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How the companies line up

Page - March 19, 2008
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=7,0,0,0" width="430" height="237" id="Green v.06MX" align="middle"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="false" /> <param name="movie" value="/canada/PageFiles/7067/rankingguide7thedition.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#cccccc" /> <embed src="/canada/PageFiles/7067/rankingguide7thedition.swf" quality="high" bgcolor="#cccccc" width="430" height="237" name="Green v.06MX" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" /> </object><p align="right" ><a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/how-the-companies-line-up/embed-the-guide-to-greener-ele">Embed this</a></p>We first released our 'Guide to Greener Electronics' in August 2006. The guide ranks the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV's and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals and recycling.

In the sixth issue of the Guide, we added the leading manufacturers of TVs – namely, Philips and Sharp – and the game console producers Nintendo and Microsoft. The other market leaders for TVs and game consoles are already included in the Guide.
7.7 Samsung - Scores well on toxic chemicals policy. Loses points for incomplete takeback practice. More
7.7 Toshiba - Continued improvement, especially on e-waste and recycling policy. More
7.3 Nokia - Strong on toxic chemicals elimination but penalty point for deficiencies in takeback practice remains. More
7.3 Sony - More products free of toxic PVC and improved reporting on recycling and takeback especially in the US. More
7.3 Dell - Unchanged since the last version, still no products on the market without the worst chemicals. More
7.3 Lenovo - Unchanged since the last version, still no products on the market without the worst chemicals. More
6.7 Sony Ericsson - Drops 6 places due to losing points on its e-waste policy and practice. More
6.7 LGE -Dropping 2 places, loses point on recycling reporting. More
6.7 Apple- Steady rise, new models reducing the use of toxic chemicals, takeback programme still needs to be global. More
6.7 Fujitsu-Siemens - Dropping down, needs toxic elimination timelines and better reporting of amounts recycled. More
6.7 HP - Timeline for eliminating worst toxic chemicals, though not for all products; needs to improve takeback coverage. More
6.3 Motorola - Penalty point for poor takeback practice lifted. Still no timeline for eliminating the most toxic chemicals. More
5.7 Acer - Dropping down. Still no products on the market without the worst chemicals and needs better takeback coverage and reporting of amounts recycled. More
5 Sharp - Some plus points on toxic chemicals elimination and slight improvement on takeback policy and practice. More
4.7 Panasonic - New to the guide - some plus points on toxic chemicals elimination but poor takeback policy and practice. More
4.7 Microsoft -Improved timeline for toxic chemicals elimination (2010) but poor takeback policy and practice. More
4.3 Philips - Improved toxic chemicals elimination deadline but zero points on e-waste recycling. More
0.3 Nintendo - Tiny improvement but still way behind. More

Previous versions of the ranking in full:

Aug 06 | Dec 06 | Apr 07 | June 07 | Sept 07 | Dec 07

Ranking criteria explained

The ranking criteria reflect the demands of the Toxic Tech campaign to the electronics companies. Our two demands are that companies should:
  • clean up their products by eliminating hazardous substances;
  • takeback and recycle their products responsibly once they become obsolete.

The two issues are connected. The use of harmful chemicals in electronics prevents their safe recycling when the products are discarded. Companies scored marks out of 30 this has then been calculated to a mark out of 10 for simplicity.

Follow the more link beside each company for the full details of their score. The full criteria for scoring the companies is available as well as in criteria on chemicals explained in depth. Download the full pdf of the scorecard.

Each score is based solely on public information on the companies website. Companies found not to be following their published policies will be deducted penalty point in future versions of the guide.

The guide is updated every 3 months. The current edition was published on the 18 March 2008.

For more detailed explanation check our Q&A about the Guide to Greener Electronics.

Disclaimer:

Our 'Guide to Greener Electronics' aims to clean up the electronics sector and get manufacturers to take responsibility for the full life cycle of their products, including the electronic waste that their products generate. In March 2008 new climate and energy criteria have been published. The guide does not rank companies on labour standards, mining, or any other issues, but recognises that these are important in the production and use of electronics products.