Environmental Leader

Lenovo has joined the Climate Group, and has unveiled a electronics recycling program as part of that membership.

Lenovo is working with ECO International, which will recycle Lenovo and select IBM products for free, and even pay for the shipping.  Consumers who return devices that still have residual value may also qualify for payment via pre-paid VISA cards. The offer also applies to devices of any brands and does not require the purchase of a new Lenovo product.

In June, the company launched Lenovo Asset Recovery Services, designed to help businesses in the U.S. and Canada.

Consumers can participate in the new program by entering return information on the program’s site, and print out pre-paid return labels. The site will give an estimated reward value for the device.

Lenovo has also set a target of improving its carbon efficiency by 10 percent between 2007 and 2012, and is developing energy efficient solutions in its products to help reach that goal. The company is also shipping its products in energy-efficient ways and was recently certified by the EPA as a SmartWay shipper.

Office Depot is also offering a similar recycling program. The Office Depot Tech Trade-In program offers Office Depot gift cards for customers who recycle their small- to medium-size electronics.

Unlike these free recycling programs, Waste Management launched a ‘pay to recycle’ program for compact florescent lamps in July.

According to a March research from Natural Marketing Institute, up to half of Americans recycle “all the time.”