How green is the New iPad - part 4: Restricted substances

Last week we started a 7-part series in which we explore the carbon footprint and environmental impacts of the new iPad, compare it to those of the iPad 2 and try to figure out if Apple has made any progress from environmental perspective with its new iPad and what's the new breakeven point between books and ebooks on the iPad.

Every day we're looking into another part of the carbon footprint of the new iPad. We already covered production, energy efficiency and packaging. Today we're looking at restricted substances.

Restricted substances:

Here is the information on the restricted substances of the new iPad (source: Apple's report):

Apple has long taken a leadership role in restricting harmful substances from its products and packaging. As part of this strategy, all Apple products comply with the strict European Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, also known as the RoHS Directive. Examples of materials restricted by RoHS include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and the brominated flame retardants (BFRs) PBB and PBDE. iPad goes even further than the requirements of the RoHS Directive by incorporating the following more aggressive restrictions:

• Mercury-free LED-backlit display
• Arsenic-free display glass
• BFR-free
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)−free

Here is the information on the restricted substances of the iPad 2 (source: Apple's report - revised version):

Apple has long taken a leadership role in restricting harmful substances from its products and packaging. As part of this strategy, all Apple products comply with the strict European Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, also known as the RoHS Directive. Examples of materials restricted by RoHS include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and the brominated flame retardants (BFRs) PBB and PBDE. iPad 2 goes even further than the requirements of the RoHS Directive by incorporating the following more aggressive restrictions:

• Mercury-free LED-backlit display
• Arsenic-free display glass
• BFR-free
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)−free

Our take: Basically, nothing has changed in the newest version of the iPad when it comes to restricted substances. The text is the same text, which means that no new steps have been taken to improve the new iPad from hazardous substances use standpoint.

Bottom line: Apple is static when it comes to restricted substances. We'll have to see if it gets more innovative about it in the next version or maybe this is as good as it gets.

Next part on our series: Recycling.

Here are the parts of the series that were released so far:

Part 1 - production
Part 2 - energy efficiency
Part 3 - packaging

More resources on how green is the iPad can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ipad.asp

More resources on the ebooks vs. physical books environmental debate can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

How green is the New iPad - part 3: Packaging

Last Thursday we started a 7-part series in which we explore the carbon footprint and environmental impacts of the new iPad, compare it to those of the iPad 2 and try to figure out if Apple has made any progress from environmental perspective with its new iPad and what's the new breakeven point between books and ebooks on the iPad.

Every day we're looking into another part of the carbon footprint of the new iPad. We already covered production and energy efficiency. Today we're looking at packaging.

Packaging:

Here is the information on the packaging of the new iPad (source: Apple's report):

The packaging for iPad is highly recyclable. It uses corrugated cardboard made from a minimum of 28 percent post-consumer recycled content and molded fiber made entirely from recycled content. In addition, its packaging is extremely material efficient, allowing up to 52 percent more units to be transported in an airline shipping container compared with the original iPad. The following table details the materials used in iPad packaging.

Packaging Breakdown for iPad (U.S. Configurations, in grams)

Material	Retail box	Retail and shipping box
Paper (corrugate, molder fiber)	212	445
High impact polystyrene	70	70
Other plastics	9	9

Here is the information on the packaging of the iPad 2 (source: Apple's report - revised version):

The packaging for iPad 2 is highly recyclable. It uses corrugated cardboard made from a minimum of 28 percent post-consumer recycled content and molded fiber made entirely from recycled content. In addition, its packaging is extremely material efficient, allowing up to 52 percent more units to be transported in an airline shipping container compared with the original iPad. The following table details the materials used in iPad 2 packaging.

Packaging Breakdown for iPad (U.S. Configurations, in grams)

Material	Retail box	Retail and shipping box
Paper (corrugate, molder fiber)	207	440
High impact polystyrene	68	68
Other plastics	9	9

Here's a comparison of the data presented in these tables, showing the change in %:

Material	Retail box	Retail and shipping box
Paper (corrugate, molder fiber)	2.4%	1.1%
High impact polystyrene	2.9%	2.9%
Other plastics	0.0%	0.0%

Our take: Nothing has really changed in the packaging. Apple basically provided the same specifications on packaging it provided for the iPad 2. In terms of weight the packaging of the new iPad actually uses more materials and weights more, which also means it has a larger carbon footprint.

