Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices (SHC) today outlined its strategy for developing more environmentally friendly technology products. In short, it's calling for rival consumer tech firms to do more about reducing waste, making more energy efficient products and making it easier for the consumer to choose green products.
In the picturesque location of a hillside gasthaus overlooking the German Alps, Siemens' CEO Peter Loescher announced that the firm's new range of DECT phones and broadband products is eco-friendly as of today. The green approach will be extended throughout Siemens' product range and manufacturing processes.
Siemens' ECO-DECT and ECO-broadband product range now uses 60 per cent less power using new energy saving power supply units, drawing just 1.3W instead of the previous 3.5W. There are also options for users to lower the power usage even further by reducing the transmission range of a phone handset or Wi-Fi router.
Positive side effects
"Our range of eco-friendly products has a lot of positive side effects, besides benefiting the environment," Godehard Gerling, SHC's vice president for product management, told Tech.co.uk.
"For example, if you set your Wi-Fi router to transmit over a smaller area, that makes it less accessible and prone to security risks. Also, docking our eco-friendly DECT phones after using them reduces the transmission power usage to almost zero. This saves energy but also saves money, and improves the battery life and standby time of your handset," Gerling said.
He added that the firm is focussing on the small steps that we all can take to make the world a little greener. "It's important to remember that many little things add up to a lot, and we can all do something - especially if it saves us money at the same time."
In the driving seat
Siemens said that it was now in "the driving seat" when it comes to environmental policies. "We are calling on our competitors to follow our lead," Jochen Eickholt, CEO of SHC, told us.
"We are now in the driving seat when it comes to environmental excellence, and we hope that others will follow our example. Eco-sensitive policies pay off, not just financially," Eickholt added.
The entire product lifecycle has been taking into account - from ensuring the manufacturing process is energy efficient and environmentally sound, to recycled and recyclable packaging, to easier procedures for customer to recycle their old products.
There is no change in pricing between the previous standard products and the new eco-friendly range, Siemens confirmed.
