PC giants hammered in latest Greenpeace rankings

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 24 Nov 2008 at 15:45

A glut of leading PC companies have dropped down the table in Greenpeace's latest update to its Guide to Greener Electronics.

Dell, HP, Apple and Acer have all fallen down the table, which sees mobile phone maker Nokia continue to lead the pack.

Dell has been punished for "withdrawing from its commitment to eliminate all PVC plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) by the end of 2009," according to Greenpeace.

HP, meanwhile, is docked points "for failing to operationalise the principle of Individual Producer Responsibility and for its weak voluntary take-back programme."

Both Acer and Apple actually improved their scores, but fell further down the table because of greater improvements by other companies.

Games console manufacturer, Nintendo, continues to prop up the table. Microsoft is second bottom, because of its "weak support for Individual Producer Responsibility and on reporting that it financed the collection and recycling of e-waste equivalent to 17% of worldwide sales in 2007, without elaborating on how the figure was calculated."

Greenpeace is using this latest round-up to champion "climate leadership" and encouraging companies to commit to reducing emissions by 30% by 2020.

Of the 18 companies monitored by Greenpeace, only Sharp, Fujitsu Siemens and Philips have pledged to meet that target. "It is disappointing that such innovative and fast-changing companies are moving so slowly, when they could be turning the regulation we need on global emissions into a golden business opportunity," says Greenpeace's climate and energy campaigner, Mel Francis.