Amsterdam – Greenpeace released on November 9 a new and upgraded version of its Guide to Greener Electronics, which finds consumer electronics company HP taking the lead over Dell and Nokia and scoring top marks for its sustainable operations.
While the latest edition of Guide to Greener Electronics ranks 15 companies across three areas – Energy, Greener Products and Sustainable Operations – it also sets new criteria for companies, by challenging them to reduce their carbon footprint in manufacturing, in their supply chain, and through to the end-of-life phase of their products, and to set ambitious goals for renewable energy use. The latest version of the guide also features new criteria for the sourcing of paper, conflict minerals and product life cycle.
“After many of the world’s leading electronics companies rose to the challenge of phasing out the worst hazardous substances, we are now challenging them to improve their sourcing of minerals and better managing the energy use throughout the supply chain”, said Greenpeace International campaigner Tom Dowdall.
“Right now, HP takes the top spot because it is scoring strongly by measuring and reducing carbon emissions from its supply chain, reducing its own emissions and advocating for strong climate legislation. However, all companies we included in the Guide have an opportunity to show more leadership in reducing their climate impact,” said Dowdall.
Computer manufacturer Dell takes second position in the Guide after making a dramatic improvement from tenth position in the previous version. Dell scores well for having the most ambitious climate target, with plans to reduce its emissions by 40 percent by 2015, and a strong policy on sustainable paper sourcing.
After three years at the top of the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics, Nokia has slipped from first place to third, mainly due to weaker performance on the Energy criteria.
“If it hopes to regain leadership on environmental issues, Nokia, along with many other companies in the Guide, need to demonstrate how it will reduce future emissions through energy efficiency and renewable energy,” said Dowdall.
The new criteria added to this edition of the Guide are based on the creation of truly sustainable electronics industry and include a holistic set for examining key supply chain issues. Electronics products are both resource and energy intensive to produce; the Guide’s new energy section focuses on how companies can lead the way by reducing their own energy use and using their influence in support of clean energy legislation.
Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) is ranked for the first time but ranks bottom of the table, and needs to improve reporting and disclosure of its environmental performance. However, RIM scores well on conflict minerals and sustainable paper policy.
The Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics has prompted improvements within the electronics industry, such as phasing out hazardous substances from their products. The guide is part of Greenpeace’s wider campaign to persuade the IT industry to find solutions aimed to reduce global emissions. This includes targeting Facebook for powering datacentres with electricity sourced from coal.
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organization that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace.
Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics: November 2011
Source: Greenpeace.
