Halasan, Jay Bee C.

CCC 110 1:30 PM

Web Research

Activity - The Components of the System Unit

1. Green Computing Greenpeace International’s Guide to Greener Electronics ranks the major
technology hardware companies in their manufacturing and recycling efforts. The goal is to urge
these computer, television, mobile devices, and game console manufacturers to reduce the use of
toxic chemicals and to implement recycling policies. View the Guide (greenpeace.org/electronics)
and then use your word processing program to answer the following questions. Then, if required,
submit your answers to your instructor.
a. The Guide has been updated every three months since June 2006. What is the version of
this most current Guide?
- Version 14 ,December 2009
b. Which company is at the top of the list for its better toxic waste, recycling, and climate
change practices? What is this company’s score, and why did this company receive this
ranking?
- LG Electronics moves back up the ranking from 11th to 6th place, with its score
rising from 4.7 points to 5.1. It continues to be weighed down by the penalty point
imposed for backtracking on its commitment to have all its products free of PVC
vinyl plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) by the end of 2010. Now only
mobile phones will be free of these toxic substances from 2010; TVs, monitors and
PCs have to wait until 2012 and household appliance models until 2014. LGE has
launched its first mobile phone that is free from PVC and BFRs and has six models
of ‘halogen-free’ Optical Disk Drives.
c. Which company received the lowest ranking? Why?
- Nintendo was ranked last, with a score of 1.4 out of 10. Despite a goal to reduce
CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases by 2% over each prior year, it dropped
a point as a result of a second year of rises in greenhouse gas emissions. Following
a 6 percent increase in 2006, emissions rose by 1.5% in 2007 compared to 2006.
d. What criteria are used to score the manufacturers?
- Greenpeace expects companies to take financial responsibility for dealing with the
electronic waste (e-waste) generated by their products, to take back discarded
products in all countries with sales of their products and to re-use or recycle them
responsibly. Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) provides a feedback loop to
the product designers of the end-of-life costs of treating discarded electronic
products and thus an incentive to design out those costs.
- The five new energy criteria address key expectations that Greenpeace has of
responsible companies that are serious about tackling climate change. They are:
(1) Support for global mandatory reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;
(2) Disclosure of the company’s own GHG emissions plus emissions from two
stages of the supply chain; (3) Commitment to reduce the company’s own GHG
 emissions with timelines; (4) Amount of renewable energy used (5) Energy
efficiency of new models (companies score double on this criterion)
e. Review the Toxics News links and read the article discussing the rankings from the previous
year. Compare the companies’ rankings between the past year and the current year.
- Greenpeace wants to see electronics companies clean up their act. Substituting
harmful chemicals in the production of electronics will prevent worker exposure
to these substances and contamination of communities that neighbor production
facilities. Eliminating harmful substances will also prevent leaching/off gassing of
chemicals like brominated flame retardants (BFR) during use, and enable
electronic scrap to be safely recycled. The presence of toxic substances in
electronics perpetuates the toxic cycle – during reprocessing of electronic waste
and by using contaminated secondary materials to make new products.
f. How does Greenpeace obtain the data for its analysis?
- Greenpeace obtains its data for environmental analysis through a mix of scientific
research, collaborations with experts, and collecting publicly available
information. They often conduct on-the-ground research, monitor pollution levels,
and work closely with scientists to ensure accuracy. Freedom of Information Act
requests are used to gather data from government sources, while public reports,
news articles, and academic studies contribute to their findings. Their famous
direct action campaigns and investigations provide firsthand data, and they
engage with corporations and other organizations to understand and influence
their environmental practices. Greenpeace also collaborates with other NGOs to
share knowledge and strengthen their efforts in promoting environmental
responsibility.
g. What are Greenpeace’s definitions of PVC-free and BFR-free?
- Greenpeace's definition of PVC-free relates to products and materials that do not
contain or use PVC in their manufacturing or composition. PVC is a type of plastic
known for its environmental and health concerns, such as the release of chlorine
gas when burned and the use of toxic additives during its production while BFRs,
or Brominated Flame Retardants, are a group of chemicals used as flame
retardants in various products, including electronics and furniture. Greenpeace's
definition of BFR-free implies that products or materials labeled as such do not
contain any Brominated Flame Retardants.
2. Ethics in Action. Law enforcement agencies use handheld wireless devices to access commercial
databases. For example, Massachusetts state police stationed at Logan International Airport use
the Locate PLUS Holdings Corporation’s database, which has information on 98 percent of
Americans. Police say accessing this information helps them perform their jobs more efficiently.
Privacy experts, in contrast, say that information collected for one purpose, such as checking
credit or registering motor vehicles, should not be available in other contexts. View online sites
that provide information about commercial databases for sale. Write a report summarizing your
findings, and include a table of links to Web sites that provide additional details.
- Reonomy is a leading provider of CRE insights, empowering top brokerages,
financial institutions, and commercial services providers with actionable data and
solutions.
- Armed with Reonomy’s enterprise-grade products, CRE professionals and
organizations gain comprehensive market understanding, discover opportunities,
and streamline research processes.
https://reonomy.com/company