October 6, 2008—Lenovo recently announced it has joined the international nonprofit organization The Climate Group, simultaneously unveiling a comprehensive program that rewards consumers for recycling end-of-life devices and offers consumers incentives to power new computers with renewable energy.
The program encourages consumers to make more environmentally responsible choices throughout the lifecycle of the computing device–and complements what Lenovo is doing to “green” its own operations, the company said.
To tackle the end-of-lifecycle challenge, Lenovo will work with recycling company ECO International to offer a new recycling service for consumers and small business customers in the US. ECO International will take back Lenovo and select IBM products for recycling free of cost to the consumer–including shipping. Consumers who return certain devices that have residual value may also qualify for payment via pre-paid VISA cards. This offer applies to devices of any brand and does not require the purchase of a new Lenovo product.
The ECO International program will include a wide range of electronic products, including cell phones, notebook and desktop PCs, monitors, and music players, says Lenovo. Consumers simply log on to the ECO Takeback site to enter return information and print out pre-paid return labels. The site will even give an estimated reward value for the device.