O2 gets a conscience with Sony Ericsson Naite launch

It’s good to see some companies making effort in their journey toward meshing sustainability with profits. O2, a top mobile service provide in the UK, just launched the Sony Ericsson Naite and it’s marketing the green phone primarily based how nice it is to the environment.

O2 claims that the Sony Ericsson Naite cuts down CO2 emissions by 15% and it comes with an ego-massaging kicker: a gift for yourself or “the world” option. That gift comes in the form of a month’s pay for a teacher, care for a child in need, or a contribution toward the PlayPump roundabout water system in Africa. That’s great, but what does the phone sacrifice functionally to achieve its green status?

The biggest impact might come from the Sony Ericsson Naite’s minimal packaging and electronic manual. Taking out a printed manual supposedly cuts paper usage by 90%. That’s great, though ideally all phones would make some changes in their packaging to reduce leftover waste. What else is unique about it?

It’s made from recycled and recyclable plastics, has a low power consumption charger and there’s an available solar powered charger, according to the company’s press release. Functionally the Sony Ericsson Naite is a pretty standard phone with a 2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, an FM radio and a microSD slot capable of reading cards up to 8GB. Compare that with something like the Palm Pre, HTC Hero or iPhone and it further emphasizes O2’s green target with this phone.

In line with other phones that have a similar featureset, the Sony Ericsson Naite will be available for free with certain monthly tariffs and for £97.86 with pay and go.

This is another example of cell phone companies looking to cash in on the green movement and the biggest changes will come when phones across the board begin using recycled and recyclable materials.