Bottom line: Apple has failed to make any improvements whatsoever in the packaging of the new iPad. If anything, it only made it heavier.

Next part on our series: Restricted substances.

Here are the parts of the series that were released so far:

Part 1 - production

Part 2 - energy efficiency

More resources on how green is the iPad can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ipad.asp

More resources on the ebooks vs. physical books environmental debate can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

How Green is the New iPad - part 2: comparing energy efficiency with the iPad 2

The new iPad has been with us almost 4 months and we decided it's about time to analyze its carbon footprint. Yesterday we started a 7-part series in which we explore the carbon footprint of the new iPad, compare it to the carbon footprint of iPad 2 and try to figure out if Apple has made any progress from environmental perspective with its new iPad and what's the new breakeven point between books and ebooks on the iPad.

Every day we'll look into another part of the carbon footprint of the new iPad. Yesterday we talked about production. Today we're looking at energy efficiency.

Energy efficiency:

Here is the information on the energy efficiency of the new iPad (source: Apple's report):

iPad uses power-efficient components and software that intelligently manage power consumption. In addition, the iPad 10W USB Power Adapter outperforms the stringent requirements of the ENERGY STAR specification for external power supplies. The following table details the power consumed by iPad in different use modes.

Mode	100V	115V	230V
Sleep	0.65w	0.65w	0.70w
idle - display on	5.26w	5.26w	5.46w
power adapter, no load	0.07w	0.07w	0.09w
power adapter efficiency	80.90%	80.80%	79.90%

And here is the information on the energy efficiency of the iPad 2 (source: Apple's report - revised version):

iPad 2 uses power-efficient components and software that intelligently manage power consumption. In addition, the iPad 10W USB Power Adapter outperforms the stringent requirements of the ENERGY STAR specification for external power supplies. The following table details the power consumed by iPad 2 in different use modes.

Mode	100V	115V	230V
Sleep	0.46w	0.41w	0.45w
idle - display on	3.10w	3.08w	3.16w
power adapter, no load	0.07w	0.07w	0.09w
power adapter efficiency	80.90%	80.80%	79.90%

Here's a comparison of the data presented in these tables, showing the change in %:

Mode	100V	115V	230V
Sleep	41%	59%	56%
idle - display on	70%	71%	73%
power adapter, no load	0%	0%	0%
power adapter efficiency	0%	0%	0%

Here's our take: When it comes to energy efficiency it looks like the iPad hasn't made any progress. It either moves backwards, using more power (sleep and idle mode) or shows no change at all (power adapter - no load, power adapter efficiency).

Is it really important? The answer is yes! Customer use is about 25 percent of the carbon footprint of the iPad, so better energy efficiency generates substantial improvements in the carbon footprint, which unfortunately is not the case here.

Bottom line: Apple has failed to make any improvements whatsoever in the energy efficiency of the new iPad. If anything, it only made it less efficient.

Next part on our series: Packaging.

More resources on how green is the iPad can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ipad.asp

More resources on the ebooks vs. physical books environmental debate can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

How Green is the New iPad - part 1: comparing materials and production footprint to iPad 2

The new iPad has been with us almost 4 months (time goes by so fast..) and we figured it's about time to make a comparative analysis of its carbon footprint. In the next week or so we're going to explore the carbon footprint of the new iPad, compare it to the carbon footprint of iPad 2 and try to figure out if Apple has made any progress from environmental perspective with its new iPad and what's the new breakeven point between books and ebooks on the iPad. Every day we'll look into another part of the carbon footprint of the new iPad, starting today with production.

First, I have to say Apple should get kudos for the fact that it is releasing the carbon footprint of every new iPad it is releasing. No matter how their CSR is far from perfection or how they're behind most of the companies when it comes to sustainability or CDP reporting, when it comes to disclosing the environmental footprint of its products Apple is leading the way. e-reader and tablet sellers like Amazon or B&N are not even close to Apple, making basically every comparison between the environmental of books and ebooks on their products impossible. Therefore we should definitely appreciate the fact that Apple provide us with this detailed information.

