Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics: March 2009

In the 11th edition of Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics HP, Lenovo and Dell get penalized for failing to remove toxics from their products in 2009, while Apple gets bonus points for being free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs)

Apple stands out in a guide that focuses much of its criticisms on the e-waste problem: although the company is still hanging in the middle of the pack in 10th place out of the 17 companies ranked, it climbed up from 14th place in the previous edition of the report, largely on the strength of its toxics and e-waste programs.

“Apple’s score on the e-waste criteria has improved with take-back and recycling services now extended to the Asia-Pacific region, including India, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Korea and Australia,” the report’s authors write. “It reports a recycling rate in 2006 of 18 percent as a percentage of sales 7 years ago; however, it needs to provide details on how this is calculated. Apple has set a new goal of achieving a 50 percent recycling rate by 2010.”

Nokia holds on to its first place spot with a 7.5 score out of 10 possible points in the 11th edition — a position it’s held since September 2008. The company’s wide-ranging take-back program, its move away from PVC, BFRs and antimony trioxide, and its climate goals of reducing CO2 emissions by 18 percent and using 50 percent renewable energy by 2010 all combined to keep Nokia in the top spot.