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Eco-Innovation
Motorola Mobility has a long history of eco-innovation because we believe it is an integral part of making better products. Our expertise in this area, developed over decades of research, means we are well placed to meet market demands for greener products.
We have a straight-forward approach to green design: look for ways to make every product greener, right across its lifecycle. That means analyzing impacts from manufacturing through to end-of-life, and then working out the changes that will make the most difference. For example, our analysis shows that over 90 percent of the carbon footprint of one of our set-tops occurs when it is used, so we focus our efforts on improving energy efficiency and meeting ENERGY STAR and other challenging standards.
Using this approach, we are expanding the boundaries with key products to find eco-innovations that can be replicated across our portfolio - from smartphones and chargers to modems and set-tops.
Big Steps, Smaller Footprints
Decades of research have brought significant progress in reducing energy use and product-related carbon emissions. Our average phone charger consumes at least 70 percent less energy in standby compared to one made in 2000 and our latest models use just 0.03 watts, which is 90 percent better than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s current ENERGY STAR standard.
Our latest set-top lines – DCX, QIP, VIP – meet ENERGY STAR standards for U.S. markets and the Voluntary Industry Agreement energy standards for European markets. For three of the VIP set-tops, we reduced energy use by more than 30 percent compared with the previous generation. Reduced energy consumption means fewer carbon emissions. Based on an independent lifecycle assessment, the Motorola QIP set-top range has a carbon footprint of 12 to 20 percent less than the previous generation.
Material Innovation
We know that most of the carbon footprint of our mobile phones is from manufacturing so by using less energy-intensive materials, such as recycled plastic, lifecycle impacts can be reduced.
We worked with one of our key plastic vendors to formulate a new recycled plastic that takes 20 percent less energy to make than standard plastic, saves thousands of water bottles from going to landfill and creates a market for waste materials. Our focus on quality meant that introducing a new material was no small undertaking. We spent four years in our labs, testing and reformulating the material until we were certain that it could meet the same tough quality standards we apply to virgin plastic. In 2009, this new material was used in the MOTO™ W233 Renew, the world’s first mobile phone made of plastic from recycled water bottles.
Since then, we have launched an additional six products containing the material, including the Motorola CITRUS™ and SPICE™ in 2010, our first green smartphones with the latest in eco-design. The phones are also CarbonFree® Certified through an alliance with Carbonfund.org™. Based on an independent, third-party lifecycle assessment, we offset the carbon dioxide generated to manufacture, distribute and operate the phones through investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects. In addition, the devices are energy efficient and PVC- and BFR-free. These attributes were replicated in our P793 universal portable charging device, the world’s first power accessory that contains post-consumer recycled plastic and is CarbonFree® Certified.
Drawing on the knowledge gained through using recycled plastic in our mobile phones and accessories, we are beginning to introduce the material into our products for the home. For example, the DCX3501-M is the first set-top to use post-consumer recycled plastic. The set-top is also a third lighter than previous models, and requires less material to make.
Consumer Education
Smartphones, with their advanced software capabilities, offer new possibilities for empowering people to make green choices. For example, our Motorola CITRUS™ and SPICE™ smartphones are preloaded with a software app that provides access to leading sustainable lifestyle magazine Tree Hugger, wherever you are. We also participated in the development of Light Bulb Finder – an app that helps people to save energy and money by ordering energy-efficient lighting for their home or office. Light Bulb Finder can be downloaded for free from the Android Market.
The Road Ahead
With more and more environmentally aware consumers desiring cutting-edge products with green credentials, we will continue to innovate and build on our long history of green design.
