How green can mobile phones go?

Companies in the telecom space have gotten real about going green in the past few years. They’ve had to, as consumers have become increasingly eco-conscious and, more likely, cost-conscious. While there have been many significant eco initiatives in the industry (see Carol Wilson’s Green Telecom Series for some examples), the nearly 300 million mobile phones in the U.S. could use some more greening. 

The handset-makers are beginning to innovate more. At the CTIA show, Nokia displayed its concept phone, Remade, which explores how recycled materials can be used to make mobile devices. The idea behind it is that if a phone can be designed using nothing new, it will avoid the need for natural resource consumption, reducing landfill waste and allowing for more energy-efficient production. Likewise, Motorola adopted this concept for the Renew for T-Mobile, which is made out of recycled water bottles. The phone also is packaged with materials printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and includes a prepaid envelop for users to send in their old devices for recycling.

Electronics sustainability company ReCellular also announced a deal at CTIA to provide 500,000 refurbished phones this year to Page Plus. Old phones aren’t exactly a green technology; but what could be more environmentally conscious than not throwing something away? In fact, according to the University of Tennessee, extending the lifecycle of 500,000 phones would conserve 1.6 million kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions, 21 million kilowatts of electricity and 68,000 pounds of solid waste.

Maintaining green practices ultimately falls to the consumer because they are the ones who charge their phones and decide whether to recycle them. But it is up to carriers to increase awareness and handset manufacturers to make whatever they put in consumers’ hands more environmentally sound to begin with.

Because tomorrow is Earth Day — the most widely celebrated environmental event — it seems like the appropriate time to kick off a short series on how green the mobile phone can be. I’d like to get as granular as possible on how mobile handsets can master their green aura, exploring everything from the materials used to make them to the power used to charge them. From talking with handset-makers, recycling companies and industry associations so far, it’s clear that it may be difficult for a company to achieve a zero carbon footprint. But there is no reason why they shouldn’t aspire to it.