Sustainable IT | Ted Samson » CES groomed for green

January 07, 2008 | Comments: (0)

CES groomed for green

TAGS: Green technology

Green tech continues to flourish, and not only in the enterprise. Eco-friendlier tech wares are becoming more plentiful in the pockets and on the desks and laps of end-users, as evidenced by the green-tinged goods showing up at the annual CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas.

Among vendors bringing a bit o' green to their CES booth is Marvell. The company will show off its recently unveiled digital power factor correction (PFC) controller, designed to cut energy usage in notebook power adapters and desktop power supplies by up to 50 percent. The company says that its 88EM8041 and 88EM8011 controllers help manufacturers eliminate up to 20 discrete components, meaning more reliability thanks for fewer moving parts -- not to mention less weight for notebook schleppers.

Fujitsu is unveiling a laptop that comes with a corn-based case, rather than one made from petroleum. As noted by the Associated Press, the model has been around since 2006; Fujitsu is bringing it to North America now in response to the heightened interest here in all things eco-friendlier. Also noteworthy is the fact that the corn-based material isn't biodegradable: "The plastic still needs to be processed for recycling, after which the corn-based component can biodegrade," AP reports.

Z-Power is showing off its laptop-targeted silver-zinc batteries, which the company asserts are far greener than their lithium-ion-based counterparts. Z-Power says its rechargeable batteries contain more recoverable materials, have neither heavy metals nor toxic chemicals, and deliver as much as 30 percent higher capacity.

Vendors aren't the only ones bringing green to the CES table: Organizers have taken steps to clean up the event. For starters, CES will feature, for the first time, a TechZone "dedicated to environmentally and economically sustainable technologies which contribute to the social and cultural growth of the developing world."

Beyond that, all attendee literature is printed on post-consumer recycled paper with soy ink. All light bulbs, batteries, and electronics used by the show will be recycled and diverted from landfills. Further, 75 percent of all food containers and utensils used to serve CES attendees will be fully biodegradable and all surplus food will be donated to the Las Vegas Rescue Mission.

CES organizers are going so far as to call the event "carbon-neutral," a feat they say their accomplishing by purchasing carbon offsets through Carbonfund.org to make up for the carbon emissions of all CES venues, freight, shuttle buses, and hotel rooms. While I'm not a big fan of carbon offsets, I do appreciate the organizers' efforts here.

The earth2tech blog has a good summation of other flecks of green to be found at CES.

Related links:
InfoWorld's geek guide to CES 2008
The healthy carbon diet

Ted Samson is a senior analyst at InfoWorld and author of the Sustainable IT blog. Subscribe to his free weekly Green Tech newsletter.

Posted by Ted Samson on January 7, 2008 02:33 PM

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