PC Pro journalist Nicole Kobie questions whether the technology industry’s efforts to be eco-friendly merely amounts to greenwashing.
Brazenly stating that “[environmental issues aren’t] foremost in most consumers’ minds”, Nicole Kobie, PC Pro journalist, has challenged whether technology companies that confront eco-matters amounts to anything besides greenwashing, and challenges the relevance of eco-labels and certifications.
Although stating that “for those who do have the future of the planet weighing heavily on their mind, there’s always a handful of green logos and obscure certification details to assuage their guilt”, Kobie questions whether they mean anything, and highlights inadequacies in EPEAT certification.
Kobie notes that EPEAT “doesn’t pre-certify because components and sourcing can change in a product’s lifetime, ‘meaning a one-time investigation before a product is released is fundamentally inadequate’” but laments testing after release as thousands of devices may already be in use before EPEAT discovers that a product hasn’t met specifications.
“EPEAT certification is little better than taking a company on its own word.”
While Kobie’s arguably warranted pessimism is apparent, ILG’s Joe Shulman remarked to The Recycler in October 2011 that greenwashing was more difficult to get away with, “because people are a lot more clued up to it, and it’s not as commonplace as it used to be.” However, Carol Baroudi, an IT sustainability expert, commented that it was “bullshit. Greenwashing is greenwashing – it’s an activity done to make it appear that the company cares. Shut up and do something about your waste.”