Nintendo worst in Greenpeace electronics table

While Greenpeace is often seen boarding Japanese whaling boats, the environmental group also campaigns against the use of toxic materials in electronics. It has just released an updated league table of the best and worst companies -- and scores have plummeted.

We looked at the previous Greener Electronics Guide in March and noted how giants like Microsoft, Nintendo and Philips were at the bottom of the table for having poor recycling schemes and toxic chemicals in their products. Four months on and believe it or not, the top 18 electronics manufacturers have got worse.

The quarterly report, now in its eighth edition, is a long but interesting read, and the reason scores have gone down is mainly because of the new, stricter chemicals and electronics waste criteria and new energy criteria. Greenpeace says that electronics companies are responsible for two per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions -- equivalent to that of the aviation industry. Armed with this, Greenpeace has rescored the companies and the majority of them have come out with a lower number than before.

Nintendo still brings up the rear, despite some improvements in banning phthalates and monitoring the use of antimony and beryllium, but its carbon dioxide emissions have actually gone up due to its increase in business. And if you're wondering how Greenpeace knows about all the chemicals in electronics, it's because they crack them open and test some of them, like they did with the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3. Other electronics giants scraping the bottom of the barrel are Microsoft, LG and Fujitsu Siemens.

While Nintendo may be at the bottom, there are two other villains -- Nokia and Philips. Both received a penalty point deduction. Nokia got its mark-down for what Greenpeace calls 'corporate misbehaviour', since a retest of the company's take-back and recycling practice in India revealed that staff are still not aware of the service. And Philips got its penalty for 'double standards'. On its global website Philips recognises the benefits of individual producer responsibility for product eco design, but in the US Philips is part of the Electronic Manufacturers' Coalition for Responsible Recycling, which does not support producer responsibility and wants to put the financial burden for collection and recycling of e-waste on the consumer.

Despite the lower scores, it's worth noting that some companies do come out well, in particular Sony Ericsson and Apple, as all of their products meet, and in many cases exceed, Energy Star requirements (that's the US equivalent of a product being EST-recommended). Sony Ericsson also stands out as the first company to score almost top marks on all of the chemicals criteria, with all new Sony Ericsson models being PVC-free.

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