Greenpeace Consumer Electronics Reports - 7th Edition
Greener Electronics Toshiba Ranking - 7th Edition
18 March 2008
Toshiba has climbed up the ranking from joint 6th to joint 1st, by improving its score on Individual Producer Responsibility, whereby each company takes care of the electronic waste from its own-branded discarded end-of-life products. This is as a result of leaving the Electronic Manufacturers’ Coalition for Responsible Recycling, which does not support Producer Responsibility for e-waste generated by electronic products, but is demanding that consumers pay ARFs (Advanced Recycling Fees). The company also scores well on the other e-waste criteria.
Toshiba has made commitments to phase out polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from its whole product range by 2009; it offers models of laptops whose circuit boards are free from BFRs, EcoMark-certified products without PVC, and provides examples of other components and parts that are free from these harmful substances.
18 March 2008
Sony Ericsson drops from 1st position to 7th, as a result of losing points on its e-waste policy and practice. The company states strong support for the Precautionary Principle but needs to show more explicit support for Individual Producer Responsibility. The company only reports on the quantities of obsolete phones recycled in Europe and does not calculate this figure as a percentage of past sales.
It scores well on the chemicals criteria with a timeline of 1st January 2008 for eliminating brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in two remaining applications and the same timeline for substituting phthalates, beryllium and some uses of antimony compounds. Although phthalates have been eliminated, substitutes for the other substances are still being developed. All new models of mobiles put on the market since 2006 are free from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic.
Greener Electronics Sharp Ranking - 7th Edition
18 March 2008
A newcomer to the Guide at the last ranking, Sharp rises to number 14 from 15, by improving the information that it provides to customers on its take-back services. The company scores well on most of the chemicals criteria, already providing examples of models most of whose components are free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). For example, all Sharp mobiles (sold in Japan) and many models of LCD TVs are free of PVC, except accessories.
Sharp scores top marks for setting a timeline of end of 2010 by which it intends to eliminate PVC and all BFRs from its entire product portfolio. To improve its score, Sharp needs to sharpen up its policies and practices on e-waste.
Greener Electronics Samsung Ranking - 7th Edition
18 March 2008
Samsung, while maintaining its score from the previous edition, has now moved from 2nd position to joint 1st. The company scores top marks on most of the chemicals criteria and is now bringing products on the market that are free from the worst chemicals; all new models of LCD panels are now free from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and all new models of mobile phones have circuit boards that are largely free from brominated flame retardants (BFRs), together with the housing and peripherals.
Samsung has also improved its reporting on the recycling of obsolete products and supplies good information to consumers on what to do with discarded products – at least for those products for which Samsung offers a take-back service. On the down side, it loses points for providing voluntary take-back of electronic waste in only a few countries and for only some product groups.
Greener Electronics Philips Ranking - 7th Edition
18 March 2008
Philips, another newcomer to the Guide at the last edition, remains at 17th position out of 18. This is despite the fact that its score has improved on many of the chemicals criteria; it now scores full marks for its chemicals management, for committing to the precautionary principle and for a new commitment to eliminate brominated flame retardants and PVC from its product range by 2010.
Philips now has the beginnings of a position on Individual Producer Responsibility but fails to score any points for this: it is a member of the Electronic Manufacturers’ Coalition for Responsible Recycling, which does not support Producer Responsibility but demands that consumers pay ARFs (Advanced Recycling Fees). The company now provides figures for the quantities of e-waste recycled in Europe but otherwise fails to score on all the other e-waste criteria, so there is plenty of scope for improvement in the future.
18 March 2008
Panasonic drops from 13th position to joint 15th, having lost a point on its reporting of its recycling rate, which is not presented as a percentage of past sales; its score on the other criteria has not changed since the last ranking.
Panasonic provides a large and growing list of products on the market that are free of PVC, which include DVD players and recorders, home cinemas, and video players. It also has two models of lighting equipment free of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and is manufacturing halogen-free printed wiring boards for certain applications and markets. Panasonic has committed to eliminating all uses of PVC in its products – starting with internal wiring - and has set a timeline of 2011 for getting PVC out of its notebooks. The company has yet to commit to the elimination of BFRs in all products, although a timeline of 2011 has been set for getting BFRs out of notebooks and mobiles – these represent a small fraction of Panasonic’s large product range.
Panasonic scores poorly for its lack of support for Individual Producer Responsibility and its limited voluntary take-back programmes.
Greener Electronics Nokia Ranking - 7th Edition
18 March 2008
Nokia rises from 9th position to 3rd, despite the fact that it retains a penalty point for corporate misbehaviour on its take-back and recycling practice. Further testing of Nokia’s take-back programme by Greenpeace revealed that staff are still not informed about the take-back service in Russia and India, although the service was much improved in the Philippines and Thailand. However, Nokia has increased its score for the information it gives to customers on its take-back service.
Nokia scores well on the chemicals criteria; it has already eliminated polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic from new models of mobiles and is now eliminating brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from the remaining applications – in new flexible circuits. Nokia gets top marks for its support for Individual Producer Responsibility, whereby each company takes care of the electronic waste from its own-branded discarded products.
Greener Electronics Nintendo Ranking - 7th Edition
18 March 2008
Nintendo, who joined the Guide at the last edition, remains in bottom place. The company now scores one point for chemicals management but stays on zero for all other criteria, allowing lots of room for future improvement.
18 March 2008
Motorola rises from 14th position to 12th. The penalty point that it incurred at the last ranking for corporate misbehaviour on its take-back and recycling practice has now been lifted. Testing of Motorola’s take-back programme by Greenpeace revealed improvements in Motorola’s takeback service in the Philippines, Thailand, and India. No take-back service is available in Russia.
