What is sustainable design and what does that journey look like for companies like Lenovo?
Sustainable design takes sustainability into account by reducing product carbon footprints, driving the use of circular materials, and using innovation to continuously improve products and services while creating them.
Lenovo is a leader in the use of post-consumer recycled content (PCC) plastics and closed-loop PCC (PCC-derived from end-of-life IT and electronics equipment) in the manufacture of devices and components. In fact, by FY 2025/26, we will use 300 million pounds of post-consumer recycled content plastics in our products, with 100% of our PC products containing post-consumer recycled content materials. As of FY 22/23, 298 Lenovo products are made from closed-loop PCC recycled materials. Notably, we collaborated with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation to develop a PC adapter with an industry-leading 90% PCC.
Our product take-back programs make it easy for many customers around the world to recycle their old devices, batteries and packaging. We keep up with the demand for recycled electronics by using closed-loop PCC in our own products.
How does sustainability play an important role in packaging?
The key to developing greener packaging is increasing the use of recycled and recyclable materials, reducing volume, and expanding the use of bulk and reusable solutions.
At Lenovo, by 2025, we will introduce 90% plastic packaging for our PC products and 60% smartphone packaging, as well as plastic-free packaging, using recycled materials. We manufacture 100% smartphone products and accessories without Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs), while using 50% less single-use plastic and reducing the size/volume of our smartphone packaging by 10%.
Innovations like these make packaging more sustainable and help support our customers’ sustainability goals.
How is Lenovo committed to end-to-end stability?
Recycling plays a key role in our sustainability journey, and to date we have used 130 million pounds of net recycled plastic and 18 million pounds of closed-loop recycled content in our products and packaging. However, end-to-end consistency encompasses much more than this and encompasses the entire business across devices, data center solutions and services.
For example, to support our vision of achieving net zero by 2050, Lenovo ISG is designing solutions to improve energy efficiency for our products and our customers. Innovations such as the Neptune liquid cooling solution, a direct water-cooling solution that recirculates cycles of hot water to cool data center systems. It enables customers to realize up to 40% reduction in power consumption and 3.5 times improvement in thermal efficiency compared to traditional air-cooled systems. In addition, Lenovo Value Recovery is a sustainable service that helps reduce e-waste and enables the purchase of refurbished and recertified enterprise hardware at affordable prices, ensuring customers are fully supported in their sustainability journey.
In FY 2022/23, we increased our participation in the circular economy by integrating closed-loop post-consumer recycled content into 50 more products, resulting in a total of 300 (298) end-to-end products including this content. Life IT equipment.
What tips do you have for businesses looking to embed sustainability into design practices, both in product, packaging and partnerships?
When improving sustainability in business, companies need to look at the entire organization. For example, at Lenovo we’re not just looking at PC products like ThinkPads, but by the 2029/30 financial year, we’ll see a 50% improvement in energy efficiency.
Additionally, it is important to think about how businesses can maintain sustainability even after products and services are purchased. At Lenovo our Solutions and Services Group (SSG) brings our business together. As part of this, the team provides maintenance services after the devices are purchased. And by 2025, we will enable recycling and reuse of 363 million kilograms of end-of-life products and ensure that 76% of repairable PC parts are returned to our service centers.
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Other Magazines of Interest – EV magazine | Energy is digital
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Consistency Live Net Zero Conducted directly from QEII CentreLondon on March 6th and 7th, streamed globally via our virtual event platform trick. Consistency Live Net Zero Deeply explores the strategies, innovations, and partnerships that will propel us toward a net-zero future. The conference and exhibition provide an opportunity to connect with like-minded peers and actively contribute to shaping a sustainable future.
Following Sustainability LIVE Net Zero, viewers can also register for Sustainability LIVE Dubai, Singapore And New York.
Register at Global Sustainability and ESG Awards 2024Arrives in London on 10 September 2024.
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