Vision - November/December 2008 - (Page 8)

c4 treNDs viewpoints on Ce evolution ] • [ By susan sChreiner How are increased energy costs, environmental considerations and the green trend affecting the consumer technology industry? U CE Goes Green nlike their European counterparts that have been paying more than $6.00 per gallon for years, Americans have long taken for granted that gas was cheap and that this trend would last forever. However, many in the U.S. have had a rude awakening. How are increased energy costs, environmental considerations and the green trend affecting the consumer technology industry? In-home entertainment such as large flat-panel LCD and plasma TVs have benefited from reduced discretionary spending, according to recent CEA and other sales data. It’s easier to amortize the cost of staying home and watching movies and entertaining, when one considers the price of gas, eating out and the increased cost of movie tickets. Plus, within the past three years, these attractive flat-panel displays have become more ecologically friendly since many are consuming at least 25 to 35 percent less energy than earlier models. November/December 2008 Green and Energy Savings The costs of green-house gases are ultimately passed along to the consumer in terms of expenses related to clean-up, health and climate change. Four new CE-based initiatives are helping to make the industry greener. The GSMA, a global trade association for the mobile industry, launched its “Green Power for Mobile Program”, which is backed by 25 mobile operators. The program helps the mobile industry use renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind or sustainable biofuels, with the goal to power as much as 50 percent of new off-grid base stations in the developing world by 2012. Achieving that target would save up to 2.5 billion liters of diesel per annum and cut annual carbon emissions by up to 6.3 million tons. In September, e-cycling, the recycling of used electronics, took center stage at a local event at the Gillette Stadium outside of Boston. The “Going Green” campaign, cosponsored by Sony and Waste Management, is going on the road on a national level, and they project that by year-end 20 million pounds of electronics will be recycled—a good starting point considering that they estimate that there is more than 500 million pounds of e-waste waiting to be recycled. A relatively new green standard for electronics revolves around implementation of the European/EU 2006 RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directive on a global basis. This ruling bans the use of new electronic equipment containing more than the agreed upon levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, poisonous flame-retardant materials and other substances related to manufacturing of certain types of consumer electronics. Starting around 2007, many of Silicon Valley’s dot.com entrepreneurs began to turn their attention to green. A consortium consisting of Intel, Google, PC makers and other technology companies announced their intent to increase the PC’s overall energy efficiency to 90 percent. While Intel is taking giant leaps forward at the silicon level, by working on the development of small, fast and energy-efficient technologies to help create the next revolutionary step in mobile, desktop and data center computing—Google also is investing in alternative power sources. CEA, the producer of the International CES, set the bar for tradeshows in 2008 when it announced that the 2008 show was the largest tradeshow to consciously reduce its carbon footprint. At that show, most major vendors touted their green programs, like Canon with its “Generation Green”. In January at the 2009 International CES, expect to see this theme continue. To keep the conversation going, contact Susan at susan@c4trends.com. • www.ce.org 8 Tim Boyle/Getty Images http://www.ce.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - November/December 2008

Vision - November/December 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In this Issue The Economist C4 Trends Going Global Visionary CES Unveiled Eco-Intelligence Is Vital in a Sustainable Global Market XGP— A Game Changer Enhancing the Tech Experience High-Definition Decade Public-Private Partnerships CEA Newsline Tech Speak Tech Policy Eye on Business Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - November/December 2008

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