“Any company pushing its eco- credentials without facilitating fixing is guilty of greenwashing”

As Acer loses another fan and Microsoft users move backwards, Lee explores the risks of exploding webcams

- LEE GRANT

Acer is a firm that is extremely proud of its green initiatives and accreditations. It’s listed as one of Time magazine’s most sustainable companies, and its other ESG focused awards are numerous. In a tech sector desperate to convince investors and shareholders that it’s “doing its bit” to prevent the world from burning down, Acer consistently makes all the correct noises.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a frustrated Acer laptop owner is explaining to me where Taiwan's finest can shove its eco-credentials.

One fan inside Jordan’s Acer Predator laptop blew its bearings and became intolerably noisy. Headphones made this manageable when playing games, but Zoom and Teams calls were impossible, which was a problem for remote working.

The Acer Predator had been an expensive purchase. A 2022 Smith-Gen i7, 32GB of RAM, 1TB SSD and RTX 3070 graphics had all been squeezed into a 16in chassis. Jordan works in the financial sector, so the Predator had been a strategic spend to invest in a machine with a substantial specification. After all, the more you spend, the longer the machine will last, right?

Jordan arrived in the shop seeking help. I made some notes and, after a few days of trawling suppliers, I'd found no parts. Given the urgency of the repair, I told Jordan to contact Acer for a repair quote as it would have the part and it may be a faster route to a repair.

Here at PC Pro, we celebrate the manufacturers that are genuinely trying to differentiate themselves in the market by offering genuine repair solutions. Repair and reuse are vital components to a circular economy, so any company pushing its eco-credentials without facilitating fixing is guilty of greenwashing.