Sony Most Enviornmentally Friendly Co.

[ConorBuckley]

November 27, 2007 - Environmental organization Greenpeace has released its latest Guide to Greener Electronics, which ranks electronics manufacturers by their effect on the environment. Sony places number one on the list, scoring an eight out of ten. Family-friendly Nintendo has appeared on the list for the first time and comes in dead last as the only company to score a zero.

Greenpeace says it has two demands of electronics companies: 1. clean up your products by eliminating hazardous substances, and 2. takeback and recycle your products responsibly once they become obsolete. The Guide does not consider issues like labor standards or energy use.

Each company is given a score in nine categories like Chemicals Management and Amounts Recycled. Scores can be Good (three points), Partially Good (two points), Partially Bad (one point), or Bad (zero points). Nintendo scored "Bad" in all nine categories.

Some of the reasons Greenpeace gives for Nintendo's low scores are: the company's lack of a policy on its use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a plastic Greenpeace claims poses both environmental and health hazards; the company has no "takeback" policy for consumers to recycle their old Nintendo products.

Nintendo was beaten by other companies on the list like Sony, which scored an eight out of ten, and Microsoft, which fared only slightly better with a 2.7. Sony does have a takeback plan to recycle used Sony products.

By ConorBuckley