Greenpeace

HCL has given in to the demands of Greenpeace International and has committed to phase-out the PVC and BFRs in all its products starting 2009.

In a communiqué to Greenpeace, HCL said that it has called for a Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation.

“HCL is committed to a phase out of PVC and all BFRs from all its products by 2009 and 2010 respectively. We will also proactively promote and push for a Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation based on the principle of Extended/Individual Producer Responsibility,” HCL officials said.

Reacting to the move, Greenpeace complimented HCL for its move further towards offering clean products and taking back those that have reached the end of their life.

Greenpeace activists also visited HCL headquarters in Noida with a banner that read 'Bravo HCL! Keep going green'.

Pranav Sinha, Greenpeace toxics campaigner, said HCL's public commitments to playing a lead role in solving the e-waste problem has given much needed impetus to the Indian IT sector.

"It is now for other players, industry associations and the government to come forward and proactively work towards making the Indian IT sector clean and competitive in a global market. This can be achieved through a combination of legislation and industry initiatives to design clean products and take back and safely recycle end-of-life products," he said.

Talking to CyberMedia News, George Paul, executive vice president at HCL Infosystems said that the company has been adopting environmental friendly measures under the ‘HCL eSafe’ policy.

“We believe in building a symbiotic relationship between us – the manufacturer and the recyclers with the aim to promote integration and sustainability n our least stress on the environment. HCL under its eSafe policy aims at integrating environmental management with business processes thereby protecting the environment, health and safety of all users,” he said.

Paul asserted that the comprehensive policy focuses on product lifecycle management based on WEEE and RoHS under IPR.

“HCL’s commitment stakeholders under IPR cover e-waste management, internal waste management, pan-India support and policy of RoHS. We are also ensuring that our partners and suppliers also adhere to the environmental friendly standards,” he said.

“All HCL products are ‘Energy Star’ compliant and have Green PC features. The refrigerators we use in our manufacturing facilities are CFC free. HCL is committed to phase out manufacturing of RoHS non-compliant products by end of 2007. Similarly all products will be free from PVC and BFR by 2009 and 2011 respectively. We also support for EMS guidelines to be brought by the government of India,” he informed.

“Customer awareness is one of the key objectives and HCL is already taking steps towards that,” Paul added.

In August, Greenpeace had accused the company of adopting unethical environment practices in the country. The NGO had also approached Nokia, one of the major partners of HCL to urge the latter to go ‘green.’

Greenpeace activists also protested at HCL’s headquarters in Noida against the company’s ‘green-washing’ and its failure to make clear commitments on the phase out of hazardous chemicals from its computers.

Other manufacturers such as Acer and Lenovo are also going environmental friendly.

According to the Acer environmental disclosure policy, the Taiwan-based PC manufacturer had said that under the Acer HSF program launched in 2006, the company will eliminate PVC, BFRs and Phthalates from all its products by 2009.

Similarly, Lenovo, which currently prohibits use of PVC in external cover parts of more than 25 grams has also set a elimination target for 2009. Lenovo’s target for elimination of BFRs from intentional addition to all remaining parts will also be in 2009.

Government estimates suggest that India handled about 146, 000 tonnes of e-waste last year alone and this is likely to increase 11 times by 2012.

Apart from western countries such as those in the EU, eastern manufacturers such as China, Taiwan and Thailand, have also created progressive regulatory frameworks to foster the greener growth of the electronics sector. In contrast, India does not even have a basic legislation like RoHS. Greenpeace believes that this ironically presents India with the opportunity to draft a state-of-the-art legal framework based on the EPR principle, which would address the e-waste crisis.

Though HCL as a predominant market player has now committed itself, the question however lies in a comprehensive policy by the Government, on the lines of WEEE for the Indian context. Only then will the IT industry will be streamlined and also be commended for being environment-friendly.