Greenpeace just released the 14th edition of the Guide to Greener Electronics. The guide looks at the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV’s and games consoles and ranks them according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change.
In the 14th edition, some companies did better, some did worse and a bunch continued to do nothing to improve their score.
A big thumbs up for Apple, Sony Ericsson and Nokia. They are leading the way for product ranges free of the worst hazardous substances with HP following their lead. HP just released the Compaq 8000f Elite business desktop, it’s first completely PVC and BFR free product, at CES 2010.
Two thumbs down for Samsung, Dell, Lenovo and LG Electronics (LGE). They pick up penalty points in the Guide for failing to follow through on a promised phase-out of toxics in their products.
What may seem like a toxic alphabet soup, PVC and BFRs, are actually very dangerous substances that are found in many electronics products. PVC contaminates humans and the environment throughout its lifecycle; during its production, use, and disposal it’s the single most environmentally damaging of all plastics, and can form dioxin, a known carcinogen, when burned. Some BFRs are highly resistant to degradation in the environment and are able to build up in animals and humans.
You can get involved by joining in our twitter petition. We’re calling Samsung out on twitter with this petition: petition @Samsungtweets to follow Apple SonyEricsson and HP, and eliminate harmful chemicals like PVC http://act.ly/1l1 RT to sign #actly
To learn more, you can check out the report or read our web story that gives you a shortened overview of the report (it’s 37 pages long).
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