Greenpeace released ‘Guide to Greener Electronics: Fourth Edition’. The guide ranks the 14 top manufacturers of personal computers and mobile phones according to their policies on toxic chemicals and recycling.

The ranking criteria reflect the demands of the Toxic Tech campaign to the electronics companies. Greenpeace’s two demands are that companies should: clean up their products by eliminating hazardous substances, and takeback and recycle their products responsibly once they become obsolete. The two issues are connected. The use of harmful chemicals in electronics prevents their safe recycling when the products are discarded.

Substituting harmful chemicals in the production of electronics will prevent worker exposure to these substances and contamination of communities that neighbour production facilities. Eliminating harmful substances will also prevent leaching/off-gassing of chemicals like brominated flame retardants (BFR) during use, and enable electronic scrap to be safely recycled.

Until the use of toxic substances is eliminated, it is impossible to secure ‘safe’ recycling. For this reason, the points awarded to corporate practice on chemicals (five criteria, double points for PVC – and BFR-free models) are weighted more heavily than criteria on recycling, because until the use of harmful substances is eliminated in products, it is impossible to secure ‘safe’, toxic-free recycling.

The electronics scorecard ranks companies on: chemicals policy and practice (5 criteria), and policy and practice on Producer Responsibility (each company should take care of the electronic waste from its own-branded discarded products) for taking back their discarded products and recycling (4 criteria).

Nokia has reclaimed its position at the top of the ranking. They has already eliminated polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from new models of mobiles and is now eliminating brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from the remaining applications of BFRs – in new flexible circuits.
Nokia gets top marks for its support for Individual Producer Responsibility. But, it loses points for poor reporting on the amounts of discarded mobiles that it recycles as a percentage of past sales.

Dell’s strong position near the top of this scorecard is due to its strong definition of the precautionary principle, timelines for substituting toxic PVC and BFRs and explicit support for Individual Producer Responsibility. Dell has announced its intention to provide global free takeback and recycling services to individual consumers wherever its products are sold. Dell loses points for having no models free of PVC and BFRs on the market. Dell now scores top marks for reporting its recycling rate as a percentage of sales.

Lenovo has dropped to joint second place, which still compares well with the bottom position it graced when the Guide was first launched in August 2006. Reasons for Lenovo’s rise up the ranking are improvements in its policy positions. Closer examination of Lenovo’s takeback and recycling services has revealed some weaknesses e.g. time-limited takeback in Thailand, therefore Lenovo loses points on that criteria. Lenovo also still fails to score any points for providing models on the market that are free of PVC and BFRs.

Sony Ericsson states strong support for Individual Producer Responsibility. The company has now set a timeline of 1st January 2008 for eliminating the use of BFRs in two remaining applications, and the same timeline for substituting phthalates, beryllium and some uses of antimony compounds. All new models of mobile put on the market from 2006 are free of the worst chemicals like PVC. On the down side, Sony Ericsson loses points for failing to report on the amounts of discarded mobile phones it takes back and recycles.

Samsung remains in 5th place, with top marks on most chemicals criteria apart from the availability of products free of PVC and BFRs. The company has improved their information to consumers on what to do with their discarded products. Samsung loses points for providing voluntary product take back of its electronic waste only in a few countries and only for some product groups. Samsung has still to report on its recycling rate as a percentage of past sales.

Motorola stays in 6th place. Although the company offers its customers an increasing number of models that are free from BFRs, it has still to provide information on PVC-free models and to commit to timelines for eliminating all BFRs and PVC from their entire product portfolio. Motorola provides voluntary take-back/recycling services in 41 countries, accounting for more than 80 % of global mobile phone sales – with a goal in 2007 of 90%. Top marks to Motorola for reporting its recycling rate of 3.32%, as a percentage of sales 12-24 months before.

Toshiba moves from 10th to 7th place. The company has committed to eliminate PVC and BFRs in all its products and has set a timeline of 2009 by which to remove these toxic substances from PCs and mobiles – a fraction of their entire product portfolio. The company offers models of laptops whose circuit boards are free of BFRs and EcoMark-certified products PVC. The company loses points for its lack of support for Individual Producer Responsibility, but has improved on geographical coverage of its voluntary takeback programme and information to customers on what to do with their discarded products. Toshiba has yet to report on its recycling rate as a percentage of past sales.

