BSR Insight | Sprint’s Latest Phone Paves Way for Greener Products
About the Author(s)
Marshall Chase, Associate Director, Advisory Services
Publication Date
August 11, 2009
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Sprint's recently released Samsung Reclaim is the latest example of the company's efforts to improve the environmental impacts of its products and services. According to Sprint, this phone—made from 80 percent recyclable materials—is the first phone in the United States constructed from "eco-friendly bio-plastic materials."
As part of BSR's ongoing work with Sprint, we contributed to the external review of the phone. We believe this is an important step for the company and for sustainable product innovation as a whole—especially given the complex technical requirements and lack of common standards for green electronics. However, Sprint's progress is even more significant in that it represents a new path for future product development.
Improvements including greater recyclability, increased energy efficiency, and the elimination of harmful materials are a good start, but lasting large-scale impact will depend on the company’s ability to apply these improvements across its entire product portfolio and address the overall impacts of the infrastructure that supports these products.
We look forward to Sprint's future efforts, and we encourage Sprint—along with other companies pushing similar initiatives—to create and publish a green product road map to chart their future direction.
Read more about communicating the environmental impact of your products in our blog post "Avoid Greenwashing…but Speak Up!"
About the Author(s)
Marshall Chase, Associate Director, Advisory Services
Marshall leads BSR’s work with manufacturing companies headquartered in the Americas, in addition to supporting BSR’s information and communications technology and transport & logistics practices... Read more →
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