Press release - September 5, 2007
GURGAON/NEW DELHI, India — Greenpeace today urged Nokia, the market leader in mobile phones in India, to review its business partnership with HCL if the later does not stop producing hazardous computers. Greenpeace activists taking along a huge installation of e-waste with message that read, Nokia: Ask HCL to go green, turned up at Nokia headquarter in Gurgaon to deliver this message.
Greenpeace activists, with this big installation in front of one of Nokia's business hubs in New Delhi, sending message to the company to ask its business partner, HCL to clean its products of hazardous substances.
"We are here to urge Nokia to review its partnership with HCL,
which has scored so poorly in its environmental commitment. HCL has
failed to come out with a comprehensive time bound plan to clean
its products of hazardous chemicals and substances" said Pranav
Sinha, Greenpeace toxics campaigner. As Nokia now leads the global
race in electronics sector for clean products, logically it is in
best position to tell this to its business partner, HCL, the IT
market leader in India. In fact, Nokia is so far the only company
that has made its products completely PVC-free" Sinha pointed
out.
Greenpeace feels if HCL does not want to be seen as a major
contributor to the e-waste crisis, it must not only take urgent
steps to clean its products of all hazardous substances, but also
lead India's IT brigade by setting practical and transparent
systems of take back and responsible recycling all of its end of
life products, with clear financial brand responsibility.
Greenpeace demands that HCL must have a time-bound, operational
road map to phase out toxics and implement a free and easy take
back system, with binding commitments; not vague aspirational
objectives. The information HCL has recently put in the public
domain on its phase-out of hazardous chemicals is misleading and
does not indicate what, if anything will change in the company's
operations.
Sinha informed, Greenpeace will continue to engage all business
partners of HCL till the company sheds its inhibition to compete
with global companies in the ongoing green-race. As the Indian
market leader, the company is duty-bound to set example for others
in India by pro-actively endorsing brand responsibility and the
appropriate legal framework.
Greenpeace strongly advocates for a comprehensive legislation
based on the individual brand responsibility concept, where a
producer is law-bound to take responsibility of the entire life
cycle of its product. Such legislation could address the mounting
crisis of e-waste in India fixing financial responsibility for the
end of life product on its producer.
For further information, contact
Pranav Sinha, Greenpeace Campaigner @09880821149
Saumya Tripathy, Greenpeace Communications @ 09343862212