The Guide to Greener Electronics: Apple Falls

The latest edition of Greenpeace's quarterly Guide to Greener Electronics is out. Nokia retains its first place ranking, but there's movement elsewhere on the list. Apple dropped from fifth to ninth (there's a joke about Newtonian physics in there somewhere) and HP rose from eighth to fourth.

From Fast Company:

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Apple has performed well on the toxic chemicals front, with all products now free of free of PVC vinyl plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). But the company lost major points for its secrecy about future toxic chemical phase-out plans, as well as its chemical management and minimal supply chain communications. It's not that Apple did anything so wrong this time around--it was just overtaken by other companies that performed better.

HP, for example, scored well for its new line of PVC and BFR-free products, its commitment to phase out beryllium and compounds by July 2011, and its recent launch of the first PVC-free printer.

I don't know if Greenpeace's rankings actually affect purchasing decisions. When you're choosing a brand of smart phone, for example, many factors come into play besides a company's plans for beryllium. But it still affects how people see these brands, and that puts pressure on them to continually raise the bar. It seems to be working. Apple fell four places by standing still.