- Cross-operator Eco Rating scheme welcomes new collaborators in Belgium, Portugal, and UK.
- System already launched by Proximus, with rollout by EE and NOS expected soon.
- Tie-up now spans 35 countries and eight operators.
EE, NOS, and Proximus are the latest operators to join the Eco Rating labelling scheme, aiming to improve sustainability in the mobile industry.
EE and NOS will begin roll out of the system “in the coming months”, while Proximus launched it earlier this year.
The new additions mean the consortium now spans 35 countries and eight operators in Europe, Africa, and South America, with plans to expand into the Asia-Pacific region soon.
The Eco Rating scheme was initially set up in May 2021, with collaborators including Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, Telia Company, and Vodafone. The launch saw the involvement of twelve manufacturers, including Motorola, Samsung Electronics, Xiaomi, and ZTE, and this has since increased to 22 (Vodafonewatch, #197).
By providing information about a phone’s environmental impact across its lifecycle, with data provided by manufacturers, the scheme aims to encourage customers and businesses to make more eco-conscious decisions. The average Eco Rating score has increased from 74 to 76 out of 100 since last year, indicating it is slowly building impact.
Partners in the scheme plan to further expand its geographical footprint in the coming years, and to continue increasing its portfolio beyond the 180 devices rated at the end of 2021.
In previous attempts to monitor phone environmental footprints, Telefónica UK produced an Eco Rating system as far back as August 2010. The move was in partnership with non-profit Forum for the Future and analysed similar data to the newer scheme. An updated version of the system launched in 2014 in partnership with Vodafone (Telefónicawatch, #49 and #91).
Deutsche Telekom has tried different approaches to the problem of handsets’ environmental impact, including a device-as-a-service tie-up with everphone that rents out phones to enterprise users, covering any maintenance costs, and refurbishes and recirculates them at the end of their lifecycle (Deutsche Telekomwatch, #106).
