IT products are a source of greenhouse gases throughout their entire life cycle — from manufacturing through to distribution, use and disposal. With improvements in design, manufacturing, technology and user behavior, it is possible to limit these impacts.
TCO Certified, the leading sustainability certification for IT products, has seen a gratifying increased interest in more sustainable IT products over the last two years. Growing demand for more sustainable IT has seen the number of products with TCO Certified increase 26 percent during the first two years of the current generation of TCO Certified compared to the previous.
“In percentage terms, our fastest-growing product category is headsets. Since the launch of the latest generation of TCO Certified, we’ve seen a big increase in new certified headset models, compared to the previous generation. The increase is from a low base compared to the two biggest product categories – displays and notebooks – but there’s no question that brands want to get more headsets certified,” says Sören Enholm, CEO at TCO Development, the organization behind TCO Certified.
Top three trending product categories:
Headsets, +850 percent (increase from a low base)
Notebooks, +49 percent
Displays, +24 percent
“Growing interest in more sustainable IT products is good news for everyone wanting to make more sustainable choices. The demand is an effect of purchasers raising their voices and asking for IT products that take issues like climate, circularity, substances, and supply chain into account. Brands are demonstrating their commitment to meeting this need of purchasers worldwide by applying for TCO Certified for their products. Buyers now have an even wider range of products to choose from,” Enholm adds.
Behind all the certificates lies more than 10,000 hours a year on developing criteria. Every year, accredited experts spend more than 20,000 hours on product testing and supply chain assessments to ensure compliance and reduce the risk of greenwash.
The organization behind the sustainability certification TCO Certified is TCO Development. The company’s vision is that all IT products should have an environmentally and socially sustainable life cycle. Science-based criteria and independent verification of compliance help the company track and accelerate progress over time.