The environmental impacts of information technology is back in the news, as companies, communities, activists, and others seek solutions to the vexing problems of their energy use, hazardous ingredients, and "e-waste." Last week, Wal-Mart (They don't get "good guy" status just yet) announced it would begin grading electronics suppliers on a range of environmental criteria, including energy efficiency, durability, upgradability, end-of-life solutions, and packaging. Beginning next year, the "scorecards" filled out by electronics manufacturers will be made available to Wal-Mart's and Sam Club's U.S. customers.
Also lasts week, a global public-private partnership was launched to reduce the nearly 40 million tons of e-waste produced globally each year that ends up in China, India, and other developing countries. The goals of the initiative, called Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP), is to standardize e-waste recycling processes globally, extend the life of products and markets for their reuse, and harmonize world legislative and policy approaches on e-waste.
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=34715
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