Exclusive: Nothing plans to be carbon neutral for its ear (1) truly wireless earphones by end of 2021

Carl Pei's Nothing may be a young brand that has just completed its first year, but the new London-based venture wants to be part of a sustainable business. Nothing is all set to achieve a feat that many established brands are yet to achieve. The company's only product, the ear (1), will be carbon neutral by the end of the year.

The news was confirmed by Manu Sharma, Vice President and General Manager, Nothing India, in an exclusive interview with India Today Tech.

Sharma stressed that Nothing as a brand has been a responsible brand, and "sustainable business is a cornerstone to inspiring a better technological future." He added that this is something Nothing has taken seriously from the very beginning of the company's journey.

Sharing details with India Today Tech, Sharma revealed that the company has got the carbon assessment of ear (1) done. He noted that the company strongly believes that third-party verification is critical to the process. As a result, nothing has partnered with SGS, one of the world's leading testing, inspection and certification companies, for the assessment of ear (1).

"We have also offset the carbon emissions from electricity used during the ear (1) manufacturing process," Sharma told India Today Tech.

"Something that's very close to our heart is sustainability, and not a lot of brands talk about that. And, we started working on it early enough in terms of our planning because sustainability and having that responsibility will be a cornerstone of our evolving technology features. We inspire other brands that this is important," he said.

"We are very proud as a company that we are working towards making the ear (1) a carbon neutral product," he added.

On being asked about changes to the packaging and other materials used across the ear (1), Nothing is still working on these details and will announce all of that most likely before the end of the year.

He further added that the company would source carbon credits from the Verified Carbon Standard, or Verra, a global standard for certifying carbon emissions reductions, to completely neutralise ear (1) by the end of 2021.

This means Nothing can be expected to label (or claim) ear (1) carbon neutral status by the end of 2021.

The term carbon neutrality is being used by a lot of companies lately, but what is it? Suppose a company says it is carbon neutral. In that case, it means that any carbon dioxide (or CO2) released into the atmosphere from the activities of the company, like production, is balanced by an equivalent amount being removed.

It's worth noting that Apple was among the first few tech companies that initiated the carbon neutral discussions. Last year, the Cupertino-based giant announced steps it would take to make the entire business carbon neutral, right from the supply chain to the power used by factories.

Apart from carbon neutral status, Nothing as a brand is doing multiple things to keep the brand a more engaging one, something we saw OnePlus adopting in its initial days. Sharma added that Nothing would elect a Community Board Member in the coming months to keep Nothing in-sync at all times with the end-user.

Nothing is already working on its next set of devices to expand its portfolio. In an earlier report, we confirmed that Nothing is working on over five new products.

On being asked about the ear (1) price bump, Sharma hinted at chip shortage as one important reason.

"Of course, there are certain components that have seen a price rise and, of course, the chip is an important part of that, and the other is the production process. So, due to that, we have decided to increase the price," he explained. For those unaware, the ear (1) will be available at Rs 6,999 from November 10, a rise of Rs 1,000 from the launch price of Rs 5,999.