How the companies line up 13th edition

Background - 28 December, 2009
The Guide to Greener Electronics ranks the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TVs and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change. We first released our green IT guide in August 2006. The latest edition is always available here.
   
7.5
Nokia -- Remains in first place with good scores on toxics use reduction, energy and recycling. More...
6.9
Samsung == Maintains second spot with good overall scores, supports strong global agreement on climate change. More...
6.5
Sony Ericsson -- Holds on to 3rd with good scores on toxics use reduction and energy. More...
5.9
Philips -- Up from 7th to 4th with action on responsible recycling policy, but needs to extend own recycling program. More...
5.7
Toshiba -- Slightly improved SCORE with better reporting of recycling rates. More...
5.3
Motorola -- Remains behind competitors like Nokia and Sony Ericsson on toxics use reduction and energy. More...
5.1
Sharp -- Needs to improve on e-waste criteria and energy efficiency reporting. More...
5.1
Sony -- Leaps from 12th to 8th place with improvements on chemicals and waste policy. More...
4.9
Apple -- Up from 11th to 9th , the most progressive PC maker on removing toxics from product range. Room for improvement on e-waste and energy. More...
4.9
Panasonic -- Remains in 10th place with most points on energy criteria, but falls down on e-waste criteria. More...
4.7
LG Electronics -- Plummets due to penalty point for delaying phase out of toxics. More...
4.7
Dell == Improved score but still has penalty point for indefinite delay on toxics phase out. More...
4.7
Acer == Loses points with fewer products exceeding new Energy Star 5 standard; poor on e-waste recycling criteria More...
4.5
HP -- Remains in 14th place but penalty point lifted, as HP has recently released its first product free of worst toxics. More...
2.7
Microsoft -- Slight improvement but remains in 15th position with poor scores on e-waste and energy. More...
2.7
Fujitsu -- Slight improvement but needs to do more across all criteria. More...
2.5
Lenovo -- No improvement, and still has a penalty point for indefinite delay on toxics phase out. More...
1.4
Nintendo == Increased score but stays last, greenhouse emissions continue to grow. More...

Previous versions of the ranking in full:

Aug 06 | Dec 06 | Apr 07 | June 07 | Sept 07 | Dec 07 | March 08 | June 08 Sept 08 | Nov 08 | Mar 09 | Jul 09 | Sept 09

Ranking criteria explained

The ranking criteria reflect the demands of the Toxic Tech campaign to the electronics companies. Our three demands are that companies should:

  • Clean up their products by eliminating hazardous substances.
  • Takeback and recycle their products responsibly once they become obsolete.
  • Reduce the climate impacts of their operations and products.

The use of harmful chemicals in electronics prevents their safe recycling when the products are discarded. Companies scored marks out of 51 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. 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 few months. The current edition was published on September 30, 2009.

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. 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. For more on the social impacts of the electronics industry visit Good Electronics and Make IT Fair.

Categories