Toshiba hops on bandwagon, plants Carbon Zero Scheme

Considering that (practically) every other mega-corp on the planet is doing something related to environmental conservatism, Toshiba is making sure it's not left behind. Consequently, the outfit has crafted the Carbon Zero Scheme, which allows customers (or philanthropists) to donate £1.18 ($2.43) in exchange for Toshiba "offsetting the lifetime carbon footprint of one's laptop." Interestingly, you don't actually have to purchase a new machine in order to participate, so you can still squash the guilt you're currently feeling as you gaze at the LCD of your five-month old, non-offset lappie. For each donation, the company will plant trees in a dedicated area in Cumbria, and you can supposedly rest easy knowing that you've done a small part to look after Mother Earth.

[Via RegHardware]

[huh @ Nov 28th 2007 2:24PM]

Toshiba has had green initiatives for some time. Planting trees is not always the best carbon offset, though it may be in Cumbria.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/carbon-credits-dont-grow-on-trees/2007/05/23/1179601494650.html

[Daniel C @ Nov 28th 2007 2:31PM]

Haha, my Toshiba laptop is 5 months old as well! And it has an LCD! (unsurprisingly)

[JB @ Nov 28th 2007 2:35PM]

And another one falls for the scam

[MARSHAK @ Nov 28th 2007 3:04PM]

$2.50.... yea. real scam they got going there.

[Yours Smugly @ Nov 28th 2007 3:06PM]

The best thing about the climate change is that whether or not humans are making an impact on the climate, these things we do to prevent or at least curb the change are still good for the environment, the planet and us.

[Dolf @ Nov 28th 2007 2:59PM]

I have a better idea. Send me your money and I'll start slipping beano into peoples food. I'm wondering how much more stuipid the world will get before it starts getting smarter.

[Gary Combs @ Nov 28th 2007 3:10PM]

Probably the largest money making scheme ever.

[RikF @ Nov 28th 2007 3:14PM]

Yeah, it dwarfs oil, software, automobiles, health...

[Gary Combs @ Nov 28th 2007 3:32PM]

Well, lets see here, oil, software, automobiles, health care are all tangible goods and services. Further more, they all have liabilities, production costs, and unknown profits/lack of profits.
I'm all for volunteer programs such as these, when I get computers for my work I add on these types of programs. But don't kid yourself, carbon offsetting, planting some tree somewhere... ha, come on, how is that not a money making scheme?

[Justin @ Nov 28th 2007 11:05PM]

This project might be a little questionable, yeah, but considering that a gallon of gas costs more than to plant a tree - it's pretty hard for me to accept that the best thing to do is not have a tree planted...

In fact its funny cause just today I was thinking of getting a sapling from the arbor day foundation or whatever..they cost exactly $3 , and I was gonna plant it in my backyard. I say sure - I'll pay $2 and change to have a tree planted in another country(wtf is a cumbria anyway?)

[Ipaq3115 @ Nov 28th 2007 3:13PM]

Hey I like Engadget as much as the rest of you... but come why would I want plant trees in Cumbria??? Saving the enviorment is a noble cause but... wait till there is actually something to worry about...

[Ben Hobbs @ Nov 28th 2007 3:34PM]

What like Hurricanes, Tsunamis and Earthquakes?

Of course there is no relation to the 4 x increase in Ecological Disasters and our 4 x increase in Polution/Global warming.

[Gary Combs @ Nov 28th 2007 3:53PM]

you like making things up or what?

[joe @ Nov 28th 2007 5:24PM]

Al Gore: (on the phone with Stan) Can you and your friends make it to an emergency ManBearPig meeting tomorrow morning? I have some evidence he could be in this area.
Stan: Eh look, I'm sorry but, we're all kind of busy.
Al Gore: … Oh. I get it. You don't believe me either.
Stan: No, no, it's not that.
Al Gore: Yes it is! Nobody believes me! I'm trying to warn everybody and nobody takes me cereal! (starts weeping) I just want somebody in the world to take me cereal just for once!
Stan: It's okay, Mr. Gore, I, I believe you.
Al Gore: No you don't!
Stan: Yeah, I'm sure ManBearPig needs to be stopped. I'm just… I'm just scared that I can't do anything to stop him.
Al Gore: Are you cereal?
Stan: … Yes, I'm cereal.
Al Gore: (reinvigorated) Don't worry! We CAN stop him! Bring everyone you can to my ManBearPig meeting tomorrow at 8 a.m. sharp!

