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Nintendo scores zero on e-waste responsibility
Philips, Panasonic still in the red on green issues
Nintendo has scored the bottom place slot in Greenpeace's latest guide to green electronics with a measly 0.3.
The games console maker was behind the competition in the environmental pressure group’s latest guide to greener electronics.
Greenpeace, which rates performance based on tech companies’ policies and practices on toxic chemicals and electronic waste, said Microsoft, Philips and Panasonic also scored fairly low, with 4.7, 4.3 and 4.7 respectively.
Microsoft had moved up the ranking table, however. It’s improved its score because the multinational has promised to bring forward its deadline for eliminating toxic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) to 2010.
Asian firms Samsung and Toshiba share the goody-two-shoes top spot on e-waste with scores of 7.7 each. Samsung remained consistent on practices and policies, according to Greenpeace, while Tosh climbed from sixth spot by improving its score on individual producer responsibility.
Meanwhile, the greenies grumbled that Philips, Panasonic and Sharp refuse to be accountable for e-waste originating from their products.
But Nintendo was by far the worst culprit on toxic chemicals and e-waste, scoring a big fat zero on all but one criteria set by Greenpeace.
"The challenge is clear. To be truly green, the IT industry needs to commit to designing products that are free of toxic chemicals, are energy efficient, durable, and recyclable while taking full responsibility for them globally, including when they become waste," said Greenpeace toxic waste campaigner Iza Kruszewska. ®