What:    Greener Gadgets 2010
Where:   New York, NY
When:    February 25, 2010

Overview: You have to appreciate the honesty and good intentions of the consumer electronics industry, which decided to hold a conference specifically to address the environmental “elephant” under our industry rug. The oxymoron is right there in the title of the conference: Greener Gadgets.

Many consumer electronics products are small, but they have a big environmental impact.  Every part of the consumer electronics supply chain is ripe for evaluation and innovation: from material extraction and sourcing, to labor practices, to energy consumption and a sprawling waste stream created by fickle demand and the rapid pace of advancing technology. MOTO works with a variety of clients to help minimize the environmental footprint of their supply chains. We also encourage clients to make greener choices throughout the product development process. We attended Greener Gadgets to participate in the discourse, learn from our peers, meet with clients, and to get inspired. All those goals were met, I’m happy to report.

On the other hand, the crowd was lighter than anticipated — although I did see a lot of unclaimed badges at the registration desk. It could be that the insane blizzard that blanketed New York kept a lot of people away. I certainly hope the thin attendance did not reflect declining in interest in the topic on the part of the consumer electronics industry. Regardless, here are some highlights from the conference:

Best Presentation: Leo Bonnani of the MIT Media Lab showed off the lab’s SourceMap project, a Web 2.0 take on the data challenge of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), using crowdsourcing and great user interface. (Wonder where the Vitamin B comes from in Kraft mac n’ cheese? Now you know.)

Best UnGadget: The winner of the Greener Gadgets annual design competition wasn’t a “thing” at all, but rather an application!  AUG (Augmented Living Goods) is a concept for a barcode-driven local food-finder smartphone app that sounds a lot like GoodGuide.

Most Thought-Provoking Idea: Yves Behar explained FuseProject’s business strategy that drives their greener ventures: “How do you change the business model of design?” he asked. “How do you create a legacy, rather than a short term engagement? We need a different reward system because [start-ups] can’t afford it. So we create partnerships.”  Anyone from Detroit interested in Yves’ hackable electric car concept?  (pic above via Inhabitat)

Most Deserving of More Focus: Jeff Omelchuck and EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) has been working hard to move the EPEAT program toward a more consumer-facing model — a la Energy Star. Current standards exist for printers, imaging equipment, and televisions; standards for handheld consumer electronics such as phones and PDAs are still a few years away.

Big Companies In the Room: Conference attendees heard from or about LG, Panasonic, and Hewlett Packard. Where was everyone else? It sure would have been nice to feel some commitment in the room from more of the industry’s biggest players.

Worst Infomercial: The ANDREA air filter presentation would have been fine as part of a panel – but a whole 15 minutes just about the product itself? It was basically a sales pitch for a plant in a big plastic capsule. Unfortunately, I’m not in the market for an air filter.

Best Real Product Profiled: I liked EcoCradle’s 100% compostable and biodegradable packaging. It’s an alternative to Styrofoam made from seed husks and mushroom roots.

Old Friend I Was Happy to See Again: Chatted with MOTO’s partner in Life Cycle Analysis, Terry Swack from Sustainable Minds, and heard about the uptick in subscriptions from educational institutions.  A good sign – arming the up and coming generation with the right tool!

New Friend I Was Happy to See Again: It was great to see Stephan von Muehlen, Design Director of Energy Hub, a Brooklyn-based smart grid startup. Energy Hub is one of the few smart grid startups breaking real ground, currently in implementation stage of its pilot program partnership with Con Edison.

Best Presentation That Wasn’t: Steve Jobs released the Apple Supplier Responsibility Report. Once again, Apple is out front for auditing its suppliers on the basis of human rights and ecological standards. Even better, Apple published the results, even if they weren’t perfect. Would have been great content at GG10.

Best Side Benefits to Conference, Art Category: Thumbs up to Alex Hubbard’s car video + cinderblock screen, Whitney Biennial; and Tino Seghal’s situation at the Guggenheim.

Best Piece Conference Schwag: There was no schwag at Greener Gadgets… and thus nothing for me to dump in a landfill. *Whew!*

(top pic of Yves Behar via Inhabitat)