Environmental report card for cell phone and computer manufacturers

[Adam Shand]

Not sure it's worth bashing Apple any more then anyone else ... but  
dammit, why did Dell have to score so high?

Adam.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3783558a28,00.html

Apple flunks Greenpeace's toxic test
01 September 2006
By LOUISA HEARN

Apple, Lenovo and Motorola have all "flunked" a new Greenpeace  
scorecard that compares the amount of toxic waste contained in phones  
and computers sold by large manufacturers.
The scorecard aims to highlight which of the electronics companies  
have done the most to remove the worst toxic chemicals from their  
products and run effective recycling programs.

"Only Dell and Nokia scraped a barely respectable score while Apple,  
Motorola and Lenovo flunked the test to finish bottom of the class,"  
said Greenpeace.

Our growing appetite for the latest electronic gadgets means that the  
volume of toxic e-waste made up of dangerous metals and plastics is  
on the rise, and Greenpeace said much of it was being dumped in  
developing countries.

Nokia and Dell claimed top positions in the first scorecard because  
of recycling policies introduced for their own-brand products.

Greenpeace said Nokia had also led the way on eliminating toxic  
chemicals such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), while Dell had "set  
ambitious targets" for removing harmful substances from its products.

The guide will be updated every quarter and Greenpeace International  
toxics campaigner Iza Kruszewska said he hoped it would set off a  
"race to the top" between the manufacturers.

"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," he said.

He added that it was 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," he said.

Although Lenovo claimed the very lowest ranking in the scorecard with  
a rating of less than 2/10, Greenpeace said the company had earned  
some points for chemicals management and voluntary product take-back  
programmes.

"But it needs to do better on all criteria," the environmental group  
said.

Also near the bottom of the list was Motorola, which Greenpeace said  
had scored points for its chemicals management system, but rated  
poorly on product take-back and recycling, and lost further ground  
after backtracking on commitments to eliminate PVC and brominated  
flame retardants (BFRs).

The environmental group said that, although the companies were scored  
on information publicly available on their websites, penalty points  
would be deducted if they were found to be "lying, practising double  
standards or other corporate misconduct".

Despite a growing backlog of old equipment, there is as yet no  
legislation in Australia to prevent people from dumping it.

And with an average score of only 4/10 across all the suppliers,  
Greenpeace said it was clear that "the electronics industry has a  
long way to go before it can make any claims to being a green industry".

E-waste scorecard:

1. Nokia - Good but room for improvement on amounts recycled. (7/10)

2. Dell - Points lost for not yet having models without the worst  
chemicals. Strong support for take-back. (7/10)

3. Hewlett Packard - Timelines only to provide plan for toxics phase- 
out. Good on amounts recycled. (5.7/10)

4. Sony Ericsson - Some models without some of the worst chemicals,  
but bad on precautionary principle and take-back. (5.3/10)

5. Samsung - Points for toxic phase-out but not good on take-back and  
recycling. (5/10)

6. Sony - Some models without the worst chemicals, but bad on  
precautionary principle and take-back. (4.7/10)

7. LGE - Points for toxic phase-out date but bad on take-back. (4.3/10)

8. Panasonic - Only good on chemicals management. (3.3/10)

9. Toshiba - Some models without the worst chemicals, but no  
timelines for elimination and poor on take-back. (3/10)

10. Fujitsu-Siemens - Points for some models free of worst chemicals,  
but poor on take-back. (3/10)

11. Apple - Low scores on almost all criteria. (2.7/10)

12. Acer - Should do better on all criteria. (2.3/10)

13. Motorola - Points for chemicals management. Recently broke clean- 
up promise. (1.7/10)

14. Lenovo - The lowest score of all companies. (1.3/10)

Source: Greenpeace