How to make more sustainable choices when upgrading your hardware

Now more than ever, businesses are making more sustainable choices, from reducing waste and using sustainable materials to shifting to renewable energy sources. 

While it might not seem like an obvious step to take, businesses should also take a look at their IT hardware to ensure they’re using eco-friendly equipment. Laptops and other electronics often feel like a necessary evil that just aren’t sustainable or eco-friendly. Many might feel like devices such as laptops are almost indispensable, and thus not sustainable, and that the greenest laptop to use is the one you already own. 

However, choosing the right hardware – such as an energy and power-efficient laptop – could actually take your business one step closer to meeting its sustainability goals. 

For this reason, companies need to look at the power consumption of PCs, as one of the easiest ways to minimise your business’ carbon footprint is by rethinking how you purchase your business hardware. An energy-efficient PC makes it possible to reduce ongoing electricity costs. 

AMD’s Ryzen™ 6000 PRO processors make it easier than ever to ensure you’re making good choices. Based on the “Zen 3+” architecture, the CPUs utilise adaptive power management features that adjust speed quickly to ensure that they deliver power efficiency, with AMD delivering a 50% reduction in power consumption from 2018 to 2022.

Compared to last-generation AMD Ryzen™ processors, AMD Ryzen™ 6000 PRO Series processors can use up to 30% less power for video conferencing and deliver up to 45% longer battery life for Microsoft Teams in comparison to Intel’s Core i7- 1260P. This means AMD Ryzen™ 6000 PRO Series CPUs can deliver up to 26 hours of battery life on a premium business laptop, ensuring your employees don’t need to be tethered to a socket. 

That’s not a result of compromising performance. Compared to the competition, AMD Ryzen™ 6000 PRO Series processors yield up to 2x more performance per watt vs the competition, utilising up to 67% fewer watts per core and up to 39% faster rendering.The AMD Ryzen™ 9 6900HS processor, for example, has been shown to offer up to 2.6X more power efficiency than “Alder Lake” i9-12900HK.

This leadership power efficiency – backed by AMD’s collaboration with leading energy regulators – is helping to enable thinner, lighter, more portable business laptops. With many businesses now embracing hybrid working, enabling employees to split their time between their home and the office, you can be sure you’re upgrading to devices that will support your workers wherever they are. 

AMD’s Ryzen™ 6000 PRO processors can already be found in a number of thin, light and powerful laptops that put eco credentials at the forefront. The HP EliteBook G9, which packs an AMD Ryzen™ 7 PRO 6850U processor, has been built for the earth-conscious. It’s crafted from aluminium that has been manufactured from reclaimed ocean-bound plastics, uses recycled plastics in the screen bezel and keycaps, and ships in fully recyclable packaging. 

Similarly, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z – which packs an AMD Ryzen™ 7 PRO 6860Z CPU into its thin-and-light chassis – sports a stylish recycled aluminium frame. The eco friendly materials go beyond the laptop itself with 100% recyclable and compostable bamboo and sugar cane packaging and an AC power adapter that has been made from 90% post-consumer content. 

These laptops, thanks to their high-performance AMD Ryzen™ 6000 PRO processors, are built to last, too, which means you won’t have to replace your hardware any time soon, lessening your organisation’s contribution to the growing problem of electronic waste. 

What’s more, not only are AMD’s latest mobile processors built to last, but they are also fully optimised for both modern and legacy software, which means you don’t have to implement a full rip-and-replace strategy. This isn’t just good news for your sustainability strategy, but it will also save your business time, money and stress.