Now, PCs go green, to reduce e-waste

ENERGY EFFICIENT

AFTER consumer electronics and mobile phones, computers are turning green now. Leading vendors like Hewlett-Packard (HP), Dell and Acer are adopting ‘green computing’ in a major way in India. Apart from rolling out energy-efficient computers made from recyclable materials, these vendors are launching recycling programmes in India to reduce e-waste.
    Vendors feel their latest initiatives will boost sales amid the slowdown, since green computers consume much less energy and reduce the total cost of ownership. Analysts, too, feel green computing could become the next growth driver at a time when market watchers like IDC have projected that there could be a drop in PC sales in India this year.
    Interestingly, the government is also coming up with energy-efficiency standards for computers. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) secretary Saurabh Kumar said the organisation is already collecting data to come up with the standards by March 2010. “Initially, we will come up with energy standards for desktops and monitors, and eventually for laptops,” he said.
    Besides, vendors claim sensitivity for green PC is already growing among corporates and IT/BPO firms. “Corporates are, for sure, seeing the benefits of cost savings. However, the consumer segment is yet to wake up to green computing,” said Acer India chief marketing officer S Rajendran. The BEE labelling is expected to fill that gap and create consumer awareness about energy-efficient computers.
    HP has just rolled out a notebook battery replacement programme in India. “During discussions with CIOs, we found that many of them are clueless about the best way to dispose their notebook batteries. We expect more than 500 enterprise customers in India to benefit from this,” said HP India country manager — commercial attach (PSG) Deepak Jagtiani. Dell, too, is betting on green computing to drive growth. “At a time when companies are reducing costs, energy-efficient computers and servers will find more acceptance. It makes business sense for enterprises and consumers since these products enable huge savings on power bills throughout the products’ lifecycle,” a Dell India spokeswoman said.
    Apart from innovations in the product line, Dell and HP have rolled out recycling programmes in India for safe disposal of old equipment in an environment-responsible manner. Dell is even innovating packaging by making them from sustainable material. HP’s design centre in India is working on developing several such products.
    writankar.mukherjee@timesgroup.com 

 

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