Google’s Chromebook Extension Is a Win in the Fight Against E-Waste
Media Contacts:
Pam Podger, Communications Director, ppodger@greencentury.com, 802-299-9495
Douglass Guernsey, Shareholder Advocate, dguernsey@greencentury.com, (617) 482-0800
(Boston, MA, 2023) – Following shareholder engagement by Green Century°, Alphabet* announced that it plans to extend software updates for Chromebooks for up to ten years starting in 2024, and that no existing Chromebooks will expire in the next two years. It is estimated the changes in policy could impact up to 120 million computers currently on the market.
The multiple year extension by the parent company of Google* allows schools and families to keep functioning Chromebooks to remain in use, preventing those items from becoming e-waste.
“This is a major win for the environment, schools, and the shareholder advocacy process,” said Douglass Guernsey, a Shareholder Advocate at Green Century Capital Management. “By extending the life of Chromebooks commonly used in schools, Alphabet is getting ahead of addressing potential risks and making sure hardware using its software can be used for as long as possible.”
Green Century and Consumer Activists Help Consumers and School Districts
Green Century discuss risks raised by the “Chromebook Churn” published by PIRG (Public Interest Research Groups) directly with Alphabet management in Summer 2023. Chromebook’s “Auto Update Expiration” date would cause millions of Chromebooks to stop working even if the hardware was still functioning. The report showed that extending the life of Chromebooks could result in $1.8 billion dollars in savings for taxpayers and could save millions of tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
Green Century has previously engaged Alphabet on improving reparability of its Pixel phones and disclosing details of the company’s carbon offsets. Both previous engagements resulted in changes from management to address environmental concerns.
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About Green Century Funds
°Green Century Capital Management, Inc. (Green Century) is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds (The Funds). The Green Century Funds are one of the first families of fossil fuel-free, environmentally responsible mutual funds. Green Century hosts an award-winning and in-house shareholder advocacy program and is the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations.
*As of June 30, 2023, Alphabet comprised 2.25%, 6.86%, and 0.00% of Green Century Balanced Fund, the Green Century Equity Fund, and the Green Century International Index Fund respectively. As of the same date, other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios of any of the Green Century Funds. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.
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