THE DIARY OF MISS
THE DIARY OF MISS IFA Cleaning the dishes is getting greener "Since 2001 Miss IFA supports the global awareness of the leading consumer electronics trade show IFA. Emerged as a virtual character, this young woman with bright red hair is since 2005 a real and worldwide known representative of the IFA with high recognition value." Dirk Koslowski, IFA Senior Executive Manager. Companies are making great efforts to show people what is happening inside their machines Dishwasher interiors are becoming very sophisticated with every imaginable kind of rack for every size and shape Today, the spotlight of IFA International is on the world of dishwashers. Here, is just a little taste of some of the products to be found at the ‘‘show. The amazing thing is that dishwashers these days use up to 68% less water and electricity to do the same job….how green is that? IFA International on Scan me! You Tube 40 be See ifa-international.org
Spokesman for Electronic Partner’s Managing Directors Haruyuki Director, Corporate Division For Promoting Energy Solution Business Panasonic Corporation Dr Rainer Chairman of the Supervisory Board, gfu Green Products @ IFA N°04 / September 2011 - March 2012 Sustainable Development Initiatives GREENPEACE SURVEY Greenpeace has congratulated the electronics industry on making progress with the many technical hurdles it has been facing. But a new report based on findings from a June 2010 survey of 21 leading electronics companies, also shows that the industry hasn't finished finding green solutions just yet. Findings of the report include: There have been significant reductions in the use of hazardous chemicals. More products than ever before are PVC-free and BFR-free. The use of phthalates, as well as beryllium and antimony and their associated compounds, are being eliminated in every product category. Although the previous survey showed that the use of RoHS exemptions could be drastically reduced, we have yet to see this progress in the industry. Exceeding energy efficiency standards. Almost all products meet or exceed the current Energy Star standards established by the US EPA. Electronics companies seem to put much more effort in improving the energy efficiency of their products rather than assessing thoroughly (and reducing) the ‘embedded energy’ – that is, the energy spent during the production of each product. Read more on @ cleversdi.org INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT SMART REPORT Dr Jörg Ehmer SuStainable Devel pment initiativeS The Professional Buyers’ Reference Ishio n speCial iFa 2011 Keeping Up With ConsUmers’ eCologiCal ConsCienCe Hecker n Following The Customer’s Lead "Specialist retail concept" by EP: helps clients save on electricity bills ElectronicPartner (EP:) is one of the top five electronics chains with over 5,000 semi-independent retailers all over Europe. Already at IFA 2010, EP: presented a ‘specialist retail concept’ or cuttingedge technology including a consulting service for saving energy. Dr. Jörg Ehmer, Spokesman for the Managing Directors of EP:, says the concept is being broadly welcomed by the public. Consumers are increasingly asking about issues like energy and water consumption. We respond not only by offering particularly energy-efficient appliances, but also by providing our members with in-depth training on these subjects. In co-operation with the industry, we offer further training specifically aimed at promoting specialist knowledge of issues like sustainability and Dr Jörg Ehmer Spokesman for ElectronicPartner’s Managing Directors the environment. We are currently testing how our customers in MEDIAMAX stores respond to staff who, acting as energy consultants at the POS, actively help them to find the most energy-efficient products. We support this by using brochures to help our members to advise and inform their customers. We also contribute towards consumer awareness on our website at www.ep.de. Interview Energy efficient products are at the heart of your offering. Why is this so important to EP:? Our leitmotif is ‘We are not happy until our customers are’. Since many of our customers have a highly developed ecological conscience and place great emphasis on environmentfriendly technology, we are happy to satisfy their wishes. Moreover, this matches our own aim of organising our own business activities as sustainably as possible. How will intelligent domestic appliances help us save money and help the environment? Examples of intelligent household appliances are dishwashers or washing machines that can measure the level of soiling using the velocity of water flow. They use only as much detergent as necessary and automatically cut back on the supply of water. This enables the minimum of resources to be used, which is not just cheaper, but also kinder to the environment. We rely on innovative technologies that help to protect the environment in other areas, too. For example, we are the first marketing partner for Ecoline cables from Hama, produced without using PVC, softeners, lead or halogen. Instead, the cables are made entirely of pollutant-free thermoplastic elastomer (TEP) and are fully recyclable. You are co-operating with the Friends of the Earth group and the eco-institute in their "energy efficiency now" campaign. Can you tell us more? As a company, we bear responsibility for how we treat the environment. Our aims are to analyse and optimise our own conduct, and to raise awareness of the issue of sustainability in our branch of industry. To this purpose, we co-operate with various different partners with the aim of raising consciousness to the greatest possible extent. Are you happy about the new eco labelling in Europe? A political framework must be created within which a uniform course of action can develop. Such a framework has been missing until now. This is one of the reasons why it is so important for us to act proactively now. And we welcome every step in this direction. Eco labelling makes sense primarily if it is understood and accepted by consumers. This requirement must be satisfied before greater efforts are made to disseminate it. But it is also very important to ensure that sustainability does not degenerate into a mere marketing label. Sustainability involves more than being kind to resources. There remains plenty of potential for improvement in trade and industry. Hall 2.2 Stand 127 www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Tuesday 6 th September 2011 41
