Lenovo has announced it has joined the international non-profit organization, The Climate Group.
As part of that membership Lenovo has unveiled a comprehensive program that rewards consumers for recycling products at the end of their lifecycle, and offers consumers incentives to power new computers with renewable energy. This new program encourages consumers to make more environmentally responsible choices throughout the lifecycle of the computing device's and complements what Lenovo is doing to "green" its own operations.
Lenovo set a voluntary target of improving its carbon efficiency by 10% between 2007 and 2012. To help reach this goal, Lenovo is developing energy efficient solutions in its products, implementing energy conservation measures at existing sites, and building new manufacturing facilities using greener materials and technology.
The renewable energy component of Lenovo's new program includes an e-coupon offered in partnership with Together, a recently launched initiative that offers simple solutions to help consumers save money, save energy and save the planet.
Under the program, for every Lenovo notebook sold using the new Together e-coupon, Lenovo will make a donation equal to the cost of powering a Lenovo notebook for a year, to a renewable energy project in the buyer's home state. These may include wind farms, solar generation, or biomass facilities. Customers just type "together" into the blank coupon field on the online purchase form.
In addition to helping consumers power their Lenovo computers with green energy, Lenovo aims to ship its products in energy-efficient ways and was recently certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a SmartWay shipper. This voluntary collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the freight industry, and business partners including Lenovo aims to avoid 33 to 66 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and up to 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions per year by 2012. Lenovo is also changing its packaging; seeking to manufacture products closer to where they will be delivered; and looking for more energy-efficient ground and sea delivery options.
"We're really excited to welcome Lenovo as a member," said Chris Walker, North America director for The Climate Group. "Lenovo's extensive reach into the consumer markets can deliver meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The 'no strings attached' recycling initiative should also serve as a positive example for other companies looking for ways to do more to tackle climate change."
