Wednesday, March 31, 2010 by Adrian

At Ouno Creative we're big fans of green. Green technology, green designs, green printing - even our logo is green! We're always interested to read about eco-friendly product developments, the sustainability of developments in digital publishing, and all the discussion around the subject. Are books on an e-reader more environmentally sound than printed copies, taking into account resources and their sustainability? What about the snazzy accessories for the e-readers - can they also be produced with green credentials? These were just some of the questions and debates from discussions referenced on the Ecolibris, a great site we were excited to discover

The most recent article posted on it is by Wendy Koch for USA Today, who points out that "Although books and newspapers require paper (trees), they are more likely to be recycled. Martin LaMonica, who writes for CNET's Green Tech, says only about 10% of U.S. electronics get recycled, and Greenpeace's Guide to Electronics shows they don't always get recycled properly." She goes on to explain that according to a study conducted by the Centre for Sustainable Communications in Stockholm, "reading a newspaper on a computer for 30 minutes can have the same carbon dioxide emissions as the print product itself."

This has also been reported here by Tree Hugger. Koch further explores the issue that mobile devices are becoming more and more dependent on "cloud computing" power or Web servers. These are servers that store and process many of the users' requests. Greenpeace's Mike Gaworecki points out to Koch that data storage centers are the single largest driver of new electricity demand worldwide.

A lot of food for thought; food that many would find difficult to digest, including the USA Today reader who comments on Koch's piece, suggesting that the KTH Centre for Sustainable Communications may not have taken enough factors into account when comparing the environmental impacts of reading newspapers online and in print. Although it makes for a very academic read, you can judge for yourself whether or not this was the case by reading the report here:

Other green reports on the ecolibris site suggest a major factor in the differing green credentials of e-readers is down to whether the device is solar powered - or at least solar powerable - or not. Megan Treacy's article for Eco Geek highlights this point, and states that although while compared to traditional publishing the envrionmental impact of e-readers is much lower, "devices still require charging from the grid, but LG's new e-reader is different (and greener) - it's outfitted with its own integrated solar panel, allowing it to run on clean, renewable, solar power."

Treacy points to her 2008 piece on LG's introduction of a display that can be illuminated by sunlight instead of the backlight when used outdoors, increased visibility and cut energy use by 75 percent.

In Cleantech's 2009 report Amazon's Kindle was proven to be the greenest of the e-readers on the market with the report indicating that "on average the carbon emitted in the lifecycle of a Kindle is fully offset after the first year of use." Although this report was compiled before the launch of Apple's iPad, it is likely that the Kindle, an e-reader, will still out-green the latest offering on the tablet market.

Greenbiz.com's blogger Matthew Wheeland highlights the following iPad green credentials here: "the device is free of all kinds of nasty chemicals. It is arsenic-free, mercury-free, BFR-free, PVC-free" and he comments that many are already seeing the mainly aluminium and glass-composed product as "highly recyclable" with Apple self consciously reporting its own environmental impact on its site. Yet what Wheeland presents as his biggest environmental concern with the iPad "is that the tablet will just be an addition, not a replacement."

He explains his argument with the following examples "Look at the "netbook" market for cheap laptops that are designed to surf the net well -- they're often highly energy efficient, and that's a good thing, but the vast majority of netbook owners use them as a supplement to their full-sized and full-spec laptops or desktops (and their phones, e-readers, what have you), thereby multiplying the impacts per user".

In his summary he voices a green concern held by many - that like many of these e-readers and tablets, the iPad "is still another resource-intensive gadget that will be an add-on rather than a replacement"

Considering many tablets have only just been made available, and the iPad has yet to reach consumers, this is a question that will only be fully answered by time.

In preparation, however, a number of design and technology companies are already looking to make everything else about using the iPad experience as green an experience possible, as exemplified by The Independent's fantastic list of eco-friendly iPad accessories: