Press release - October 26, 2010
Bangalore, Oct 26, 2010 – The latest edition of the Greenpeace guide to Greener Electronics (1) shows Wipro and HCL along with Philips and HP introduce greener products where as Toshiba and Microsoft fail to act on their promises. The latest guide (1) shows significant separation between companies that are failing to keep their environmental commitments and those that are making significant gains in phasing out toxic chemicals, increasing energy efficiency, and making it easier for consumers to recycle older products.
Nokia and Wipro jointly remain on top with 7.5 points followed by HCL (7.1) and Sony Ericsson (6.9) for producing products free of the most hazardous substances, including PVC/BFRs, antimony, beryllium, and phthalates. Samsung moves up few positions in this guide, despite retaining penalty points for backtracking on its commitment to eliminate PVC and BFRs.
Major Highlights of this guide are:
- HCL releases its first Notebook which is not only free from PVC and Brominated flame retardants (BFR) but also free from antimony and Beryllium.
- Wipro launches additional two desktop models free from PVC and BFR which makes these products upto 25% free from these two chemicals.
- Philips launches first TV free of PVC and BFR, named as Econova which makes Philips ahead of other TV manufacturers in phasing out hazardous chemicals from the products.
“Indian brands such as HCL and Wipro are a fine example and a benchmark in clean technology. They prove to the world that through innovation and technology, clean and green electronics can be made a reality” said Abhishek Pratap, Greenpeace India Toxics Campaigner. “The launch of new models free from hazardous chemicals by HCL, Wipro and Philips are transformative in nature and leave no excuse for other manufacturers not to follow” claimed Pratap.
New products free of PVC and BFRs (2) have also been released by Acer and HP, which now has several lines of notebooks, desktops and most recently a PVC-free printer. In contrast, Toshiba, LGE, Samsung, Dell and Lenovo remain to have no PC product lines free from these toxic substances.
Toshiba is served a second penalty point this year for misleading its customers about its commitments and a first penalty point is imposed on Microsoft for backtracking on commitments to remove these toxic substances. Several other companies continue to be weighed down by penalty points for failing to meet their phase out commitments, including LGE, Samsung, Dell and Lenovo (3).
Panasonic is rewarded for initiating voluntary take-back and recycling of its TVs in India, the first programme of its kind for TVs in developing country. However, the TV industry as a whole is failing to expand current take-back programmes to achieve global reach.
“Panasonic is stepping up to the challenge of taking responsibility for its end-of-life TVs – but further initiatives to take-back and recycle e-waste outside the rich world are desperately needed; Panasonic’s programme could jump start this process” said Abhishek Pratap, Greenpeace India Toxics Campaigner “These encouraging developments on both greener products and e-waste are welcome; it’s unfortunate that they also highlight the lack of ambition of those that lag behind.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. The full Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics can be found at www.greenpeace.org/electronics.
2. Indian version of Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronic can be found at
http://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/publications/Guide-to-Greener-Electronics2/
3. Some brominated flame retardants (BFRs), used in circuit boards and plastic casings, do not break down easily and build up in the environment. Long-term exposure can lead to impaired learning and memory functions. They can also interfere with thyroid and oestrogen hormone systems and exposure in the womb has been linked to behavioural problems.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a plastic used in some electronics products and for insulation on wires and cables. Chlorinated dioxins and furans are released when PVC is produced or disposed of by incineration (or simply burning). These chemicals are highly persistent in the environment and many are toxic even in very low concentrations.
3. Toshiba, Samsung, LGE, Dell and Lenovo continue to be penalised in this latest version of the Guide for backtracking on their commitments to phase out PVC and BFRs. Toshiba is served with a further penalty point for misleading its customers and Greenpeace by not admitting that it would not meet its commitment. In addition, Microsoft is served with a penalty point for the first time for backtracking on its commitment to phase out PVC and BFRs by the end of 2010.
Contacts:
Abhishek Pratap, Greenpeace India Toxic Campaigner +91 98456 10749, 
(Bangalore)
Hozefa Merchant, Greenpeace India, Media Officer +91 98195 92410,
(Bangalore)
Daniel Kessler, +31 06 4617 7537, 
(Amsterdam)
Casey Harrell, + 1 415 307 3382, 
(US)