Lenovo ESG
Materials Management
Our Approach
Our priority is to use environmentally preferable materials whenever we can. In adhering to this precautionary approach, Lenovo supports restricting the intentional addition of materials that are potentially concerning when economically and technically viable alternatives exist. These restrictions may also include implementing concentration limits for incidental occurrences.
We require or support the following:
- Prohibiting the use of ozone-depleting substances in all applications except in HVAC and fire-suppression equipment as permitted by law which are managed in accordance with local regulations
- Restricting the use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) under the Stockholm Convention
- Eliminating those materials covered under European Union (EU) Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) requirements
- Phasing out halogenated materials, including brominated flame-retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
- Maintaining a full material disclosure (FMD) system for our products, listing information on the materials and substances for components as provided by our suppliers.
What's more, we expect all our partners and suppliers to demonstrate the same commitment to environmentally sound practices.
Our Materials Management at a Glance
-
302,000+
parts, along with their incorporated materials, are documented in our full material disclosure system
-
100%
of mechanical plastic parts no longer contain brominated flame retardants, or polyvinyl chloride
-
93%
of Lenovo's component suppliers provide full material disclosure
Environmentally Conscious
Wherever possible, Lenovo looks to use environmentally preferable materials that meet our strict technological, quality, environmental, and health and safety requirements. Where economically viable alternatives do not exist, we monitor usage above the defined concentration limits. This data can then be reported to customers and other stakeholders.
Lenovo supports the phasing out of brominated flame retardants (BFRs), chlorinated flame retardants (CFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). BFRs are mainly used in power cords, cables, AC adapters, planar assemblies, subcards, connectors, and some modular parts, while PVC is primarily used in power cords and cables.
We also support the definition of “BFR/CFR/PVC free” as set by the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI), the not-for-profit R&D consortium of leading electronics manufacturers, suppliers, associations, government agencies, and universities.
In addition, we are committed to driving our supply chain to taking a similar approach, while striving to eliminate halogen from our products.
Our achievements include:
- Phasing out completely the use of BFR/CFR/PVC in all mechanical plastic parts (such as external covers, housings, etc.) across all its products.
- Most of hard disk drives, optical disk drives, solid-state drives, LCD screens, memory, CPUs, chipsets, and communication cards; and other commodities with offerings meet the iNEMI definition of low halogen.
- All commercial notebooks including PCBs meet the iNEMI definition of low halogen except for cables and wires, AC adapter.
- All commercial monitors meet the iNEMI definition of low halogen except for their PCBA and cables. Furthermore, some monitors fully meet the low halogen definition of iNEMI.
- All smart phone products are free of BFR and PVC.
- Prohibiting the intentional addition of the following pollutants to any of its parts:
- Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBBs)
- Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)
- Deca-Brominated Diphenyl Ethers
In addition, we plan to use additional BFR-, CFR-, and PVC-free parts and materials across our family of products as acceptable alternative materials become available, working towards the goal to eventually phase out the use of these materials. Meanwhile, we continue to work with our suppliers to pilot new BFR-, CFR- and PVC-free applications.
We have also identified a list of materials and substances of environmental interest. These substances may be candidates for further restrictions in the future. As such, we hold our suppliers accountable for reporting the use of these materials through the declarations they must make to us.
Understanding our Products
Our full material disclosure (FMD) system lists all the materials and substances for our products, with each product listing 200–300 pieces of detailed information. The FMD helps enormously with our structural design and R&D work, environmental health and safety, as well as improving product reliability. This big data tool contains more than 302,000 sets of full material information.
Less than five percent of component suppliers do not provide full material disclosure, usually for security or intellectual property reasons. However, those who do not provide full material disclosure must ensure their components comply with other forms of materials disclosure such as IEC 62474 declarations, test reports, or others. Lenovo does not exempt any supplier from this.
When evaluating the potential health and environmental impacts of our products, we continuously analyze the regulatory environment and consider input from our customers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders. This helps us to determine use of the restricted substances, as well as the substances of interest to be tracked for reporting and for consideration of future restrictions.
We inform our customers about the environmental attributes of our products, as well as compliance with applicable laws and regulations. This information is contained on industry-standard ECO Declaration forms, which you can view here, along with our Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) information sheets.
