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Appendix
Environmental Labelling of Personal Computers
Congratulations!
You have just purchased a TCO'99 approved and labelled product! Your
choice has provided you with a product developed for professional use.
Your purchase has also contributed to reducing the burden on the
environment and also to the further development of environmentally
adapted electronics products.
This product meets the requirements for the TCO'99 scheme which
provides for an international environmental and quality labelling of personal
computers. The labelling scheme was developed as a joint effort by the
TCO (The Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees), Svenska
Naturskyddsforeningen (The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation),
Statens Energimyndighet (The Swedish National Energy Administration)
and SEMKO AB.
The requirements cover a wide range of issues: environment,
ergonomics, usability, reduction of electric and magnetic fields, energy
consumption and electrical safety.
Why do we have
In many countries, environmental labelling has become an established
method for encouraging the adaptation of goods and services to the
environmentally labelled
environment. The main problem, as far as computers and other
computers?
electronics equipment are concerned, is that environmentally harmful
substances are used both in the products and during their manufacture.
Since it is not so far possible to satisfactorily recycle the majority of
electronics equipment, most of these potentially damaging substances
sooner or later enter nature.
There are also other characteristics of a computer, such as energy
consumption levels, that are important from the viewpoints of both the
work (internal) and natural (external) environments. Since all methods of
electricity generation have a negative effect on the environment (e.g.
acidic and climate-influencing emissions, radioactive waste), it is vital to
save energy. Electronics equipment in offices is often left running
continuously and thereby consumes a lot of energy.
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