In partnership with the European Commission, companies including Nokia, Samsung, Apple, Motorola and Sony Ericsson have signed up to the project, which will harmonise charging accessories sold in EU member states in a bid to save the consumer money and help protect the environment.
 

EU Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen said: "I am very pleased that industry has found an agreement, which will make life much simpler for consumers. They will be able to charge mobile phones anywhere from the new common charger. This also means considerably less electronic waste, because people will no longer have to throw away chargers when buying new phones."

In a communiqué, Brussels highlighted the wide range of chargers on the market today, many of which are only compatible with one kind of device. It claimed that almost every household has a collection of chargers, which can no longer be used as phones are upgraded and old models discarded on a short life cycle.

Last February, the GSM Association, which includes most of the major players in mobile telephony, estimated that the creation of a standard charger compatible with all brands could contribute to the halving of energy consumption. According to the GSMA, between 50 and 80 per cent of the 1.2 billion mobile telephones sold worldwide each year were replacement purchases generating up to 80,000 tonnes of waste in redundant accessories.

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