Second, I want to mention that Apple revised the environmental report on the carbon footprint of iPad 2 (here's a link to the original report and here's the updated one). Apple of course excels in updates but this is still interesting given the fact that the revisions are quite substantial. We'll talk about it specifically in later on this week.

And after this long introduction we can finally start the first part of our analysis, which will be focused on production. We included not just information on the the new iPad and iPad 2, but also on the first iPad to give us a better understanding of the changes we see in the latest version of the iPad.

Production:
Carbon footprint of the new iPad - 120.6 kg CO2e
Carbon footprint of the iPad 2 - 85.8 kg CO2e
(Carbon footprint of the iPad - 75.4 kg CO2e)

Change: +40.6%

The new iPad continues a trend (at least according to the figures of the revised environmental footprint of the iPad 2) of growing carbon footprint when it comes to production. As you can see this is a significant increase of 40 percent and it's not clear what's the reason for it, as Apple claims that the materials have a reduced carbon footprint, which also helps to maximize shipping efficiency.

Here you can see the materials used for the new iPad (source: Apple's report):

And here are the materials used for the iPad2 (source: Apple's report - revised version)

Here's a comparison of the data presented in these graphs (weight, in grams):

	New iPad	iPad 2	Change
Display	132	142	- 7.0%
Plastics	10	19	-47.4%
Other metals	28	26	+7.7%
Circuit boards	40	40	0.0%
Glass	112	115	-2.6%
Battery	205	131	+56.5%
Aluminum	135	140	-3.6%

Let's see first what Apple says on the materials of the new iPad:

Apple’s ultracompact product and packaging designs lead the industry in material
efficiency. Reducing the material footprint of a product helps maximize shipping
efficiency. It also helps reduce energy consumed during production and material waste
generated at the end of the product’s life. iPad is made of aluminum and other materials
highly desired by recyclers.

Here's our take: First, it's interesting to see that Apple talks about reduction of the material footprint. If Apple refers to weight then the weight of the materials on the new iPad (662 grams) is actually greater than the weight of iPad 2 (613 grams) in total. If Apple refers to the carbon footprint of the materials then we have no way to know whether it's true or not, as Apple doesn't provide the figures - only weight and the carbon footprint of the production, which probably includes more elements (any in any case is higher in the new iPad).

Also, other than the battery which is heavier on the new iPad, it seems that Apple has managed to achieve in general incremental reductions. Only the change that was made in plastic is rather substantial with a reduction of almost 50 percent.

Bottom line: When it comes to production the new iPad is actually going backwards, generating a significant higher carbon footprint. While Apple claims that the materials have lower footprint, we have no way to know it due to lack of data and we can see that in total the weight of materials used to build the iPad has gone up in the new iPad. In all, the big picture is quite disappointing to those who were looking to see improvement and progress with regards to the production and materials efficiency of the iPad.

Next part on our series: comparing energy efficiency.

More resources on how green is the iPad can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ipad.asp

More resources on the ebooks vs. physical books environmental debate can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Audiobook recommendations for the summer: Skinnydipping by Bethenny Frankel (and a giveaway!)

Today we start a new summer series of audiobook recommendations, and we have a great pleasure to open it with the perfect audiobook for the summer - it's funny, witty, interesting and can keep you entertained (and fully awake) for a whole road trip or couple of shorter trips to the beach.

Our audiobook is: Skinnydipping by Bethenny Frankel, read by January LaVoy. The audiobook is published by Simon & Schuster Audio.

This is a great audiobook and it helped me to actually hope a trip I took from NY to Delaware won't end as I haven't finished listening to the audiobook.. I had to patiently wait until my next trip to finish it. I enjoyed Frankel's wit and ability to build a complicated story and yet keep it light and funny. LaVoy's narrating is also very impressive, providing a real added value to the story. Bottom line - Skinnydipping is highly recommended, especially now, in the hot summer days!

