CES: Greenpeace says electronics industry getting greener

Asus was deemed the greenest of the companies surveyed at CES

LAS VEGAS: Greenpeace's latest report into the environmental friendliness of electronics manufacturers has shown promising progress, but some companies are refusing to take part.

The organisation sent out questionnaires to 20 companies at CES in Las Vegas about the chemicals used in the production of PCs, mobile phones, monitors and other computer equipment, and received data from all but two: Apple and Philips.

Asus was the greenest of the companies surveyed, topping the tables in the notebook list with the UL30A and the monitor list with the VW-247H-HF.

Dell scored very poorly, however. The Latitude 2110 was judged the most polluting netbook, and the Aero the worst smartphone.

Indian manufacturer Wipro also scored poorly in the desktop and notebook computer categories.

"Our survey shows that electronics manufacturers have made demonstrable progress over the past few years in producing products that are free of the worst toxic chemicals, more energy efficient and more easily taken back for reuse and recycling," said Renee Blanchard, toxics campaigner for Greenpeace.

"This report allows the industry to do what it does best: compete for a new perspectives and innovate on environmental policies."

Overall the industry has been speeding up the elimination of PVC, brominated flame retardants and other toxic chemicals, and lowering power consumption faster than expected.

However, companies are still failing in two key areas: product recycling and building devices that last longer. In addition, some provided only very limited information; Lenovo, for example, returned data only on its monitors and not its extensive PC line.

"The consumer electronics industry is committed to greening its products and practices for the benefit of consumers, communities and the overall environment, " said Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, which organises CES.

"In the past three years, we've made great strides in our environmental efforts by creating more green products, improving energy efficiency and deepening our commitment to electronics recycling.

"We know there is work remaining, and we will press forward with these initiatives in 2011 and beyond."