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Congratulations!
You have just purchased a TCO'95 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 to the further development
of environmentally-adapted electronic products.
Why do we have environmentally labelled computers?
In many countries, environmental labelling has become an established method for encouraging the adaptation of goods and
services to the environment. The main problem as far as computers and other electronic equipment are concerned is that
environmentally harmful substances are used both in the products and during their manufacture.
Since it has not been possible so far for the majority of electronic equipment to be recycled in a satisfactory way, 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 both the working
and natural environment viewpoints. Since all types of conventional electricity generation have a negative effect on the
environment (acidic- and climatic-influencing emissions, radioactive waste, etc.), it is vital to conserve energy. Electronic
equipment in offices consumes as enormous amount of energy, since it is often routinely left running continuously.
What does the environmenal labelling involve?
This product meets the requirements for the TCO'95 scheme, which rovides for international environmental labelling of personal
computers. The labelling scheme was developed as a joint effort by the TCO (The Swedish Confederation of Professional
Employees),
Naturckyddsforeningen (The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation), and NUTEK (The National Board for Industrial and
Technical Development in Sweden), and SEMKO AB (an international certification agency).
The requirements cover a wide range of issues:
environment, ergonomics, usability, emission of electrical and magnetic fields, energy consumption and electrical and fire safety.
The environmental demands concern, among other things, restriction on the presence and use of heavy metals, brominated and
chlorinated flame retardants, CFCs (freons), and chlorinated solvents. The product must be prepared for recycling, and the
manufacturer is obliged to have an environmental plan, which must be adhered to in each country where the company implements
its operational policy.
The energy requirements include a demand that the computer and/or display, after a certain period of inactivity, shall reduce its
power consumption to a lower level, in one or more stages. The length of time to reactivate the computer shall be reasonable for
the user.
Labelled products must meet strict environmental demands, for example, in respect of the reduction of electric and magnetic
fields, along with physical and visual ergonomics and good usability.
The following is a brief summary of the environmental requirements met by this product. The complete environmental criteria
document may be ordered from:
TCO Development UnitTCO Development Unit
Linnegatan 14, S-11494 Stockholm, Sweden
FAX +46-8 782 92 07
E-mail (Internet): development@tco.se
Current information regarding TCO'95 approved and labelled products may also be obtained on the Internet using the address:
http://www.tco-info.com/
TCO'95 is a co-operative project between:
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