What's Skinnydipping about? Here's the audiobook description:

Two-time New York Times bestselling author and one of TV’s biggest reality stars, Bethenny Frankel presents a sexy, hilarious, and romantic novel about a struggling actress and aspiring businesswoman’s pursuit of the female trifecta: a wildly successful career, the perfect man, and an amazing body.

Bestselling author, successful businesswoman, popular reality TV star, natural foods chef, and devoted mom Bethenny Frankel pens the perfect guilty pleasure novel—the sexy, hilarious, and romantic misadventures of a struggling actress and aspiring businesswoman burning through Hollywood and New York in determined pursuit of the female trifecta: the perfect man, job, and body. This outrageously entertaining and bawdy roman à clef follows a business-savvy, would-be actress as she burns through men like she burns through calories—our sexy, loud-mouthed heroine grasps at any opportunity that might take her to the top.

Listeners will jump at the chance to hear about the thrilling highs and cringe-worthy lows of Bethenny’s first shaky steps into adulthood, told here in a fictional format. Fans know Bethenny won’t shy away from the nitty gritty details of her career failures, romantic faux pas, and wild stories of “only needing a Tic Tac and a coochie” to have a good time on the town—and she will deliver them all with the biting wit her fans have come to love through her TV shows and bestselling nonfiction. While it may be a novel, there is no doubt that this is Bethenny, spilling her funniest stories and juiciest secrets over a few cocktails, with, as always, her trademark honesty: straight from the hip.

In this video clip author Susan Orlean talks about the audiobook and why she chose to narrate her book:

Skinnydipping is available on Amazon - http://amzn.to/M134UP.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away one copy of this audiobook, courtesy of the publisher, Simon & Simon audio!

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to add a comment to this post with a reply to the following question: In which reality show you would like to be on? (and why..). We will have a raffle on Monday, July 9, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will reply by then. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Better Paper Project offers a free webinar on sustainable publishing in the 21st century

Our friends at Better Paper Project will run on July 11, 1:00pm a free webinar on sustainable publishing. It's a 1-hour webinar and free - magazine publishers interested in getting greener are welcome to check it out. Here are some more details on the webinar:

You are invited to join the Green America Better Paper Project for this event, in recognition of your magazine’s efforts at improving paper consumption practices. This webinar will provide participants with information on existing tools and best practices to forward paper procurement policies and provide a snap shot and update on global forest hotspots, including the Great Bear Rainforest, Canada’s Boreal Forest and the rainforests of Indonesia.

Staff from Canopy will also join the Green America Better Paper Project to help answer questions on how to engage your suppliers and mills to promote lasting solutions that provide certainty both in terms of supply of environmental paper for your company, as well as ecological protection of our global forests.

For more details on Better Paper Project visit their website - http://betterpaper.ning.com/. You can register to the webinar at https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/showReg?udc=1uz0rjo4wszn

Yours,

Raz @ecolibris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

ECO Banners with Bamboo Retractable Stand from Greg Barber, the Eco-Friednly Printer

I'd like to share with you a message from our printer and friend Greg Barber on a new green printing product he's introducing - the Eco Banner:

I am introducing a new line of Eco Banners that include a Bamboo, Retractable Stand. It takes me 20 seconds to assemble these banners at a trade show, and we have a mini carry bag that looks like a kid's golf bag , to easily carry the banner to your next show..


Take a look at our retractable banners, made from Recycled Plastic Soda Bottles.



I will introduce a table top retractable banner, size 8.5 x 12, with a mini, Bamboo Stand in the next few weeks. It will retail for $95 and may replace the need for huge banners. I plan to introduce it at the next Green Festival in D.C in late September.

The large size banner is approx 3 x 7 feet. I will place the banner and the stand near the front of my space at a show. It captures the eye of visitors faster.

For more details please contact Greg Barber, www.ecofriendlyprinter.com, 973-224-1132.

Photo: A beautiful 100% PET Bottle banner Greg made for the Green Breakfast Club - Green Breakfast Club provides a unique resource exchange and networking format to grow local green business communities through sharing resources.

Yours,

Raz Godelnik

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!