The Latest Vertatique News & Insights

Green ICT Conferences

The most comprehensive directory of Green ICT conferences, workshops and other events around the world. Latest updates are for workshops in Australia.
Italy and Russia.

Finding the Greenest Computer Monitors and Projectors

There are hundreds of green-certified computer displays available and available models in most categories have increased since 2017. Here is how to find the most sustainable displays, including projectors, listed by international certification services.

The 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) gave a Sustainability, Eco-Design & Smart Energy award to the HP E273d 27-inch Docking Monitor. CES called it "the world’s first display manufactured using ocean-bound plastics to help reduce waterway pollution." CES also cited the monitor's "100% fiber recyclable packaging". The monitor does not yet appear in the EPEAT registry. Other E273 models in the EPEAT registry get only a Silver rating.

Cryptocurrency Mining Is a Significant Component of ICT Electricity Consumption

We've tracked the growing environmental impact of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin since 2013. We've focused on cryptocurrency mining's GHG footprint, which has grown to equal that of large cities. Now, we learn that cryptocurrency transactions have a large footprint, as well.

IEEE Spectrum reported in October 2019 that researchers at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne in Switzerland estimate that each Bitcoin transaction generates an estimated 300 kilograms. (Bitcoin transactions frequently exceed 300K/day.) "...Bitcoin broadcasts messages to its entire network to get everyone to confirm each transaction. In order for blockchains to reach consensus on the validity of all transactions, users must execute complex, energy-intensive computing 'proof of work' tasks." The researchers developed this estimate while working on a new algorithm to confirm transactions that could reduce the footprint to only a few grams per transaction.

Massive Packaging for One Defective Ink Cartridge

Hewlett Packard touts its Product Return and Recycling programs as part of its "Sustainable Impact". Ink cartridges get a particular mention, "More than 80% of our ink cartridges...are now manufactured with recycled content."

The small object in the center of the photo is a defective ink jet cartridge. HP's InstantInk program used the much-too-large plastic envelope on the left to ship a replacement. The even more inappropriately large plastic envelope on the right is for returning the defective product.

How about one recyclable, appropriately-sized package to both send and return?

I have reach out to the HP Sustainability folks on 11 November and am tracking their response:
15 Nov: " In order to give you the most accurate answer, I will consult with the team responsible for our packaging and once I have an answer, I will get back to you."


More about HP & Green ICT

Greenest Telecom Providers

The "C" in Green ICT is Communications. Green America reports that, "The four largest companies – AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile – collectively use more than 30 million MWh of electric power each year. AT&T and Verizon, the two leading US companies in the industry, have a combined electricity usage that could power 2.6 million homes for a year...A large portion of this energy (90%) powers wireless access networks, towers and other infrastructure allowing cell phone users to access data and connect nationwide." Here's how telecoms are doing from a Green ICT perspective.

How Long Do We Keep Our Devices?

It is difficult to get reliable data on how long we hold onto the 24 billion edge devices attached to the global ICT infrastructure. Diverse device types and cultural practices complicate the issue. So do changing purchase and lease plans. Here is our latest calculation on the average in-service life of a mobile device and a look at how unused devices are piling up in UK homes.

TV-Wearing Man Disposes of E-waste on Local Porches

There are not a lot of opportunities to enjoy some Green ICT humor, so I could not resist this video posted by WPVI-TV in Philadelphia PA USA.

How a "Green" Energy Company Can Support Climate Misinformation

I've been tracking green house gases (GHG) emissions data for years as part of our effort to understand and publicize the environmental footprint of the global ICT infrastructure. My work ties with my assessment that anthropogenic climate change is a real and major threat to our environment and global welfare. Yet climate deniers exist and the need to go-along-to-get-along in local communities can give deniers unlikely allies. The May issue of In Business, a local business magazine where I live, states that "...we’ve reduced carbon emissions over the past 37 years by 84 percent...". Worse yet, this publication is supported by local 'green' advertisers.

Finding the Greenest Tablets

The availability of tablets suitable for Green ICT purchasing has declined percipitously over the past year. We could identify only three manufacturers offer one model each. The sluggish global market for tablets may account for manufacturers' lack of interest in certifying new models.

Finding the Greenest Office Equipment

Many Green ICT certification and registration programs cover categories of office equipment other than the major ones for which we publish separate articles. (See list to the right.) Our latest update revealed no new categories and no overall increase in the number of models available. We also note an EPA-recognized toner cartridge remanufacturing initative.

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