E Ink's 6.8-inch and 2.9-inch ePaper displays have been verified for their carbon footprint

E Ink announced that its 6.8-inch and 2.9-inch ePaper modules have been verified by the British Standards Institution (BSI), as being in compliance with the ISO 14067:2018 standard. The carbon footprint of every 6.8 inch ePaper module is 3.30 kg CO₂; every 2.9 inch ePaper module is 0.59 kg CO₂.

E Ink says that these two displays are its most commonly used modules. The verification focused on the GHG emissions during the material receiving and manufacturing stages and throughout the life cycle of the products. The carbon footprint data investigation includes the raw material production, materials transportation and product manufacturing of the ePaper module assembly based on the functions of each site within the Company, including Massachusetts site in North America, and Hsinchu, Linkou and Yangzhou sites in Asia.

E Ink has recently stepped up its environmental efforts. In December 2021 E Ink announced that it aims to achieve Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2040. In March 2022, the company announced that it has joined RE100, a global renewal energy initiative, and has committed to use 100% renewable energy by 2030.

E Ink also says that it has been studying the environmental effects of its displays compared to other technologies. Findings have shown significant CO₂ savings with the use of E Ink ePaper displays. As an example, a financial institution with 125 branches saves 16.5 million A4-sized paper sheets each year when they adopt an eNote using E Ink’s technology, and contributes approximately 1,100 tons of CO₂ reduction each year.

In the past 5 years, 130 million eReaders have been in use globally, replacing the purchase of paper editions of books. It is estimated that paper books would emit more than 100,000 times the CO₂ versus eReaders with an E Ink display. LCD devices would emit more than 50 times the CO₂ versus eReaders throughout that time.

Over the past seven years, 600 million electronic shelf labels (ESLs) of around three inches in size have been installed worldwide. If it is assumed that the price and information is changed four (4) times a day, ePaper tags can reduce CO₂ emissions by 32,000 times versus single-use paper price tags.