[Ipaq3115 @ Nov 28th 2007 5:34PM]

Oh I forgot about that...

Like those terrible hurricanes in 2006...
Before the '06 hurricane season ----- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12915678/
After the '06 hurricane season --http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,233454,00.html

And those tsunamis everyone is positive were caused by Global Warming...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050125085524.htm

I pretty sure pollution hasn't killed anyone...

[Freerefill @ Nov 28th 2007 3:44PM]

No climate change scheme will occur overnight. It's taken us at least two generations to damage it this far. It will take another two generations, if not more, in order to fix it. We're talking bare minimum 50 years to fix what we have now. If we wait another 50 years to worry about the problem, and by then it will be a problem that not even the most skeptical skeptic can ignore, it'll take 100 years to fix. And that's when it's a serious all-life-on-planet-earth-threatening issue, not just "something to worry about." So, we best start now. Every second that ticks by and we don't do anything is two seconds of someone elses time to fix it.

So think about it. Either we do something now and our grandkids will grow up on a clean Earth, or we do nothing now and our grandkids will be breathing smog from day one, and their grandkids' grandkids will grow up on a clean Earth.

This is a very real case of "A stitch in time saves nine."

[coffee @ Nov 28th 2007 4:45PM]

If there are as many trees planted as promised in this carbon scheme, we're gonna be assdeep in trees. Which is a good thing, except that I don't believe half those trees will ever get planted.

If people feel they need to offset their carbon guilt for buying a laptop, then they should go plant a tree themselves, not pay $2.00 and hope someone else does it.

[John P @ Nov 28th 2007 5:04PM]

Planting trees is a very good idea, really, for a number of reasons. Aside from them using CO2, they help prevent errosion and thus water pollution, which is one of those "tangible" things that some are so uppity about. Dont believe in global warming? Don't worry, there are plenty of other environmental issues that are quite easy to see.
Anyway, enough with arguing about climate change. While it would be good to see the result of the planting of these trees, it is a little sketchy. However, I imagine they do get planted, because I imagine that Toshiba can say that it is a community initiative and perhaps write it off (I dont know if that's the case or not. Just a wild guess). So while they may be profiting from it, it's similar to specialization and trade - no matter who gets the worse deal, everyone is going to win something.

[tgaram @ Nov 28th 2007 5:10PM]

As I sit here at my desk, staring at my dual LCD display, smoking a cigarette... I think to myself, I think it's become all TOO easy to sit back and comment on what "we" think about what other people are doing and all this nonsense about "green" this or that is just that... NONSENSE. If the environmentalists really believe their own hype, then the world is over 10billion years old and every few millenium or eons goes through it's own "cleaning" cycle in which all of the natural resource systems get restarted if you will. We as people just happen to be in the middle of it.

On the other hand, if we believe the religious zealots, then the earth is only a few thousand years old, around 7 I think, in which case, God is pissed and the reason natural disasters are increasing is because he is about to put an end to all this anyway. In which case, it really doesn't matter how many times you donate to green peace or PETA, or how many trees you plant or how guilty you feel about whatever the hell a "carbon footprint" really is now does it?


You're Welcome,

A Voice of reason.
My three cents, since two doesn't seem to be enough any more.

[Bosco @ Nov 28th 2007 5:37PM]

Toshiba gets 1 point for honesty and 1 point for satire for calling it a "scheme". Funny stuff!

[mmdoogie @ Nov 29th 2007 10:34PM]

Interesting find --

So go to the Toshiba website and click the link to purchase one of these trees and add one to the cart, then go to the cart.

Using your favorite method, I used WebDeveloper plugin for Firefox, remove the max length on the quantity field and put in some large number, like 200000, and hit update.

It comes back saying that there are only 99972 available... I am speculating that exactly 28 of these have been purchased since this became available.