ITU Approves Eco-Friendly Universal Charger for Laptops, Portable Devices

The ITU approved a standard for a universal charger for laptops and other portable devices that’s designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and e-waste, it said in a news release. Recommendation ITU-T L.1002, "External universal power adapter solutions for portable ICT devices," specifies principles for the “eco-design” of laptop chargers to reduce no-load power consumption by five times lower than the norm, said ITU. The applicability of the charger to multiple devices, plus design principles for the efficient use of raw materials, will “greatly increase their lifetime and reduce the e-waste resulting from their disposal,” it said.