Greenpeace International  [Printer-friendly version]
August 25, 2006

RANKING SHOWS NO GREEN ELECTRONICS ON THE MARKET

[Rachel's introduction: "The scoring is weighted more heavily on the
use of toxic substances in production rather than criteria on
recycling, because until the use of harmful substances is eliminated
in products, it is impossible to secure 'safe', toxic-free
recycling."]

Amsterdam -- International Greenpeace today launched the 'Guide to
Greener Electronics,' which ranks companies on their use of harmful
chemicals and electronic waste recycling.(1) The guide will be used to
create demand for toxic-free electronics which can be safely recycled,
by informing consumers about company performance on these two issues.
The scorecard ranks the 14 top mobile and PC producers and currently
all fail to get a green ranking.

"The scorecard will provide a dynamic tool to green the electronics
sector by setting off a race to the top. By taking back their
discarded products, companies will have incentives to eliminate
harmful substances used in their products, since this is the only way
they can ensure safe reuse and recycling of electronic waste," said
Iza Kruszewska, Greenpeace International toxics campaigner.

Nokia and Dell share the top spot in the ranking. They believe that as
producers they should bear individual responsibility for taking back
and reusing or recycling their own-brand discarded products. Nokia
leads the way on eliminating toxic chemicals, since the end of 2005
all new models of mobiles are free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and all
new components to be free of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from
the start of 2007. Dell has also set ambitious targets for eliminating
these harmful substances from their products.

Third place goes to HP, followed by Sony Ericsson (4th), Samsung
(5th), Sony (6th), LG Electronics (7th), Panasonic (8th), Toshiba
(9th), Fujitsu Siemens Computers (10th), Apple (11th), Acer (12th) and
Motorola (13th).

Lenovo is in bottom position. It earns points for chemicals management
and providing some voluntary product take back programmes, but it
needs to do better on all criteria.

"It is disappointing to see Apple ranking so low in the overall guide.
They are meant to be world leaders in design and marketing, they
should also be world leaders in environmental innovation." said
Kruszewska.

Companies have the opportunity to move towards a greener ranking as
the guide will be updated every quarter. However penalty points will
be deducted from overall scores if Greenpeace finds a company lying,
practising double standards or other corporate misconduct. For now,
companies are scored solely on information publicly available on their
global websites.

The scoring is weighted more heavily on the use of toxic substances in
production rather than criteria on recycling, because until the use of
harmful substances is eliminated in products, it is impossible to
secure 'safe', toxic-free recycling.

==============

Notes to Editors

(1) 'Guide to Greener Electronics'

PVC explained: Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a chlorinated plastic used
in some electronic products and for insulation on wires and cables.
PVC is one of the most widely used plastics but its production, use
and disposal create toxic pollution. Chlorinated dioxins and furans
are released when PVC is produced or disposed of by incineration (or
simply burning). Dioxins and furans are classes of chemical compounds
widely recognised as some of the most toxic chemicals ever made by
humans and many are toxic even in very low concentrations.

BFRs explained: BFRs, used in circuit board and plastic casings, do
not break down easily and build up in the environment. Long-term
exposure can lead to impaired learning and memory functions. They also
interfere with thyroid and oestrogen hormone systems. Exposure in the
womb has been linked to behavioural problems. TBBPA, a type of BFR
used in circuit boards has been linked to neurotoxicity.

The presence of high levels of BFRs in electronics products has the
potential to generate brominated dioxins and furans, when the
electronic waste comes to be smelted, incinerated or burnt in the
open. Dioxins and furans are classes of chemical compounds widely
recognised as some of the most toxic chemicals ever made by humans and
many are toxic even in very low concentrations.

The electronics scorecard ranks companies on:

1. Chemicals policy and practice (5 criteria)

2. Policy and practice on taking back discarded electronic products
(ewaste) and recycling (4 criteria).

On chemicals, the criteria are:

a. A chemicals policy based on the Precautionary Principle

b. Chemicals Management: supply chain management of chemicals via e.g.
banned/restricted substance lists, policy to identify problematic
substances for future elimination/substitution

c. Timeline for phasing out all use of vinyl plastic (PVC)

d. Timeline for phasing out all use of brominated flame retardants
(BFRs) -- not just those banned by European Union's or Restriction of
Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS)

e. PVC-free and BFR-free models of electronic products on the market.

On Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)/recycling:

a. Support for individual (financial) producer responsibility -- that
producers finance the end-of-life management of their products, by
taking back and reusing/recycling their own-brand discarded products.

b. Provides voluntary takeback and recycling in every country where it
sells its products, even in the absence of national laws requiring
Producer Responsibility for electronic waste.

c. Provides clear information for individual customers on takeback and
recycling services in all countries where there are sales of its
products.

d. Reports on amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment
(WEEE) collected and recycled

Further contact information for reporters to get video, photos or
report details

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Contact Information Suzette Jackson Communications officer Greenpeace
International +31 6 4619 7324