i3 - March/April 2017 - 40

By Elliot Grimm

G R E E N P O L I CY

Sustainability at CES 2017

or 50 years, CES® has been the world stage for
innovators and breakthrough technologies. During
that time, the show has also become fertile ground
for sustainable technologies, products and conversations, seen most clearly with this year's "Sustainability
Day." At CES 2017, CTA partnered with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), Rochester Institute of Technology
(RIT) and key technology industry members for a day
of environmental-focused events.

EPA kicked off the event by announcing
the winners of the Sustainable Materials
Management Electronics Challenge. EPA
awarded Best Buy, Dell, LG, Samsung, Sprint
and Staples with the Gold Tier Award
for providing information
on their take-back efforts
Consumer
in states without elecelectronics
tronics recycling laws.
have the fastest
The Bronze Tier Award
winners were Sony and
growing
Vizio for having a takeback
recycling rate
program for used elecof any product
tronics and responsible
category in
end-of-life management,
the U.S.
while also striving to use
- Environmental Protection Agency
certified recyclers and
increase the total weight
of items collected annually.
Dell, Staples and Samsung won additional
Champion Awards for their exemplary
efforts to increase electronics recycling.
The award ceremony underscored the
industry's ongoing efforts to reduce e-waste.
According to new data from EPA, consumer
electronics have the fastest growing recycling
rate of any product category in the U.S.
Following the ceremony, RIT, along
with CTA, Cisco and Staples, presented the
results of a new report examining material
trends in consumer technology. The study,
Phase I: Resource and Waste Implications of
the Evolving Consumer Electronics Product
Community, found that although the
number of tech products sold has increased,
the net material consumption has declined
to levels not seen since the early 1990s.
40

MARCH/APRIL 2017

Three important trends drive this milestone
in material reductions: technological shifts,
the convergence of multi-functional devices
and increased use of lightweight materials.

Green Footprint
As part of the Innovation Policy Summit at
CES 2017, industry and government leaders
participated in a panel discussion on sustainability challenges and opportunities
in the new Congress and under the Trump
administration. The panelists included representatives from CTA, EPA, RIT and Samsung.
They all asserted the need for industry and
government to work together to most effectively reduce humanity's environmental
footprint and reach sustainability goals.
Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator
of Land and Emergency Management at
EPA, highlighted the need for government
and industry to collaborate saying, "The
producer responsibility policy has
been a failed policy." Stanislaus
pointed to how the government's attempts to mandate
electronics recycling and
other goals have fallen
short, but expressed
optimism for both
sides to work together
in future efforts.
Even beyond the
exciting green tech
and panel discussions,
CES works to lessen
its environmental footprint. CES 2016 reused
more than one million
square feet of carpet, recycled
more than 33,000 square feet
of magnetic banners, and gave to
recyclers (melters) more than 4.8
tons of steel and 3,000 pounds of
aluminum. Also, more than 5,660
square feet of vinyl banner materials
were repurposed into tarps, hockey
rink liners and outdoor movie screens.
Once data is compiled, CTA expects
similar achievements from its postshow work at CES 2017. n
Learn more about the sustainability
efforts and technology at CES 2017 by
visiting CTA.tech/Green.
I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

ISTOCK

Policy

http://CTA.tech/Green

i3 - March/April 2017

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