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The enterprise segment in the country is realizing the importance of environment-friendly policies in reducing operational cost. Going green not only helps the enterprises save cost but also goes a long way in helping the company build an image as a responsible corporate entity. However, the same is not true for the handset manufacturers. Most of the handset manufacturers don't have green handsets and don't even plan to launch any green initiatives in the near future as well.

Explaining the concept of green handsets, Ambrish Bakaya, director, corporate affairs, Nokia India says, “Any device/gadget/handset that is made of eco-friendly material conserves energy and causes minimum harm to the environment when disposed and can be recycled-is termed green or environment friendly. Hence as handsets become the most purchased consumer durable in the world, we look to reduce its environmental impact by implementing lifecycle thinking that is reducing the impact of handset from the time of its production to its disposal.”

Nokia and Samsung are only ones which have environmentally friendly handsets. Samsung started pushing the concept with the launch of two green handsets during the recently concluded Beijing Olympics and Nokia is planning to launch around forty green handsets in the coming year. Most of the other prominent handset manufacturers like LG, Sony Ericsson, Spice and Motorola didn't respond to our request for information on their green initiatives proclaiming that they don't have any information to share as of now. Clearly, the handset manufacturers are not particularly bothered about the green initiatives.

The lack of interest on the part of handset manufacturers is mainly because of high investments required to come out with green handsets. It is for this reason that the players who can manage the economies of scale are the ones promoting the concept of green handsets and the smaller players are not. This is also compounded by the fact that there is no real market for green handsets. End customer is not likely to ask how environment friendly the handset is before purchasing it. Unlike Europe and the US where public awareness as well as regulations are such that handset manufacturers don't have much choice but to come out with environment friendly handsets.

“As an organization, we firmly believe that it makes complete business sense for any company to go green. Initiatives like wastage of electricity, recycling of used products, better usage of utilities, using recycled paper, reduction in travel costs, etc, save costs for the corporate and also help resonate the brand as a responsible corporate citizen. On the other hand, it is also necessary to educate the consumer on the need for these environment friendly initiatives and in turn the resulting impact of buying a green phone. We feel that as this awareness increases so will the demands for such handsets,” says Bakaya.

Hopefully once market leaders like Nokia and Samsung promote the concept, other players will accept it as well. Industry experts feel the market for green handsets is likely to grow in the future and the players who are focusing on it right now will have early bird advantage.

“In keeping with the growing environmental consciousness, there is a growing base of consumers who are opting for phones that are environmentally friendly. I think the market for green phones is definitely going to grow, since the consciousness on the environmental impact on products is growing among consumers. It is bit difficult to estimate the numbers as of now,” says the country head for Samsung Mobile, Sunil Dutt.

Leading the Way
Nokia mainly adopts a holistic approach toward green initiatives and recently launched Nokia 3110 Evolve handset, which is basically a mobile device with bio-covers made from more than 50% renewable material. The device is presented in a small package made of 60% recycled content and it comes with Nokia's most energy efficient charger yet, using 94% less energy that the Energy Star requirements.

The company has recently also come out with 'Remade', a concept phone made almost entirely of recycled material. The 'Remade' mobile is a concept phone that is made entirely from recycled material like aluminium cans, plastic drink bottles and old car tires. Inside the sleek 'nothing new' casing are more environmentally sensitive technologies like printed electronics (which reduce waste and CO2 emissions during manufacturing) and a backlit display which saves energy and increases the life of the battery. Nokia is also thinking of coming out with new ways to consume lesser natural resources, reduce landfill waste and be more energy efficient. Nokia is planning to come out with around 40 green handsets in the coming year. These would be available across the different price ranges.

“Two thirds of the energy consumed by a mobile phone during its usage is lost when the phone is fully charged and unplugged but the charger is left connected to the mains -'no-load” mode'. To take care of this, over the last nine years, globally, we have reduced by 90% the amount of no-load energy used by our best in class chargers.

Samsung kickstarted its green initiatives by launching a slew of green handsets in the current financial year. The company has launched a 9.9mm slim bar E200 Eco Phone that is made with more substantial materials for the environment. Its whole external case is made from 'bio-plastic,' which contains natural plant-based materials extracted from plants such as corn.

Samsung will extend application of bio-plastic reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions in the manufacturing process. 1-ton of bio-plastic used in E200 Eco is able to reduce 2.16-ton of CO2 compared with Polycarbonate produced from petroleum. Additionally, Samsung E200 Eco is packaged in a non-coated recycled paper box, which is also environment-friendly.

“We strive to make more products as green as possible and to proactively set up and expand a phone recycling system,” says Dutt of Samsung.

Samsung W510 is Samsung's first mobile phone with 'bio-plastic' made from natural materials extracted from corn. During W510 production, the company did not use any heavy metals such as Lead, Mercury, and Cadmium. Samsung F268 is the first BFR/PVC free mobile phone. The device as well as all the accessories including charger and headset do not contain any BFRs (Brominated Flame Retardant) or PVC. Moreover, it has an alarm function to encourage users to unplug their charger when the devices are fully charged.

Apart from that, all the Samsung handsets are ROHS compliant, which basically means that they are made from components that are free from Lead, Cadmium and Mercury. “As far as the phones made from bio plastics are concerned, we have W510, F286, and E200 Eco phone,” says Dutt.

Sony Ericsson is another company which has recently joined the green bandwagon. The company recently launched 'Green Heart', which is fully biodegradable and is built with recyclable bio-plastic.

This phone is fully biodegradable and is built with recyclable bio-plastic. It comes with recycled plastic keypads. This handset also comes with HTML-based e-manuals instead of traditional printed ones and environmentally-friendly packaging to enable the users to throw the package without making the biosphere cry. Apart from this, the company has also set up mobile phone recycling collection points.

Considering the lack of interest from handset manufacturers, it is safe to assume that the market is not yet ready for green handsets. One particular reason for this is that the handset manufacturers don't see a market for this. Also, while green is a big movement in Europe and the US, the concept is being understood only now in India. So, there is no clear demand for green handsets from the market. In this scenario if the manufacturers have to start pushing the concept, they would need to invest a lot in educating the market and in fact, create a market where there is none.

“I feel that the future will see the market for eco-friendly products, stabilize, both for businesses as well as for the consumer. While at one end we will see more and more consumers join the green revolution, on the other hand organizations will also try and build economies of scale into their business for the mass productions of such devices.

As of now, green is certainly not a concern area for an Indian customer. Going forward change in the current situation is possible only if the handset manufacturers realize the business advantage of have environment-friendly handsets and also make an effort to increase awareness about the benefits of using environment friendly handsets.

Gagandeep Kaur
gagandeepk@cybermedia.co.in