2Sustain

Last week, Greenpeace released the 8th edition of its “Guide to Greener Electronics,” and as you might expect, the results are quite intriguing, both for who is on it as well as who is not.

As in the past, Greenpeace used ranking criteria based on the fundamental demands of their Toxic Tech campaign. In a nutshell they want electronic companies to:

• Eliminate hazardous chemicals in all phases of product manufacture
• Take-back and recycle their products once they become obsolete

Pretty simple, clear goals.

New this year, however, Greenpeace also took a critical look at how these electronic companies are tackling energy issues related to climate change. The 8th edition of the Greenpeace Guide factors in five key energy criteria and gives some insight into how each company is implementing policies and practices with respect to climate change. Greenpeace awarded points to each company based on their:

• Support for global mandatory reductions in GHG emissions
• Disclosure of the company’s GHG emissions, plus GHG emissions from two stages of the supply chain
• Commitment to reduce GHG emissions (with timelines)
• Use of renewable energy
• Production of new energy efficient models

Of particular interest (given Aravo’s focus) is the fact Greenpeace has taken these firms’ supply chains into consideration per bullet #2. When big companies start using their leverage to enforce more rigorous sustainability requirements up their supply chains we will all benefit – and Greenpeace is definitely on to something here.

So, how did your favorite electronics company rank? Here’s the list, with scores included (the highest possible score is 10):

1. Sony Ericsson (5.1)
2. Sony (5.1)
3. Nokia (4.8)
4. Samsung (4.5)
5. Dell (4.5)
6. Toshiba (4.3)
7. Acer (4.3)
8. Panasonic (4.3)
9. Motorola and Hewlett-Packard (4.3)
10. Apple (4.1)
11. Sharp (3.9)
12. Lenovo (3.9)
13. Philips (3.9)
14. Fujitsu-Siemens (3.7)
15. LG Electronics (3.3)
16. Microsoft (2.2)
17. Nintendo (0.8)

Interesting list, isn’t it? And shocking too… Notice that:

• The highest score achieved was a measly 5.1 out of 10, and…
• One of the largest e-tech manufacturers on the planet didn’t even score a full point…what’s up with Nintendo?

Obviously, there is still a lot of work ahead of us.

But, there is a silver lining, too. As I wrote about on June 19, the good news is that more and more companies are taking steps toward implementing meaningful sustainability programs. Plus, as Greenpeace has just demonstrated, NGOs are starting to ask companies the right questions while encouraging and rewarding meaningful solutions.

For more in-depth reporting about the new Greenpeace rankings, check out this article at MercuryNews.com. It includes responses from HP, Apple, and Microsoft.