Business News
Energy First for Epson®
Epson printers are the first to receive
Energy Saving Trust recommendation
29th April 2008
Most consumers are used to seeing Energy Saving Recommended (ESR) labels on products such as fridges, washing machines and light bulbs, and will look for them when considering a purchase. Now, for the first time, the logo will be seen on Epson inkjet printers.
The Energy Saving Recommended labelling scheme has established a new product endorsement category; imaging equipment. This category covers inkjet printers, inkjet multi-function devices (MFD) and photo printers.
The Energy Saving Recommended label considers three criteria; energy (Watts) used when the printer is on-ready to use, energy used in sleep mode and energy used when on standby. These criteria were developed by a working party and then reviewed by the Endorsement Panel, a body of independent environmental, policy, regulatory and enforcement experts.
Mode |
Criteria |
Inkjet and multi-function devices |
|
On-Ready (W) |
Less than or equal to 22 |
Sleep (W) |
Less than or equal to 3.5 |
Standby (W) |
Less than or equal to 1 |
Photo Printers |
|
On-Ready (W) |
Less than or equal to 10 |
Sleep (W) |
Less than or equal to 3 |
Standby (W) |
Less than or equal to 1 |
Epson printers were assessed against these criteria using the test procedures specified by the European Energy Star specification. In addition to meeting the test criteria, Epson, and the printers, must comply with the requirements of the ROHS and WEEE directives, which deal with hazardous substances and the recycling.
Epson printers that now carry Energy Saving Recommended labels are:
Single Function Inkjet Printers |
Stylus D92
Stylus D120 |
Multi-function Devices (MFD) |
Stylus DX7400/7450
Stylus DX8400/8450
Stylus DX9400F |
Single Function Photo Printers |
Stylus Photo R285
Stylus Photo R800
Stylus Photo 1400
Stylus Photo R1900
Stylus Photo R2400 |
MFD Photo Printers |
Stylus Photo RX585 |
Nick Harwood, Key Environmental Representative for Epson told Eco:
“Epson has long made consideration of the environment and minimising environmental impact part of its business philosophy. For example, in product development, Epson considers environmental performance an essential part of ensuring a product's quality, and aims to develop environmentally conscious products based on its policies of energy-saving design, lowering resource consumption, and the elimination of hazardous substances. The Energy Saving Recommended label is a very visible, and easily recognisable way of demonstrating this philosophy in practice to our consumers. We are impressed that the Energy Saving Recommended label scheme not only sets the standards for today but shows how these are expected to be improved upon in the coming years. This allows Epson to ensure that our product development in energy-saving is in line with or better than industry thinking.”
Frances Galvanoni, Partner Marketing Manager for the Energy Saving Trust, said:
‘Epson Printers are the first inkjet printers to be accredited to the Energy Saving Recommended scheme. The Energy Saving Recommended logo is a widely recognised benchmark for excellence in energy conservation and highlights the most energy efficient products in the marketplace. We urge other manufacturers to follow Epson’s lead and get their products accredited in order to give consumers more energy efficient options.’
Visit the Energy Saving Trust at:
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
Visit Epson at: www.epson.co.uk
Contract-Free Mobiles Plant Trees and Save You £s
7th March 2008
The new ‘Freedom’ package from Green Mobile gives businesses the freedom of a pay-as-you-go mobiles but without the cost of over-priced ‘top ups’ and call rates.
Better still, Green Mobile also donates 4% of business customers' on-going phone bills, at no cost to the customer, to the Woodland Trust, the UK’s leading woodland conservation in order to plant trees.
There are no catches - and no contract either -with this new package. You pay just £2 per month line rental plus the cost of your call charges – just 5p per minute for calls to UK landlines and only 15p per minute to UK mobiles. On pay-as-you-go (PAYG) you are paying over double these call rates (e.g. T-Mobile’s ‘Mates Rates’).
Swap over to the Freedom Package and you’ll never again be caught without any credit on your phone. This package uses the new Gamma network – a seamless combination of the ‘3’ and Orange networks that provides great coverage across the UK.
You can even keep your old number, however, you must have a 3G handset in order to use this service. If you don’t have a 3G handset, Green Mobile offers them at half price (£50) – and you’ll be up and running in no time!
In a nutshell:
* No contract
* £2 per month line rental
* Keep your old number
* 15p per minute calls to UK mobiles
* 5p per minute calls to UK landlines
* 7p per text
* Half price 3G handsets
So, if you want to swap over now, or just to know more about this or any other of the deals on mobiles, landlines or broadband available from Green Mobile, just call 0845 233 0000, or sign up on line at www.greenmobile.co.uk. Remember, your business can also take Green Mobile’s ‘Tree Challenge’ - If they can’t beat your current BT business line and/or mobile contract rates by 10% they’ll plant up to 10 trees with the Woodland Trust.
Nokia Unveils Recycled Phone
19th February 2008
Finnish phone company Nokia has unveiled a prototype phone called "Remade", constructed out of recycled material that they hope will set a trend of reducing the energy and waste involved in producing handsets. The company already produces 40% of the world's mobile phones, so any move to develop a less environmentally damaging product will have an impact.
chief executive, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, said in his keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona:
"It really shows what can be done with materials," he told the assembled audience of mobile phone industry executives. "It is only a concept now - I cannot make a phone call - but it gives you an insight into how we think we can break new ground."
Three billion people now own a mobile phone, many of them replacing their handset every year, creating a massive waste problem. The Nokia concept phone is a step in the right direction, but of far greater impact would be if consumers kept their existing phone for as long as possible, rather than constantly upgrading.
