Business

Saturday September 5, 2009

Green technology a rising trend in consumption

By LEE KIAN SEONG


THERE’S good news in consumption patterns worldwide and this time, it’s got a lot to do with the rising trend of ethical consumption. That in turn is encouraging many companies to provide products and services that are eco-friendly and energy efficient, which in turn have helped boost their brand. This is happening more pronouncedly in the cellular phone segment.

Green technology reduces wastage and production cost of cellular phone companies and the demand for certain mobile phone products is rising due to the awareness of its benefits to the environment.

Alex Wong ... ‘Lower energy bills can more than offset the slightly higher price tag of such applicances.’

According to green-technology.org, the field of “green technology” encompasses a continuously evolving group of methods and materials, from techniques for generating energy to non-toxic cleaning products.

Sony Ericsson Malaysia general manager Alex Wong said that with rising energy costs and the threat of global warming, producing green technology cellphones could assist businesses to reduce their carbon footprint, minimise waste and increase energy efficiency.

“A product recycling programme, for example, can make buyers aware of a company’s concern for the environment and encourage customer loyalty,” he says, adding that recent surveys proved that consumers are willing to pay more for green products and services.

He says green technology could also be more efficient and economical, especially when life-cycle costs were considered. “Low energy appliances are a good example; lower energy bills can more than offset the slightly higher price tag of such applicances,” he says.

As consumers become more conscious of the need to protect the environment, demand for particular products with such emphasis is also expected to rise.

“Obviously, in countries where there is high awareness and consumers are compelled to use more green products, particularly in the more developed countries, they will seek out green products on their own,” he says. However, consumers in the third-world and developing countries may have other priorities and green technology may not feature prominently in that list.

Vlasta Berka ... ‘Producing green technology mobile phones is definitely a trend globally.’

“In such countries, Sony Ericsson sees it as the responsibility of all manufacturers and corporations to drive awareness and create demand for green technology i.e. the “push” factor,” he adds.

Wong says the company implements a life-cycle approach in product development, taking into account aspects such as materials, design, supply chain, manufacturing, logistics, product use and end of life treatment. In line with that, Sony Ericsson recently introduced its GreenHeart programme.

Meanwhile, Nokia Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei general manager Vlasta Berka says the company has incorporated many green elements in its cell phones with energy-saving features “to ensure a higher percentage of parts in our phones are recyclable”.

Consequently, he says, up to 80% of its devices can be recycled.

“It improves our risk management, often makes good economic and business sense, and reinforces our brand,” he says.

In addition, Berka says the company has reduced the size of its packaging and uses more recycled materials which has in turn reduced the production cost.

“This enables us to reduce the use of paper-based materials by almost 100,000 tonnes which translates not only into financial savings of 474 million euros but also reduces the transportation volume ... we can take at least 12,000 trucks off the roads,”

“Producing green technology mobile phones is definitely a trend globally and we have the potential to influence and make a difference with our 1 billion users globally,” he says.

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