Nokia CSR Points to the Future
“CSR for Dummies” is an Earth911.com series highlighting the different pledges and commitments made by companies in regards to product stewardship and recycling. Companies and services featured do not pay for placement and are not endorsed by Earth911.com.
When you think of a world with four billion mobile phone connections, you are certainly looking at the potential for an enormous environmental footprint. This will be the world in 2009 according to Nokia.
For the past decade, Nokia has been trying to responsibly realize its vision of a world where everyone can be connected. Its 2007 CSR positions Nokia as a global company with an eye toward environmental, as well as social, initiatives.
Efficient Opportunities
Nokia says it views environmental responsibility as an opportunity, rather than a constraint, and believes it can help people make more sustainable choices, as well as reduce the environmental “footprint” of its products and operations. On this note, the company began offering educational environmental content through its mobile devices.
In 2007, Nokia placed emphasis on energy efficiency in both its manufacturing processes and its consumer products. Although its own CO2 emissions are relatively minor, the company is trying to reduce the impact of its products on the planet.
For example, Nokia is the first mobile device manufacturer to work to reduce the energy lost by a charger plugged into a fully charged device. Once the device is fully charged, it sounds alerts to remind people to unplug their chargers.
The alerts may not seem like a big step, but multiplied by hundreds of millions of people owning Nokia devices, the potential is huge. The energy that could be saved globally by all Nokia phone users unplugging their chargers when no longer needed is enough to power 100,000 average-sized European homes.
Responsible Supply
Nokia also worked with suppliers to set energy efficiency targets that go beyond its current environmental supplier requirements. It is committed to “greening” its supply chain: in other words, if you are a supplier to Nokia, you must maintain certain Nokia-dictated standards. To that end, Nokia has become a full member of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry’s Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) and extended an already-existing partnership with World Wildlife Federation’s ClimateSavers program.
The company also says it takes a “cradle-to-cradle” approach to reduce environmental impact through the life cycle of its products, including recycling. Here’s a video on mobile phone recycling and how it is done.
Other Initiatives
Here are some further strides Nokia has taken toward sustainability:
- Bought 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources
- Shipped over 250 million devices using a compact ecological package, taking the equivalent of 5,000 trucks off the road and saving about 100 million euros during 2007
- Removed PVC from its mobile devices and gave a time line for removing brominated flame retardants from its products
Another aspect of Nokia’s corporate social responsibility outside the environmental arena is their development of a new phone, the Nokia 6131. This phone can be used instead of a credit card or as a travel ticket to provide social security and banking services in areas where there are no computers or internet services.
Pilot studies in Africa and Asia have demonstrated the potential for mobile devices to deliver basic financial services in developing countries. Nokia partnered with Vodafone and Nokia Siemens Network to publish a report on “The Transformational Potential of M-Transactions,” which encourages policy-makers to build a new regulatory framework for financial transactions by mobile phones that will increase access to banking services in the developing world.
Moving Ahead
Further into the future, Nokia research teams are looking to create a device that could be made entirely from recycled materials, avoiding the use of virgin materials and diverting waste from landfill. Its design team created the Remade concept device which uses recycled materials from metal cans, plastic bottles and car tires. The concept will inspire and stimulate further thinking on how mobile devices might be made in the future.
Nokia research teams also conceived the Eco Sensor Concept – a mobile phone and sensing device that will collect environmental data that can be shared with others, increasing environmental awareness.
