Apple drops to 9 in the Green Gadget ranking

By Silicon India

Bangalore: Greenpeace in its latest Greener Electronics guide saw major shifts that most affected Apple. Out of 18 companies on the list Apple fell from fifth place to ninth simply by failing to advance its score beyond the earlier 4.9 score .

Most of the points that Apple scored is based on the usage of toxic chemicals by which their products are made. All Apple products are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) which are very harmful chemicals for the environment. The company has not provided enough information on how it manages chemicals, communication in the supply chain or how it plans to phase out any more toxic chemicals, Greenpeace said.

Apple's drop in the ratings, however, does not mean the company has been lacking in staying clean and green; but more because it didn't provide the public enough information about its future toxic chemical phase-out plans and the fact that other PC makers have showed significant improvements.

HP is among the biggest gainers in Greenpeace's ranking, climbing to 4th place with 5.5 points, up from 8th place with 4.9 points in the previous ranking. The improved score is partly due to new notebook and desktop lines that are free of PVC and BFRs, a PVC free printer, and a pledge to phase out beryllium and compounds by July 2011.

Greenpeace credited Philips in this latest report for releasing the first PVC and BFRs free TV, the Econova, which puts Philips on track to meet its commitment to phase out these hazardous substances by the end the year, ahead of other TV manufacturers.

Among all makers of electronics, Nokia and Sony Ericsson remain the greenest by a larger margin. The two have been making products that are free of most hazardous substances, including PVC/BFRs, antimony, beryllium, and phthalates.