eco-design
as early as 2007, as part of a strategic partnership with Sagem, Orange launched an eco-design initiative for the Livebox and decoders distributed under its brand. Several pilot schemes were also launched in 2011, including one for a Cloud Computing offering
The Livebox 2 launched at the end of 2009 on the French and Spanish markets included a Wi-Fi switch enabling the user to turn off the Wi-Fi signal at their convenience, while still benefiting from the Livebox’s other services. This enables customers to reduce a box’s electricity consumption by up to 30%. The next version of the Livebox is due in the near future.
a pioneering environmental labelling initiative
Orange was the first European operator to implement, as early as 2008 in France, evaluation and public labelling of environmental performance for the telephone terminals it distributes. Developed in partnership with the WWF, Orange’s environmental labelling assesses environmental impact using three criteria scored between 1 and 5:
- “CO2 reduction” measures the amount of greenhouse gas emitted in the key stages of the product’s life-cycle: manufacture, distribution, use, recycling
- “Natural resource protection” measures the quantities of non renewable materials (gold, silver and tin) used in the product
- “Eco-design” rates other initiatives to improve the product’s environmental performance, like the minimal use of hazardous substances, the traceability of sensitive resources (gold, silver, tin, tantalum), the reparability of the product and the amount of recycled material used. Overall score: the 3 indicators are combined to produce an overall score labelled: eco-rating. The higher the eco-rating, the better the terminal is for the environment.
by the end of 2011 environmental labelling had been deployed in France, Spain and Romania, as well as across the Business market. Roll-out continues in 2012 in the other European countries.