Although the company offers its customers an increasing number of models of mobile phones whose circuit boards are free from brominated flame retardants (BFRs), its product portfolio includes home network equipment (e.g. set-top boxes, wireless routers) and network equipment (e.g. base stations), as well as walkie-talkies. Motorola has now made a commitment to restrict (but not necessarily phase out) polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic from its mobile products by June 2008. It still has to provide information on PVC-free models and to commit to timelines for eliminating all BFRs and PVC from its entire product portfolio.
Motorola now provides voluntary take-back/recycling services in 57 countries, accounting for more than 90 % of global mobile phone sales. Top marks to Motorola for reporting its recycling rate of 3.32%, as a percentage of sales 12-24 months before – the average lifespan of a mobile phone.
Greener Electronics Microsoft Ranking - 7th Edition
18 March 2008
Another newcomer to the Guide at the last ranking, Microsoft rises to joint 15th position, up from number 16. The company has improved its score across many of the chemicals criteria; it now has a definition of the Precautionary Principle (although it is difficult to access) and scores full marks for its chemicals management and for setting a new timeline of 2010 to eliminate polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and all brominated flame retardants (BFRs).
Microsoft now accepts individual responsibility for its e-waste (although there is room for improvement in its definition) and is reporting on the amounts of e-waste recycled as a percentage of past sales, albeit only for Europe. Microsoft fails to provide voluntary take-back for its customers’ end-of-life products or sufficient information to customers to score any points.
18 March 2008
LGE is down from 5th position to joint 6th. Having made no progress on any of the criteria since the last ranking, LGE has allowed competitors to overtake.
LGE scores well on all the chemicals criteria and has also launched models of mobile phones with components free from brominated flame retardants (BFRs). It also scores well for its policy on Individual Producer Responsibility and has improved its voluntary product takeback and recycling efforts. But LGE needs to provide more takeback services for discarded products other than mobile phones.
18 March 2008
HP drops one place to number 11, after rising from 13th at the last ranking. HP now provides a timeline for eliminating polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and all brominated flame retardants (BFRs) by 2009, but only in computing equipment – not for its entire product portfolio.
HP also scores well for its support for Individual Producer Responsibility and was the first company to devise an electronic waste takeback/recycling metric based on a percentage of past sales. It still has to improve coverage of its voluntary take-back programme to score full marks on all waste criteria.
18 March 2008
FSC drops two places from 8th position to 10th in the ranking. The company has a good position on the Precautionary Principle and sells PCs which do not use brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in several major components. Despite this, it has not yet set timelines for the complete phase out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and all BFRs in all of its products.
FSC scores top marks for its policy on Individual Producer Responsibility and scores well for the coverage of its take-back and recycling programme; it is also reporting the quantities of e-waste recycled as a percentage of past sales, but loses a point as this is for ewaste collected only in Germany.
18 March 2008
Dell is slowly slipping down the ranking; it loses its position at number 4 in the ranking to share joint 5th position, mainly because its score has not altered since the last ranking and it has therefore been overtaken by other companies.
The company has a strong definition of the precautionary principle, timelines of 2009 for substituting toxic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and explicit support for Individual Producer Responsibility. Dell has announced its intention to provide free take-back and recycling services globally to individual consumers wherever its products are sold. Dell loses points for having no models free from PVC and BFRs on the market.
18 March 2008
Apple continues to progress up the ranking to 9th position from 11th, having improved its score for the new models of MacBook and MacBook Pro with the majority of internal cables free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and the majority of circuit board laminates free of brominated flame retardants (BFRs). New iMacs are also sold with bromine-free casings and printed circuit board laminates as well as PVC-free internal cables.
Many iPods now have bromine-free casings and printed circuit board laminates. The company has committed to eliminate all uses of PVC and BFRs in its products by the end of 2008. It also provides examples of additional substances that it plans to eliminate, with timelines, such as arsenic in LCDs and mercury. But Apple still needs to provide a strong commitment to the principles of precaution and Individual Producer Responsibility, post its Restricted/Banned Substance list on the web and improve geographical coverage of its take-back programmes.
18 March 2008
Acer again drops one place to 13th position because its score has not altered since the last ranking and it has therefore been overtaken by other companies. It scores top marks on chemicals, but has yet to start selling products free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs).
Acer has improved communication of its waste policy and practice, but still needs to do more on providing voluntary take-back and recycling of its end-of-life products. Acer has yet to report on recycling rates as a percentage of past sales.
18 March 2008
This Guide ranks leading mobile phone, game console, TV and PC manufacturers on their global policies and practice on eliminating harmful chemicals and on taking responsibility for their products once they are discarded by consumers. Companies are ranked on information that is publicly available and clarifications and communications with the companies.
18 March 2008
Sony has dropped one place to 4th position. The company gets top marks for reporting the quantities of electronic waste it recycles.
The company gets a good score for providing many examples of products that are partially free from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs), including models of the VAIO notebook, Walkman, camcorders and digital cameras. It has committed to phasing out PVC and BFRs in new models of its mobile products – from video cameras, to laptops, to digital cameras - by 2010, but Sony hasnot made this commitment for all its products.
Sony’s take-back and recycling programme has good coverage, particularly in the US, and the company provides clear information to its customers on what to do with discarded products but the company fails to do this globally.
17 March 2008
Lenovo drops from number 4 to joint 5th position, and has been overtaken by other companies, having made no changes on any of the criteria since the last ranking.
The company has good chemicals policies and commitments to eliminate all uses of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) by 2009. Lenovo offers an extensive take-back and recycling service, but it has weaknesses, such as the time-limited takeback offer in Thailand. Lenovo also still fails to score any points for providing models on the market that are free of PVC and BFRs.
Source: Greenpeace
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