Sony Insights » eco friendly

Energy Saving TVs from Sony are Watching

Tom Pretty — Mon, 17 May 2010 10:16:50 +0000

Bravia WE 5

The BRAVIA motion sensing technology has been in existence for some time now. Incorporating facial recognition as well as heat and movement sensors these televisions are able to monitor the environment around them, adjusting the output in accordance with demands so that energy usage is optimised.

Put simply, the sensors, now being rolled out in the latest Sony BRAVIA range will automatically turn the screen off if no one is in the room watching. According to reports they will also be able to sense when the watcher is sleeping, once again altering the performance to match so that energy is saved. Ultimately this will help owners to save energy and money as well as help the environment. These features will also work with the ambient light sensor that dims the screen automatically when the room is darkened.

The BRAVIA WE5 was the first in the range to take an environmental emphasis and evidently the rolling out of these energy saving features across the BRAVIA 2010 range highlights the growing importance of environmental principles within the company.

This is not the first of Sony’s efforts to become more eco friendly. The eco section of the Sony website contains a plethora of information from energy saving tips to details of initiatives Sony are involved in around the world. There is also information on how the company is actively changing the way in which they operate to reduce their impact upon the planet, specifically how the company is striving to reduce the annual energy consumption of all Sony products by 30 percent within the next five years.

Sony Ericsson Eco Friendly Elm Goes Silver

Naomi Roberts — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:51:47 +0000

The Sony Ericsson Eco Friendly Elm

The Sony Ericsson Elm, currently available on the O2 network is the latest in a raft of eco friendly models being released by the Japanese Swedish collaboration. Originally the Sony Ericsson Elm was only available in a rather dull black finish but it has now been announced that the mobile phone will be released in a shiny silver variety. The announcement is part of a broader colour scheme that the Elm will now be available in, a scheme that includes the ever so environmental Hazel.

The Elm series has long been touted as a more eco friendly mobile phone range. Ultimately Sony Ericsson has strived to produce phones that have less of an impact on the environment without having to sacrifice performance or features.

The Elm has a variety of features that make it more eco friendly than comparative models. The manufacturing process includes recycled plastics and does away with hazardous chemicals. In addition the Sony Ericsson Elm is packed with a charger with lower power consumption levels.

Sony Ericsson have also managed to pack in a 5 megapixel flash camera, a GPS receiver that works with Google Maps, Wi-Fi, multimedia functions, FM radio and expandable memory into a phone that is just 11 cm by 4.5 cm and weighs a paltry 90g. Ultimately the Sony Ericsson Elm is a good choice for those that want to make an eco friendly decision without sacrificing the features that are expected of a modern mobile phone.

Sony Pictures Go Green with Eco Friendly DVD Collection

Naomi Roberts — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 08:36:44 +0000

Sony DADC & Sony Pictures Carbon Neutral DVD Collection

Environmental principles are becoming increasingly important in the corporate world and the latest news of a collaboration between Sony Pictures and Sony DADC (Digital Audio Disc Corporation) is no exception. The exercise is to show once again that Sony as a corporate entity is interested in environmental issues and its constituent businesses are striving to find eco friendly methods of manufacturing and production.

Sony DADC and Sony Pictures have announced in Germany that they are to release a collection of 10 DVD’s that will be completely carbon neutral. The carbon neutral collection will be available through the online retailer Amazon. The establishment and verification of the carbon neutral collection will be carried out by renowned climate protection organisation myclimate. Based in Switzerland myclimate has assessed the greenhouse gas emissions of the DVD collection and will be carrying out measures such as tree planting to offset the manufacturing process.

Michael Trinkl, Customer Services Manager at Sony Pictures was eager to point out that the creation of this carbon neutral DVD collection was both a step towards carbon neutrality in the media industry as well as a reaction to customer demands; stating that the green collection “acknowledges that environmental considerations influence a large and growing community amongst our customers”. The collection will include some of Sony Pictures leading titles such as Life of Brian, the DaVinci Code and Erin Brockovich.

Sony DADC has been promoting eco friendly principles for some time; most notable is the Bend it Green packaging that drastically reduces the environmental impact of DVD packaging. Bend it Green can be manufactured from 100% recycled materials, contains no plastic and provides carbon footprint savings of more than 25% in comparison with an equivalent DVD box. With a fully printable surface it uses a variety of eco friendly inks and glues. The packaging hopes to provide all of the benefits of sustainable packaging without sacrificing the end product.

Maria Bauer Environmental & Sustainability Officer and Sony DADC was pleased that with “Sony Pictures and myclimate we [Sony DADC] have developed a high quality, low cost, carbon neutral DVD collection.” Seemingly the drive towards a greener European home entertainment industry is underway.

Become more Eco Friendly with the New Sony eco Website

Tom Pretty — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:44:31 +0000

Sony Eco Website

Last week Sony was listed in Environmental Graffiti’s list of the greenest companies of 2009. Their inclusion was due to the company’s involvement in a range of different eco friendly initiatives from the Forest Guard Project to their own series of sustainability lectures. However, recently Sony have also restructured a section of their website to further promote how they are striving to incorporate eco friendly principles and more widely reduce the environmental impact Sony as a company is having on the planet.

The new eco section of the Sony website is focussed around three major principles or the 3Ps as they have been labelled. These 3Ps include Product, Process and Planet. Ultimately the 3Ps have been devised by Sony to look at ways in which they can change their business operations at every level, from the design of products through to manufacturing and recycling.

One of the most interesting new elements of the Sony eco site section deals with how customers and members of the public more widely can save energy and money in a range of environments, from the home to the workplace. One of these energy saving tips highlights how by turning down the brightness of your television it is possible to save enough power to run around 60 loads of laundry. Additionally the energy saving tips section provides information on how new Sony BRAVIA and VAIO products are incorporating features that aid the saving of energy; for example, the ambient light sensor on some VAIO notebooks that automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen to match its environment.

The new Sony eco section also presents some of the eco friendly initiatives that were highlighted by Environmental Graffiti in their praise of the company. Details of how the Children’s Climate Call lead to the use of technology to find solutions to forest fires is included, as are details of Sony’s eco lectures on sustainability in business.

This newly revamped eco section of the Sony site provides tangible examples of how the company is striving to reduce its environmental impact. For those interested, the new section of the Sony site devoted to eco friendly principles and initiatives can be found by following the link.

Sony Named in Environmental Graffiti’s Greenest Companies of 2009

Tom Pretty — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:14:08 +0000

Good news for Sony Eco

Sony has been named along with another 5 manufacturers in a list of the greenest companies in the world for 2009. Environmental Graffiti, a blog devoted to reporting environmental news, has listed five of the greenest companies using the criteria of their commitment to innovative green campaigns.

The companies that made the list include Unilever, Whole Foods Market, Timberland and Nokia, each included for the ways in which they are changing working procedures to be more environmentally friendly.

Sony was included in the Environmental Graffiti list for a number of reasons. Environmental Graffiti recognise that as one of the world’s largest companies the way in which Sony operate and the products they produce affect millions of people all over the planet. Environmental Graffiti also noted that Sony is making an increasing commitment to reducing their carbon footprint and focussing on how product life cycles can affect the environment.

Being a company that strives to produce the very latest technologies it is understandable that Sony views technology as fundamental in tackling climate change issues. Environmental Graffiti highlighted the Forest Guard project that included taking student’s ideas and incorporating them with the technical knowledge of Sony engineers. The result was a technological solution to the prevention and tracking of wildfires.

Another project highlighted by Environmental Graffiti was the Sony World Photography Awards. The awards connected with the Princes Rainforest Trust attempts to reconnect people with their environment through the medium of photography. Finally, Environmental Graffiti also applauded the Sony Eco lectures in conjunction with the ESCP-EAP European Business School that focus on how technology can play a part in solving climate issues.

For those interested Sony has a specialist section on their site where visitors can explore the eco friendly projects and initiatives that Sony are connected to and some of the ways in which they are changing their processes to reduce their overall impact on the planet. As such a major manufacturer it is steps like these that could set a valuable example within the consumer electronics industry.

Sony Brings Eco Friendly W Laptop to the Party

Tom Pretty — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:25:19 +0000

Sony VAIOs Eco driven laptop

Sony has once again showed their commitment to eco friendly principles with one of their latest laptops the Sony VAIO Eco VPC-W212AX. Most computer experts will remark that this new eco laptop is essentially the same VAIO W Netbook already released, however it is important to remember that this is less about features and more about the ethos behind the laptop that makes it eco friendly.

One of the major appeals of this laptop is its green credentials. The chassis, complete with its pearlescent glow is in fact manufactured from twenty percent recycled CD and DVD cases. The carry case on the other hand has been manufactured using spent drinks bottles made from PET plastic. Both show that waste from society can have practical uses in the world of consumer electronics. For those who want the specs the W series eco laptop boasts a 10.1 inch screen, an Intel Atom n450 CPU a gig of ram and a 250GB hard drive.

Equally impressive however is the fact that boxes for the laptop have been done away with completely, pointless packaging has been removed and the laptop is available in its case. The paper saving does not stop there however, the instructions for the eco laptop have been provided in a digital format with only a small pamphlet providing information on how to start up the device.

Priced the same as a normal W series netbook, Sony must be applauded for this offering that provides those with an eco conscience with a viable alternative at no extra cost. Hopefully this fine example of how electronics companies can make the most of recycled materials and reduce excess packaging will forge a path for others in the industry.

Sony Open To Questions

Josh Tait — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:28:11 +0000

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show Sony unveiled the VAIO W series Eco Edition. Its main feature being a mercury free LED backlight. It is clear that Sony is becoming increasingly committed to eco friendly principles and the joining of the “You Ask, They Answer” initiative only stands as testament to this dedication. Put simply the initiative gives the public the chance to ask Sony about its environmental projects and policies, how their manufacturing processes are being improved with the environment in mind and the sourcing of more eco friendly materials.

This news comes on the back of Greenpeace praising Sony in their latest “Guide to Greener Electronics”. This guide ranks the top eighteen manufacturers in the world giving them a score for their green efforts. Sony has moved from position eight to seven with a score of 5.1; the reason for this increase in rank being an overall reduction in greenhouse gas emission and its increased dedication to renewable energy.

The list does still argue that Sony could do more to improve their chemical legislation though. Sony has however claimed that they are striving to reduce the impact the company has on the planet and is constantly reviewing its control over hazardous chemicals used in the manufacturing process.

Sony is the first major consumer electronics producer to have joined the ‘You Ask, They Answer’ project and expects a large number of queries. Questions already posted on the Guardian Green Living site touch on subjects such as a universal charger for Sony devices and whether a PS3 update will ever include an auto-power off feature. Questions on the site are currently being answered by members of the Sony Europe team.