Vodafone TV receives Green Product Mark by TÜV Rheinland

Vodafone’s TV 3 (Giga TV Home) and TV PLAY (GigaTV Home Sound) Set Top Boxes are the first to obtain the Green Product Mark by TÜV Rheinland, one of the world’s leading testing service providers.

TÜV Rheinland’s Green Product Mark is a voluntary sustainability certification programme that provides consumers with assurance that certified products have fully met or exceeded environmental standards and important sustainable product requirements.

Vodafone is one of Europe’s largest providers of on-demand TV services with more than 22 million customers across seven markets. Vodafone will now be able to display the Green Product mark across its TV Set Top Box marketing and product packaging.

Both products are produced by Sagemcom Broadband SAS, who ensured that the design and production process met TÜV Rheinland’s certification requirements.

TÜV Rheinland’s certification process rigorously assesses a wide range of environmental criteria throughout the entire life cycle of products, including assessing the overall supply chain and even conducting visits to production sites. TÜV Rheinland looks at areas including the restriction of hazardous substances, sustainable use of resources, energy efficiency, the use of recycled materials, product take-back, and durability, repair, and reuse.

Stephan Scheuer, Head of Business Development and Product Sustainability at TÜV Rheinland said: “With the ‘Green Product’ certification mark from TÜV Rheinland, manufacturers such as Vodafone are able to provide environmentally conscious consumers with clear guidance. They are proactively demonstrating that they meet the increasing legal requirements for sustainable products, from production to use and reuse.”

Joakim Reiter, Vodafone Group Chief External & Corporate Affairs Officer said: “We are delighted that Vodafone’s consumer Set Top Boxes are the first products to be certified by TÜV Rheinland according to their latest specification. This will enable our customers to make a more informed choice on their environmental performance.

“This certification demonstrates Vodafone’s commitment to reducing our environment footprint under our drive to become a net zero company by 2040, and also helps support Vodafone’s consumer ‘Switch To Green’ campaign.”

Vodafone’s TV team has implemented a series of improvements to the sustainability of Vodafone TV during the last three years.

The cases for both models of Vodafone Set Top Box have been manufactured using recycled plastic since the end of 2022. The case for the advanced Vodafone TV PLAY Set Top Box – which incorporates a surround-sound speaker system – comprises 99% recycled plastic (405g).

Vodafone’s standard third-generation Vodafone TV 3 Set Top Box device casing now comprises 96% recycled plastic (115g), and the Remote Controls for both devices are made from 85% recycled plastic (46.9g).

Vodafone has also enhanced the sustainability of the packaging associated with Vodafone TV. The packaging of the product (and its accessories) is now made with at least 85% recycled paper, printed using non-mineral ink and in one colour to save ink.

In addition, plastic packaging has been removed on all accessories shipped with Vodafone TV, including the power supply and cables. Vodafone has also removed the plastic protective cover on the remote control and reduced the plastic required to ship Vodafone TV packages between vendors.

TÜV Rheinland analysed Vodafone’s Set Top Boxes for annual energy consumption and associated carbon footprint. TÜV Rheinland have confirmed that TV 3 (GigaTV Home) is at least five times more energy efficient and TV PLAY (GigaTV Home Sound) is at least 4 times more energy efficient than EU-industry agreement proposals.

CT Bureau