At any display-oriented trade show these days, you can’t get away from commitments to green-ness, and claims that recent panels, monitors, and TV sets are admirably "green."

Ken Werner
Senior Analyst and Editor

How much of this green-ness is actually "greeniness" — with apologies to Stephen Colbert borrowing the structure of his "truthiness." This is a significant question, and one that’s not easy to answer. Why is that? Because green-ness — ecological sensitivity in a broad sense — is not a quantified specification right now. But can it be quantified in a reasonable way in the future? Insight Media will be studying that question in the weeks and months to come, but there are organizations - including the EcoLeaf initiative in Japan - that are trying to do exactly that. (EcoLeaf is trying to do it for all products and services, not just displays or consumer electronics.)

At recent trade shows, the most frequently promoted green characteristics were lower energy consumption, enhanced recyclability, and manufacturing facilities with smaller carbon footprints. If a panel consumed significantly less power than its immediate predecessor, that usually qualified it as "green," but that’s not a basis for comparing competing products from different manufacturers — or even different current models from the same manufacturer.

Why are manufacturers now motivated to be green? There are three basic reasons. First, they wish to be (or wish to be seen as) good global citizens. Second, they realize that some ecologically sensitive or energy-saving initiatives have significant economic benefits. And, third, they must comply with (or wish to get ahead of) government regulations.

Each of these are big issues in their own right, with significant opportunities and consequences for manufacturers, system makers, retailers, large-scale purchasers, and end users. Insight Media will be investigating these opportunities and sharing the results with you in a variety of ways — and we’ll be clarifying the difference between green-ness and greeniness.