Kicking off their CES 2022 reveals, ACER have announced that they are working with National Geographic to help change the minds of consumers, to support sustainably-minded products and that begins with the Aspire Vero National Geographic Edition laptop.

While this is a laptop, there are a bunch of innovations here and in the packaging that are changing how laptops can be made going forward and it begins with PCR’s, or Post-Consumer Recycled plastics, meaning inside of the plastic going into a landfill somewhere, it gets re-used in new products. You might be familiar with the plastic benches that sit in some supermarkets here.

“Acer has been taking steps over the past several years to reduce its ecological footprint. The Vero product lineup, born from our Earthion platform, represents the latest of these efforts,” said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “We’re pleased with the reception the Aspire Vero has received from users and media alike, and we hope our efforts will encourage partners and industry colleagues to take similar steps in their own capacity.”

The NatGeo Vero laptop is made up on 30% PCR in its case, screen bezel and operating surface -where the keyboard lives, meaning that production of this will save ACER around 21% in CO2 emissions, at least comparing to laptops of the same size.

In addition the keycaps, the part of the keyboard you touch to use, are also 50% PCR now, which means even less new plastic is created for it. Another big change is that the entire case is paint free, meaning there is less of an impact during the construction of the machines.

The insides are not old school either, as the laptop comes with an 11th gen Intel CPU, along with Intel Xe GPU, some USB-A ports and a single USB-C to keep you connected and a large 15.6 inch FHD IPS display to let you get some work done.

But in a few years from now, when the laptop is maybe not the most powerful around, it can be upgraded, without needing to be replaced, as it is modular in its design, but beyond that, ACER have done away with tri-screws, pent-screws and all other random screw heads, leaving just the standard philips head, to keep things simple.

Beyond the laptop, even the packaging is now eco-friendly, as the box the laptop comes in is made up of 85% recycled materials, the protective wrap around the laptop and the sheet between the keyboard and screen is 100% recycled and now the charger comes in a box, made from recycled paper, no more small single use plastic bags here.

The box itself is also built in such a away that you can re-use it once you have your laptop out, giving you a reason to keep it around and not just throw it in the recycling bin.

The only thing we don’t yet know is when it will be available and for what price, but given ACER’s usual pricing options, I would start looking upwards for $2500, but I am happy to be proven wrong.