Earlier this year, Google announced that they were committed to a climate action plan for the next decade—including a commitment that all of their products would include recycled materials by 2022. For the new Google Pixel 5 being made of 100% recycled aluminium, it seems like they’ve reached their goal 2 years early.
“Last year, consumer hardware made public our ambition to leave people, the planet and our communities better than we found them. We committed that all of our products would include recycled materials by 2022. We hit that goal early: This year all of the new Pixel and Nest products are designed with recycled material,” wrote David Bourne, Google’s Sustainability Systems Architect.
The Google Pixel 5 is their first phone to incorporate recycled aluminium—which helps eliminate the use of mined aluminium in the enclosure and reduces waste. It also lowers the carbon footprint of manufacturing the enclosure by 35%, compared to using virgin aluminium.
Besides the Pixel 5, their new Nest Audio contains 70% recycled plastic, including the acoustic fabric. It is also covered in the same sustainable fabric as the Nest Mini they’ve introduced last year. Additionally, Google’s latest Nest Thermostat trim plate is made from 75% post-consumer recycled plastic.
Other goals in their climate action plan include aiming for at least 50% of all plastic used across all our hardware products by 2025, prioritising recycled plastic everywhere—which is an updated version of their original goal. Google is also aiming for a Zero Waste to Landfill certification, and plastic-free packaging by 2025.
Google isn’t currently selling the Pixel smartphones in Malaysia. You also aren’t able to purchase the Nest products here officially, either. You might be able to purchase import units online but there will just be no warranties.
Similarly to Google, Apple is also promising to bring their carbon footprint to net zero by 2030. Currently, their iPhone 12 is made of 99% recycled tungsten and 98% recycled rare earth elements.
They even ditched the charger and EarPods for their iPhone 12 box—supposedly part of the company’s sustainability effort to reduce carbon emissions through its products. However, the iPhone 12 box in France created a lot more trash, defeating their purpose.
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