Mobile Phone Companies Launch Environmental Initiative
by an analogZONE special correspondent

Manufacturers, network operators, suppliers, recyclers, and consumer and environmental organizations have joined forces to create a voluntary environmental action plan for the mobile communications industry. Led by Nokia, the group initiated the plan as part of a European Union project to reduce the environmental impacts of products by bringing industry and stakeholder groups together to create solutions.

Motorola, Panasonic Mobile Communications, France Telecom/Orange, Vodafone, TeliaSonera AB, Intel, Epson, Spansion, and Umicore worked with representatives from the World Wildlife Fund, the Finnish Environmental Institute, the United Kingdom's Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, and the European Consumers' Organization to develop the plan. Among the agreed-upon actions:

• to reduce energy consumption, manufacturers will equip mobile phones with reminders for consumers to unplug their chargers once batteries are fully recharged
• go beyond current regulatory standards and eliminate or reduce additional hazardous materials used in manufacturing, including certain flame retardants and phthalates
• mobile operators will work with manufacturers and other stakeholders to increase the amount of unwanted phones that are returned by consumers for recycling
• evaluate existing recycling schemes and identify which work best
• pilot the use of incentive schemes to understand how these can be used to improve collection rates
• provide more information and guidance to consumers about the environmental performance of mobile phones

"Managing environmental performance is an important responsibility for the entire mobile sector," said Veli Sundbäck, Nokia's Executive Vice-President for Corporate Relations and Responsibility. "By working together with environmental groups we have been able to find new ways to make improvements at each stage of a mobile phone's lifecycle, from when it is made right through to how it can be recycled. We are now committed to turning these ideas into action and maintaining a long-term commitment to this issue."

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