Photoshopping "Green" Batteries (North American Clean Energy)

You’ve seen the photos in battery ads: A pristine lawn. Solar panels, maybe a wind turbine. And “green” batteries strutting in the foreground.

Reality isn’t as pretty: Those “green” batteries were probably manufactured using electricity from fossil fuels -- and up to 95% of them will end up in a landfill.

Here’s what’s happening, in a nutshell:

Battery demand is skyrocketing... and so are misleading claims about battery sustainability.

CLAIM: “Our batteries are ‘green.’”

REALITY: There’s no legal definition for ‘green;’ without data behind it, it’s a marketing phrase.

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CLAIM: “Designed for renewable energy”

REALITY: Anyone can slap a “renewable energy” label on a battery. So be sure there’s proof to back up a manufacturer’s claims. And make sure it’s in plain English, to save your time. (Better explanations make it faster and easier for you to get the gist.)

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CLAIM: “Our batteries are recyclable.”

REALITY: What % of the battery is recyclable? What’s the source? How/where do you return batteries for recycling?

There used to be three ways to deal with battery greenwashing:

• Bury our heads in the sand
• Take marketers at their word, without proof
• Read hundreds of pages of scientific papers, government reports, and corporate ESRG reports... until you’ve learned enough to make an informed decision.

Fortunately, there’s a fourth option if you want to improve sustainability -- without investing a ton of time.

We’ve done the heavy lifting for you in this article from North American Clean Energy -- “How to Spot Greenwashing...” (click here to read it now).

Click the picture above for the full story.

Crown Battery’s John Connell breaks down Battery Greenwashing and Sustainability in just a few minutes, including:

• Greenwashing vs. Reality
• Behind the Battery Recycling Gap: Which batteries are only collected 5% of the time
• One simple question that reveals upstream carbon emissions
• How to check out a battery company’s energy efficiency efforts
• Why the best battery isn’t a new one (it’s ____)

Click here to get your crash course in battery sustainability now.