WWF picks environmentally friendlier PC

HANOVER, GERMANY - It's hard to imagine a less "natural" setting than the exhibition halls of the Hanover fairground during the Cebit trade show, but that's where representatives of the German branch of the environmental campaign organization the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF Germany) could be found Friday -- and they weren't there to protest about anything, either.

WWF Germany will work with Fujitsu Siemens Computers GmbH to raise awareness of ways to reduce pollution from the production and disposal of IT equipment, they announced at a news conference at Cebit Friday.

The two came together when WWF Germany began searching for replacement PCs for its staff of 120.

The environmental group set strict environmental specifications for the new machines: including low noise levels, low lead content and low energy consumption. The PCs also had to meet the requirements of the German "Blue Angel" environmental labeling plan and be free from brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Researchers have identified some BFRs as endocrine disruptors, meaning that they can interfere with hormonal mechanisms in the human body.

When WWF Germany settled on Fujitsu Siemens' Green PC, the company agreed to donate the machines free of charge as an expression of its support for the organization's aims.

The company has been working on ways to make its products less polluting and wasteful since 1988, and holds its suppliers to environmental standards stricter than those required for the various environmental labeling schemes, according to Peter Esser, executive vice president for volume products and supply operations.

Fujitsu-Siemens has already converted four of its nine production lines to use lead-free solder, ahead of the introduction of European regulations prohibiting the use of lead in electronic equipment, Esser said.

The production of waste and harmful substances by the computer industry is an increasingly important topic, the WWF said in a statement. Where appropriate, it will work with Fujitsu Siemens to raise public awareness of less polluting alternatives and of examples set by manufacturers, it said.