Lenovo is claiming to be the leading vendor of 'green' displays with new monitors that reduce power consumption, cut down on packaging, and are low in halogen and free of mercury.

The company has unveiled 17in, 19in, 22in and 24in flat-panel displays that make its line-up entirely EPEAT Gold rated, Lenovo said.

The ThinkVision L1700p, L1940 Wide, L1940p Wide, L2240p Wide, L2440p Wide and L2440x Wide monitors use up to 60 per cent less energy than previous models.

Power savings are due in part to a new design that uses LCD light more efficiently and reduces the number of backlights needed, according to Lenovo's EMEA director of visuals, Andrew Barrow.

"If you look at the 26 EPEAT Gold rated monitors, 17 are from Lenovo," he said.

In select Lenovo monitors up to 22in in size, only two light sources are now needed instead of four, Barrow added. For models up to 26in in size, this has been cut from six to four.

The global use of similar power saving monitors could save up to 3.3 million tons per year of carbon dioxide emissions by 2011, Barrow claimed.

Lenovo highlighted the new L2440x as the "greenest monitor on the market". The monitor uses only 29 watts to drive its 24in wide-screen display.

A new ergonomic design has made the monitors smaller, reducing the volume of packaging required, while packaging for some models consists of 65 per cent recycled material.

The ThinkVision L1700p and ThinkVision L1940 Wide will be available from 19 September, while other new models will ship in October.

Starting prices range from $239.99 (£135) for the ThinkVision L1700p to $749.99 (£422) for the ThinkVision L2440x Wide.