Solar Century is Here
Leading solar energy company Solarcentury is challenging talented design students to develop a medium for bridging the gap in the public’s understanding of solar power as a viable method for tackling climate change. By entering the D&AD Student Awards 2008, entrants this year can choose to design a piece of web-based communication to increase knowledge about the role of solar electricity in large scale carbon reduction.
“Solarcentury believes that there is a gap in consumer knowledge about renewable energy in general, and solar electricity in particular,” explains Solarcentury founder and Executive Chairman Jeremy Leggett. “The long running success of the D&AD Student Awards led to Solarcentury becoming a sponsor. Our focus as a company is on popularising solar energy through innovation, and so the use of innovative young design talent to reach the public is an ideal method.”
The competition’s brief requires students to design a piece of web-based communication to promote the benefits of building integrated solar photovoltaic energy (‘PV energy’– electricity generated from the sun). The design must be interactive, in order to engage viewers, educational, to explain PV as well as raising awareness, and not more than 120 seconds long if a film or audio piece. The piece could be an animation, an audio clip, a game or so on. The piece is aimed at the general public, who may not have any knowledge or understanding of solar PV, and so must be accessible and engaging.
The design should also reflect Solarcentury’s position in the industry, as a young, ambitious company seeking to fundamentally change the global energy market through innovation, rather than campaigning. Solarcentury operates in both the consumer housing market and in the commercial arena, and is seeking to raise awareness of PV, and of its uses and advantages. Solar PV can operate very effectively in the UK climate, and cuts both carbon emissions and fuel prices for users.
The D&AD Student Awards 2008 are now in their 30th year, and are amongst the most prestigious awards for young design, creative and advertising talent in the world. In 2007, forty-two different nations took part, including Finland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, South Africa, Brazil, Honduras, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Italy, China, France, Germany, Spain, Israel, UK and USA.
For more information on The D&AD Student Awards 2008, visit www.dandad.org/studentawards08/. The brief can be seen here http://www.dandad.org/studentawards08/briefs/04.html
About Solarcentury
Solarcentury is the UK’s leading solar energy company, specialising in the design and supply of building integrated solar technologies. Solarcentury is in business for a purpose: to help create a cleaner world and a sustainable future. Based in London, with operations in the UK, France and Spain, it has installed over 500 solar systems including those on the Eden Project, Vauxhall Cross Bus Terminal and Europe’s largest vertical solar facade on the CIS Tower, Manchester. Solarcentury has helped thousands of homes go solar through its network of associate installers and is the founding company of the schools initiative Solar4Schools. In 2006, Solarcentury was named the UK’s Fastest Growing Renewable Energy Company by The Sunday Times Tech Track 100. www.solarcentury.com
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Prince Charles' Green Plea
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The Prince of Wales has urged small UK firms to become greener and suggested climate change was the world's greatest threat ahead of terrorism.
He asked 60 Confederation of British Industry members to be more energy efficient so as to boost profits and protect their grandchildren's future.
By using energy wisely and harnessing technology, firms could cut emissions and stay competitive, he insisted.
"We need to address these issues now. It is already late," said the prince.
He quoted risk management expert John Coomber who said climate change was "the number one risk in the world, ahead of terrorism and demographic change".
"I think he has got a point," Prince Charles told the meeting at the CBI's London headquarters.
Mr Coomber is a director of reinsurance firm Swiss Re, which assesses financial risk and looks to the future.
The prince noted that the European Environmental Protection Agency reported in 2005 that £1.8bn could be saved by industry through energy efficiency: "It does seem to me, and quite a lot of other people, that unless we really address this energy issue as the first step we will not really get anywhere with this challenge.....It is an absolutely crucial issue, with all of these things being taken for granted. We need to address these issues now. It is already late in the day." |
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The New Gold Rush
With the thinning of the Arctic ice, new shipping routes and fishing grounds are being created, and there is a growing scramble for territory, minerals and oil near the North Pole. The receding ice makes it far easier to find, drill and extract oil and gas, in areas thought to contain at least a quarter of the world’s undiscovered reserves. Environmentalists oppose the oil-and-gas exploration, saying that the drilling in the Barents Sea puts at risk a vital and fragile ecosystem. The Norwegian Government halted oil exploration in 2001, but the ban has been lifted in most areas.
Compared to the volatile oil politics in the Middle East, Norway offers a stable supply. The Canadian Government has opened up areas for exploration, and scientists have found oil reservoirs 320km from the North Pole.
There is talk of the new Klondike in Hammerfest, the world's most northerly town in Norway. People from 60 nations pour in to spend their new wealth, making it seem like a frontier town, with a black gold rush, caused by global warming and rising energy prices.
Work on the liquefied natural gas processing plant on the edge of Hammerfest, began in 2002 and there are now pipes running 140km (87 miles) out to gas field. 30,000 lorryloads of concrete have been poured , two million metres of cables have been laid, and nearly three million cubic metres of rock blasted to form a breakwater against the freezing ocean. Now the gas is starting to flow, and with it, more money.
The biggest prize is the Russian Shtokman field, the world's largest offshore gas reservoir, lying 560km into the Arctic Ocean. This presents piping difficulties but with more open seas it will be easier to get access. While scientists dispute the causes of global warming, few deny that the Arctic is thawing fast. In August 2006 a Russian vessel became the first to reach the North Pole without an icebreaker. With temperatures expected to rise a further 5.5C in the next 100 years, the ice cap that has crowned the world for millennia may soon vanish, replaced by a seasonal sea.
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