The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) says it has approved a new environmental-friendly standard for universal charger for laptops and other portable devices to improve energy efficiency and significantly reduce e-waste.
The new international standard which is officially known as Recommendation ITU-T L.1002- “External universal power adapter solutions for portable ICT devices” was developed by the ITU standardization expert group for ICTs, the environment and climate change, ITU-T Study Group 5.
ITU says that one million tons of external power supplies are manufactured each year and the new standard specifies principles for the eco-design of laptop chargers to reduce no-load power consumption five times lower than the norm. When multiplied by the millions of such chargers in use, this will greatly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced by these devices, according to the UN specilised agency for the global ICT industry.
The applicability of the charger to multiple devices, as well as design principles for the efficient use of raw materials, will greatly increase their lifetime and reduce the e-waste resulting from their disposal, the union further notes.
ITU explains that the new standard builds on existing standards, providing universal chargers for handheld devices such as mobile phones and stationary devices such as xDSL modems first adopted by ITU members in 2009 and 2012, respectively.
Speaking on the new standard, Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General said, “e-Waste has grown into a significant challenge to environmental sustainability. The L.1000 series of standards will contribute to the achievement of the targets set out by Goal 12 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns.”
“The ITU-T L.1000 series of standards will assist in meeting the e-waste target of the Connect 2020 agenda, a shared vision for the sustainable development of the ICT sector adopted by ITU Member States in 2014. This agenda includes the commitment of the ITU membership to reduce the volume of redundant e-waste by 50 per cent by 2020”, said Ahmed Zeddam, Chairman of ITU-T Study Group 5.
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