GREENPEACE PUBLISHES LATEST GREEN GUIDE - NOKIA IS THE GREENEST
By Amy-Mae Elliott
Pocket-lint
September 20, 2007
Original Link
Greenpeace states that a year on from the launch of the
Greenpeace guide to greener electronics, the industry has made "great improvements".
The environmental campaigners say that companies are now competing to
become the first to go green by eliminating hazardous substances and
take back and recycle their products responsibly.
It could be argued that these improvements have also some from recently
introduced EU legislation, as well as a genuine desire to help the
planet.
The fifth guide sees Nokia continue to lead the ranking with 8/10, Sony
Ericsson in second place and Dell and Lenovo sharing the joint third
ranking.
"Greenpeace is very pleased with the progress of the electronics
industry, a year ago less than half of the companies scored above 5/10,
now they all do", said Iza Kruszewska, Greenpeace international toxics
campaigner.
"There is still a long way to go for some, but the momentum is
extremely encouraging. What is very exciting is that while the guide
focuses on brand leaders, the improvements can be seen industry wide."
The biggest movers in the latest guide are Sony and LG Electronics
while Hewlett Packard is the only company that has lost points since
the ranking guide was started. Bottom? Panasonic for "fail(ure) to deal
with product waste responsibly".
Apple has not lost points, but it has dropped to 12th position, as with
no new action, it has allowed its competitors to race ahead.
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ELECTRONICS COMPANIES GREEN UP THEIR ACT
GreenPeace
September 19, 2007
Original Link
The latest edition of our quarterly Guide to Greener Electronics shows
that major electronics firms have made large, green strides since the
guide was first launched in August 2006. Nokia still leads, closely
followed by Sony Erricson, Dell and Lenovo.
The Greener Electronics Guide has been our answer to getting the
electronics industry to face up to the problem of e-waste. We want
manufacturers to take responsibility for the unprotected child
labourers who scavenge the mountains of cast-off gadgets created by our
gizmo-loving ways.
The guide ranks the 14 top manufacturers of personal computers and
mobile phones according to their policies and practice on toxic
chemicals and recycling. In the first edition of the Guide from August
2006, the average score was 4/10. Now every company scores above 5/10...
Race to the top
Every company ranked bottom of previous editions have made improvements
to move up. Lenovo was bottom of the first guide but rapidly improved
its chemicals policy and launched a global takeback program. Apple was
bottom of the next two editions but pledged in May to improve its
chemical policy and increase its recycling rate. Sony was bottom of the
June 07 edition but has since launched in the US the most advanced
takeback and recycling programme of any company.
The biggest movers in the latest guide are Sony and LG Electronics.
Both have had their penalty points lifted for leaving a US industry
coalition that lobbies against producer responsibility for recycling
discarded products.
Iza Kruszewska, Greenpeace International Toxics Campaigner, has been
amazed at the progress the Guide has helped create: "There is still a
long way to go for some, but the momentum is extremely encouraging.
What is very exciting is that while the guide focuses on brand leaders,
the improvements can be seen industry wide".
Even companies not featured in the ranking have improved policies in
the race to be greener. PC maker Asus has improved it environmental
policies and an Indian edition of the ranking has lead to improvements
from the two biggest Indian computer companies, WIPRO and HCL.
Hewlett Packard (HP) is the only company who has fallen in each ranking
-- over taken by competitors, and weakening its support for a strong
takeback policy. It also still needs to provide concrete timelines for
the complete elimination of hazardous chemicals.
Panasonic now languishes at the bottom, despite launching some products
free from the most hazardous chemicals; they fail to deal with old
products responsibly. Apple, while not losing points, has dropped to
12th position. Its newly launched iPhone, and new iMac and iPod lines,
still include the worst toxic chemicals -- allowing its competitors to
race ahead.
As well as driving improvements in company policy there are many
improvements in company practice since the first ranking. More
companies now have free take back programs making it easier to recycle
your old electronics. More products are available without the worst
toxic chemicals like PVC (vinyl) plastic and brominated flame
retardants (BFRs). Motorola and LG have joined Nokia and Sony Ericsson
in selling phones without these toxic chemicals. Sony has a wide range
of products including models of the Walkman, camcorders and a digital
camera that are partially BFR and PVC free. Panasonic lists examples of
PVC free products that include DVD players, home cinemas, and video
players.
Publicly comparing the performance of these companies has proven a
highly effective way to bring about quick improvements in their
environmental policies. However, we are still waiting for the companies
to act on their promises to market a computer completely free of the
worst toxic chemicals.