5 Green Laptops from Toshiba
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 08.24.07
Toshiba now have more Gold rated notebooks than any other manufacturer, according to the Green Electronics Council's Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. EPEAT is a benchmark for green electronic devices, and gold status requires meeting certain environmental requirements in eight categories; reduction or elimination of environmentally sensitive materials, materials selection, end-of-life design, product longevity/life cycle extension, energy conservation, end-of-life management, packaging and corporate performance.
Currently the only other manufacturer to have gold certified notebooks is Dell, with their Latitude D630 and Latitude D630 ATG. Mark Simons, Toshiba vice president, said, "Toshiba is focused on creating products that have cutting-edge technology and are environmentally conscious as well. The EPEAT Gold status is a milestone Toshiba is truly proud of, and we are looking forward to continually making strides to protect the world we live in for future generations."
The Green Electronics Council estimate that if all computers met gold standards, then over 13 million pounds of hazardous waste could be saved each year. If you want to get our hands on a gold certified machine then Toshiba's Portege R400 and Portege R500, Tecra M9, and two models of the Tecra A9 fit the bill, as well as the Dell models mentioned earlier. However, other manufacturers may receive gold ratings for existing machines in the near future. Another move you can make to green your computing is hanging on to machines a little longer. My iBook G4 is still going strong after two years, and should last another year before it needs updating. ::Greener Computing
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Green IT Report Round-Up: IBM, Toshiba, SAP, Xerox
- How to Go Green: Gadgets
- ASUS N Series Notebooks Finally Make EPEAT Gold
- HP's Pavillion Has Gone Green - Or Has It?
I agree that holding on to a laptop longer is a great way to be green. But 2-3 years is NOT long. I'm finally giving up my Toshiba after 5 1/2 years of service. And I wish I could make it last longer but upgrades are no longer reasonable for this model.
I think we need to encourage computer manufacturers to build-in greater ability for upgrades AND we need to encourage consumers to spend the extra few bucks to have a computer that can last them 5-7 rather than 1-3 years.