot be used either.

At the end James claims that you may question rating system based on “… that green rating systems that edge away from the physical characteristics of a device….”. I think this is not the case in the O2 system. It takes all the things James ask for into consideration but balance it with functionality relevant for a more sustainable life style.

I truly believe that there are electronic solutions that – if we use them right – they will develop society and make it more sustainable. However, the substitution will not happen automatically. I discuss this in the previous post on this blog.