ARLINGTON, VA – A new report from the Consumer Electronics Association finds that industry-wide unit sales of US products registered with EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) grew 10% in 2009 to a total of 48.5 million products.

The CEA 2010 Sustainability Report, a compendium of 21 case studies from a variety of CE companies, also details noteworthy milestones in green design. One manufacturer conducted a comprehensive lifecycle analysis for every product it ships to determine where greenhouse gases are created. After discovering 97% of the emission derived from manufacturing and product use, the company focused on designing new products that use less material, smaller packaging, and are more energy-efficient and recyclable.

Also, many consumer electronics companies are switching to renewable materials, including bio-based plastics, or recyclable materials instead of clamshell packaging, and are looking to reduce the amount of packaging they use. For instance, one video service provider consolidated its shipments and decreased its use of cartons by more than one million in 2009, a 75% reduction from the previous year. In 2011, all of the providers’ products will be packed with 100% recyclable materials.

Furthermore, many manufacturers have set ambitious goals for reducing GHG at their facilities. Meanwhile, other companies have launched efforts to cut power consumption at their data centers.

According to the EPA, 27,000 CE product models currently meet Energy Star specifications. The average energy savings of Energy Star electronics devices range from 20% to 55%. One semiconductor design company created a chip that can reduce its GHG by up to 40% by combining the processing and graphics processing units and the Northbridge chipset onto a single chip.

The report also says the consumer electronics industry recycled 200 million lbs. in 2009, and industry supports more than 5,000 permanent collection sites nationwide. Some examples of these efforts include one CE retailer collecting 100 million lbs. at its 1,200 US locations and one computer manufacturer operating an eCycling program at more than 2,200 US Goodwill sites.

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