O2 On Track To Sell Phones Without Chargers By 2015

O2 says that it is on track to sell mobile phones without a charger as standard by 2015 following a successful trial with the HTC One X+, which saw the smartphone shipped with only the USB-to-Micro-USB cable.

The mobile operator said that 82 percent of customers elected to take the greener option, exceeding its target of 70 percent.

O2 says that if the results of the pilot were repeated with all handsets, then there would be 24 million fewer chargers sold every year, creating huge environmental savings. It claims there are 100 million unused chargers in the UK, either duplicates or from old handsets, enough to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools.

O2 green charger scheme

“More than four-in-five of our smartphone customers who have participated in the trial are willing to buy a new phone from us and to use an existing charging device to attach it to the mains,” said Ronan Dunne, CEO of O2. “The results of the trial demonstrate a clear willingness among consumers to consider and respond to the environmental argument for taking a phone charger-free.  I now hope that as a result of this study the rest of the industry will now consider joining us in our campaign to take chargers out of the box for good.”

The pilot was part of O2’s Think Big Blueprint which wants all manufacturers and networks to sell phones without chargers as standard and encourage recycling. O2 has now called on others to follow suit and reduce waste.

“The lesson for the industry from this pilot is that consumers are very receptive to the message that they can benefit the environment by avoiding the needless purchase of chargers,” said Dunne. “I would now like to see others taking similar steps, working with us as we aim to ensure all our handsets are sold charger-free by 2015.”

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