Fujitsu Siemens moves down one place from 7th to 8th. Although they sell PCs which do not use BFRs, it has not yet set timelines for the phase out of PVC and all BFRs in all its products. The company also needs to improve the coverage of its voluntary takeback programme – the only country without Producer Responsibility legislation where they voluntarily take back its waste products is South Africa. They have yet to report on recycling rate as a percentage of past sales.

Acer stays in 9th place. It scores top marks on chemicals, but has yet to start selling products free of PVC and BFRs. Acer has also improved communication of its waste policy and practice, but still needs to do more on providing voluntary takeback and recycling of its end-of-life products. For example consumers in India are requested to pay 1000 Rupees (about 24 Euro) for the return of their PC for recycling. Acer has yet to report on recycling rates as a percentage of past sales.

Apple has finally moved off the bottom of the scorecard and is now in 10th position with improvements on many criteria. The company has committed to eliminate all uses of PVC and BFRs in their products by the end of 2008. They now provide examples of additional substances that they plan to eliminate with timelines, such as arsenic in LCDs and mercury, and Material Safety Data Sheets for all their products. But, Apple has yet to give consumers products free of PVC and BFRs. Top marks to Apple for reporting on its recycling rate as a percentage (9.5%) of sales 7 years ago and for setting goals to recycle nearly 30% by 2010. It could score better by supporting the principle of individual producer responsibility for its end of life products globally.

HP continues to slip down the ranking – now in 11th place. It loses points for weakening its support for Individual Producer Responsibility. HP scores top points for providing a substitution timeline for future substances and was the first company to devise an electronic waste take back / recycling metric based on percent of sales. HP fails to provide timelines for the complete elimination of PVC and all BFRs and therefore loses points.

Panasonic moved up from 13th to 12th largely due in large to providing a list of products on the market that are free of PVC. They include DVD players and recorders, home cinemas, video players and lighting equipment. Panasonic has now committed to eliminating all uses of PVC in their products – starting with internal wiring, as this hampers recycling – and have set a timeline of 2011 for getting PVC out of its notebooks. But, on BFRs, the company has yet to commit to their elimination in all products, although a timeline of 2011 has been set for getting BFRs out of notebooks and mobiles – a 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. Panasonic has yet to report on its recycling rate as a percentage of past sales.

LGE has tumbled further down the ranking from 12th to 13th . This descent is due in part to a penalty point for corporate double standards on Individual Producer Responsibility. While LGE’s global website states that the company believes that the producer (not consumer) should be responsible for financing the waste management of its own brand products when they are discarded; in the US, LGE is part of a Coalition that has been opposing Producer Responsibility and lobbying for U.S. consumers to pay an Advanced Recycling Fee (ARF). On the positive side, LGE gains points for launching models of mobile phones free of BFRs and there is improvement in their voluntary product take back and recycling efforts. LGE has yet to report on its recycling rate as a percentage of past sales.

Sony has been free falling down the ranking and is now at the bottom. When the Guide was first launched the company was in 5th place. This is due in part to the penalty point for corporate double standards on Individual Producer Responsibility. Sony is a founding member of the European Recycling Platform which supports IPR; however, in the US, Sony is part of a Coalition that has been opposing Producer Responsibility and lobbying for U.S. consumers to pay an Advanced Recycling Fee (ARF). On chemicals, Sony has yet to provide timelines for eliminating PVC and BFRs from all their products. On the positive side, Sony scores well for having some models that are free of the worst chemicals on the market. Sony has yet to report on its recycling rate as a percentage of past sales.

The top and the scores are depicted below:

1. NOKIA, 8/10
2. DELL, 7.3/10
3. LENOVO, 7.3/10
4. SONY ERICSSON, 7.0/10
5. SAMSUNG, 6.7/10
6. MOTOROLA, 6.7/10
7. TOSHIBA, 6/10
8. FUJITSU-SIEMENS, 6/10
9. ACER, 5.7/10
10. APPLE, 5.3/10
11. HP, 5.3/10
12. LG ELECTRONICS, 4.3/10
13. PANASONIC, 5/10
14. SONY, 4.0/10