In context: Google claimed many times that Chromebooks are designed as sustainable devices, consuming less energy than similar products and featuring resistant materials to ensure these devices last. Nonetheless, Google believes there’s still room to make the ecosystem more sustainable, introducing a Chromebook repair program for schools.
Overall, Chromebooks are more eco-friendly than the competition, consuming up to 46 percent less energy. As they consume less power, their battery life tends to last longer than similar devices. Maybe this is why over 50 million students and teachers use them daily.
Despite that, Google thinks it can still make the Chromebook ecosystem more sustainable, and that begins by launching the Chromebook repair program for schools in the US. The program aims to educate users on how to repair their devices.
Users have been repairing their Chromebooks for a while. Some of these repairs are even covered under warranty, but finding the information needed to do it isn’t always easy. So, Google has partnered with Acer and Lenovo to centralize information needed to fix Chromebooks.
Once on the website, users can select a Chromebook model and learn how to repair it. The material includes videos showing how to repair the device, finding the proper tools for the job, getting replacement parts, finding training to repair your device, and giving you system update access if necessary.
Acer is already training schools so they can fix Chromebooks on their own. Various schools including the Jenks Public Schools in Oklahoma have already created their own Chromebook repair programs, with teachers and students working together to repair broken devices. Some of them even have a “Chromebook repair” course.
“Acer designs its Chromebooks for the education market with both durability and ease-of-repair in mind,” says James Vick, VP of customer service at Acer Pan America. “On campus repair programs enable students to help their own school by conducting safe and rapid repairs of Chromebooks, while also teaching them a valuable transferable skill that can help them pursue a career in the IT field. Acer supports valuable programs that give students an opportunity for hands-on learning beyond traditional curriculum.”
Google has been implementing various measures to achieve its sustainability goals. Besides the Google repair program, the tech giant also wants to include recycled materials in all “Made by Google” products. The tech giant has been carbon neutral since 2007 and reduced its lifetime net carbon footprint to zero in 2019, but it has more ambitious plans of being carbon-free by 2030.