We want our customers to be able to make informed decisions about the mobile phone they choose to buy. That’s why we’ve introduced Vodafone’s Eco-rating. Each phone is scored from one to five for sustainability (five being the best). And that score is displayed next to the product, whether you are buying online or in store.

The score is based on answers to 162 questions about the environmental and social impacts of the mobile phone. These cover:

• The impacts of the phone throughout its life, from mining of raw materials to produce components, to production of the phone by manufacturers, use by consumers and disposal when the phone comes to the end of its life.
• How committed the manufacturer is to managing its own environmental and social impacts.

We plan to make these questions more difficult over time to encourage manufacturers to design phones that are better for the environment and society.

The Eco-rating was launched in the Netherlands in 2011 and will be introduced to other European markets in 2012. Visit the Vodafone Netherlands website to see the rating in use now.

Find out more about our Eco-rating (PDF 764kb)

The application of the Eco-rating methodology is independently verified by KPMG. See their statement (PDF 38kb)