Apple, Sony Ericsson, and Nokia were the three manufacturers with the worst performance in terms of hazardous substances in Greenpeace's latest (14th) green electronics ranking, released on January 7, 2010. HP also launched its first desktop commercial computers (HP Compaq 8000f Elite & HP Compaq 8100 Elite) completely free of PVC and BFR brominated flame retardants at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, USA, from January 7-10, 2010. Meanwhile, Samsung, Dell, Lenovo, and LG were penalized for failing to meet their commitments to ban hazardous substances.
All 18 electronics brands included in the Green Electronics Evaluation Guidelines pledged to ban PVC from their products by the end of 2009; however, judging from the products exhibited at this Consumer Electronics Show, the timeline for major manufacturers to ban PVC may be delayed until 2011 or even later.
In this evaluation, Greenpeace also gave positive recognition to manufacturers who complied ahead of schedule with the four new restricted substances added to the revised EU RoHS Directive. Both Ericsson and Apple expressed their support to the EU authorities for their decision to add the restricted substances, and Greenpeace commended the companies for their compliance with the legal requirements.
Nokia took first place in the 14th edition of the Green Electronics Guide with a score of 7.3 out of 10. Sony Ericsson came in second, and was the only manufacturer to receive a perfect score in the toxic chemicals management section. Apple jumped from 9th to 5th place.
In terms of greenhouse gas reduction, Sony successfully reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by about 17% between 2000 and 2008, and also used about 17,000 tons of recycled plastics annually (about 90% of which were post-consumer recycled plastics) in its various products, thus earning points in the energy management category.
The full report can be downloaded from the attachments.
– Reference source: Greenpeace, 2010-01-07
– Translated by Plastic Industry Technology Development Center
– For reference only, please refer to the original text
