Samsung, Toshiba share 'greenest' crown

The latest release of Greenpeace's "Guide to Greener Electronics" hailed Samsung Electronics and Toshiba as the top greenest electronics firm.
The report, the seventh edition in a series that started in August 2006, ranks 18 manufacturers of PCs, cellphones, TV sets and game consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals and recycling.

PVC, BFR-free
Samsung has moved up from No. 2 in the last ranking to tie with Toshiba in the top spot. The South Korean firm scored top marks on most of the chemicals criteria and is now bringing products on the market that are free from the chemicals considered worst for the environment by Greenpeace. Samsung's new LCD panels are free from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and new handset models have circuit boards that are largely free from brominated flame retardants (BFRs), together with the housing and peripherals.

While Samsung improved on reporting of recycling obsolete products and supplies good information to consumers on what to do with discarded products, it loses points for providing voluntary take-back of electronic waste in only a few countries and for only some product groups.

Joining Samsung in the top spot, Toshiba has climbed from No. 6 by improving its score on Individual Producer Responsibility, which means the company had taken care of the electronic waste from its own-branded discarded end-of-life products. The Japanese firm also made commitments to phase out PVC plastic and BFRs from its whole product range by 2009.

Take-back service
Handset maker Nokia Corp. also inched its way up from the ninth spot to No. 3. Further testing done by Greenpeace on Nokia's take-back program revealed that the company's staff are still not informed about the take-back service in Russia and India, although the service was much improved in the Philippines and Thailand. Nokia scored well on the chemicals criteria after eliminating PVC plastic from new models of mobiles and currently eliminating BFRs from the remaining applications.

Former No. 1 Sony slipped to fourth place despite receiving top marks for reporting the quantities of electronic waste it recycles. Sony Ericsson, also dethroned from the top post, dropped to seventh after losing points on its e-waste policy and practice. It scores well on the chemicals criteria with a timeline of Jan. 1 for eliminating BFRs in two remaining applications and substituting phthalates, beryllium and some uses of antimony compounds.

Apple also continues to progress, inching up from 11th place to 9th, having improved its score for the new models of MacBook and MacBook Pro, with the majority of internal cables free of PVC and the majority of circuit board laminates free of BFRs. The iPod maker committed to eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in all its products by the end of 2008.