Andrew Cunningham
Earth Day is April 22, and the usual message – taking care of our planet – has become even more urgent due to the challenges highlighted in the latest IPCC report. This year, Ars looks at the technologies we normally cover, from cars to making chips, and find out how we can increase their sustainability and minimize their impact on the climate.
Labeling a laptop as sustainable, eco-friendly, or “green” is optimistic at best. The seemingly endless cycle of upgrades creates a lot of waste, no matter how many green certifications a device gets. We still have a long way to go.
But while all laptops contribute to waste, some do more or less than others. Many people just need a laptop, so doing nothing at all is not an option. But there are some small wins to be had if you spend some time considering the options.
As we wrap up April and the Earth Day festivities, let’s quickly run through the basics of making sustainability a part of our laptop purchasing decisions.
Upgradeable and repairable
The most essential thing to consider when buying a laptop with these issues in mind is the ability to upgrade and repair. The more ways you can upgrade the machine, the longer you can work without buying a new machine and turning your old one into garbage.
Further, the easier it is for you or a technician (either a third party or someone who works for the company that made the laptop) to fix it, the better. That’s because some laptops are designed in such a way that repairing or replacing one part requires destroying another part of the machine, doubling the waste.
There are a handful of YouTube channels and websites like iFixit that essentially rate products on this basis only. The easier they are to repair without special tools or unnecessary waste, the higher the score.
If all else fails, you can take to Reddit or internet forums to ask existing owners what is and isn’t possible.
Responsible material procurement
It’s an unfortunate reality that any laptop at the end of its life will release harmful waste into the environment. But some are better at that than others, on two fronts.
First, some are made from more easily recyclable materials. The components can be made with materials already sourced from recycling sources, and they in turn can be recycled instead of going to a landfill when you throw the laptop away.
Second, consider where the materials come from. If they come from suppliers with bad environmental practices, you have a whole host of additional concerns.
Laptop manufacturers are usually quick to proudly and loudly tout their use of recyclable materials or their reliance on suppliers with strong practices. You will probably see some language about this when you visit the product page for a laptop.
And again, other sources on the internet can verify some of those claims. There are also some certification labels that give you a shorthand to proceed, such as TCO certification. You can also look at the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) for the device you want to buy.
Long Term Support
Laptop manufacturers vary widely in the extent to which they support customers in the long term. You want to avoid companies that don’t have a good track record of years of customer, software, online, or hardware support for their products.
fairphone
Keeping people away from just shipping a product and essentially forgetting about it increases the chances of holding that device longer, reducing the amount of waste you create. Moreover, it is also good for your own bottom line and user experience.
Most companies provide details about their product support plans on their websites. Compare and contrast to make sure you get a device that will be supported for a while. Of course, it’s probably best to stay away from a brand if you can’t find those details at all.
Product reviews on technical websites also sometimes mention this aspect, including many of the reviews we publish at Ars Technica for certain product categories.
Sustainability reports
Some OEMs publish monthly, quarterly, or annual sustainability reports, which are often available somewhere on their websites if you’re really looking for them.
These reports are sometimes subject to external review and may, in fact, accurately reflect the company’s progress or lack thereof – in other words, they are not necessarily just spin. But check your favorite search engine to see what reactions journalists and watchdogs may have had to the published report to be sure.
