Greenpeace has for decades been the leading activist organization working to protect planet Earth. The organization publishes a Guide to Greener Electronics that offers manufacturer rankings based upon varied environmentally-responsible criteria. There are three (3) main areas of concentration broken down into several sub-categories. They are:

• Criteria on Toxic Chemicals

Greenpeace seeks the elimination of toxic chemicals at any point in manufacturing. This change will reduce risks to employees and consumers from the leaching of gases such as those from brominated flame retardants (BFR’s). Although some of the toxic chemicals often used in the manufacturing process never leave the manufacturing facility, there remain dangers to the factory employees and water ways. These and other toxic chemicals also make disposal and recycling more difficult. Manufacturers are graded according to their participation and voluntary reporting of toxic chemical reduction or elimination.

• Criteria on e-Waste

Greenpeace expects all manufacturers to take responsibility for the proper disposal or recycling of their products. E-Waste represents an ever-increasing amount of solid waste ending up in landfills. Manufacturers are graded according to actual performance in this area, including recycling, re-use and ultimate disposal. Ideally, manufacturers will develop products with zero residual waste at the end of the product lifecycle.

• Criteria on energy

Greenpeace is asking for mandatory disclosure of a manufacturer’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with timelines, including the reduction of GHG’s in the supply chain. Reduction of power and fossil fuel usage in manufacturing, shipping and warehousing operations are critical. In addition, companies are asked to report the amount of renewable energy used in the manufacturing process and the energy-efficiency of new models. Manufacturers are graded on this area of performance as well.

According to the latest Greenpeace survey (June 2009) of electronics manufacturers based on the above criteria, here are the results:

Worst Environmental Offenders:

• Microsoft
• Lenovo
• Fujitsu
• Nintendo
• HP (Has recently fallen to this level)
• Dell (Has recently fallen to this level)

Middle-of-the-road Environmental Offenders:

• Apple
• Sony
• Acer
• Panasonic
• Philips
• Sharp
• LGE
• Toshiba
• Motorola

The Most Environmentally Responsible Electronics Manufacturers:

• Nokia
• Samsung
• Sony Ericsson

Participation in this survey process is voluntary for manufacturers. In some cases, researchers had to rely on data gathered independently. As more consumers respond to the need for increased environmental responsibility on the part of manufacturers, the market will see rapid changes in the level of participation in environmentally responsible practices.