NEW DELHI, India — Greenpeace today released the Indian Guide to Greener electronics (1), which ranks major Indian computer manufacturers on their green performance. Four editions of the global Guide have been published since the international ranking system was launched in August 2006 (2). The ranking Guide presents a snapshot of company policy on harmful substances and e-waste. Four leading Indian computer manufacturers have been ranked on the basis of information provided publicly on their websites, and are compared to the global rankings. The ranking shows that most Indian companies are yet to be at par with global brands.
Greenpeace campaigners Pranav Sinha, Martin Besieux and Ramapati Kumar launch the first Indian ranking guide to greener electronics in delhi on August 13th.
Wipro tops Indian companies with a score of 5.3 out of 10,
whereas Nokia continues to lead the global list with a score of 8
out of 10. The market leader in India, HCL is shockingly lagging
behind in its commitment to become greener. The company does not
earn a single point on any of the five chemicals criteria. PCS and
Zenith failed to score any points at all and are placed at the
bottom.
"It is shocking that most Indian companies, despite their global
pretensions, lag far behind their international counterparts in the
management of toxic substances in their products and in the
management of their e-waste. This clearly reflects their reluctance
to offer green and clean products to the public in tune with global
trends. HCL in particular is moving at a snail's pace in this
regard", said Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner Pranav Sinha. "The
ranking guide is a challenge to HCL to come out with time bound
commitments to green its business and emerge numero uno in the
global ranking," he added.
Most global companies are now forthcoming in sharing information
on products that are free of some of the worst chemicals, while
still working to launch cleaner products in the future. For
instance, in March 2007, Panasonic launched a series of PVC-free
products, including DVD players, recorders, home cinemas and video
players; and now provides a list of products that are PVC-free (3).
Meanwhile, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola are introducing models
that are already free from PVC and brominated flame-retardants
(BFRs).
The Global Greenpeace Guide shows that companies are also
starting to act on their responsibility to take back and recycle
their own branded waste and provide information to customers on
what to do with discarded electronics. Greenpeace is challenging
these global companies on their practices in India.
"We are clearly witnessing steps towards a greener electronics
industry. Leading computer manufacturers are now going public on
their plans to get rid of harmful chemicals in their products and
on their e-waste recycling figures. This transparency is putting
pressure on the whole sector to follow suit", said Martin Besieux
from Greenpeace International. "Greenpeace is challenging Indian
Companies to become global players in the computer industry. If the
Chinese company Lenovo can take steps to clean up its act, why
can't the Indian industry do the same?"" he concluded.
For further information, contact
For more information, contact:
Ramapati Kumar, Toxics Campaigner, +91 98455 35414
Pranav Sinha, Toxics Campaigner +91 98808 21149
Martin Besieux, Toxics Campaigner +91 99718 48532
Saumya Tripathi, Communications Officer, +91 93438 62212
Notes to Editor
1. Indian ranking Guide: http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/reports/indiaranking
2. Link to webpage of latest edition of the international Guide to Greener Electronics:http://www.greenpeace.org/4th-ranking-guide
3. See http://www.panasonic.net/eco/gp/chemical.html for more information.