Nokia hailed as greenest tech company

Greenpeace has praised Nokia and blasted Apple over the use of toxic chemicals

Greenpeace has released the latest Green Electronics Guide, which ranks technology companies based on their environmental record.

Nokia tops the list for taking a lead in getting rid of toxic chemicals in its products, and agreeing that companies have a responsibility to dispose of products they manufacture.

Apple was the lowest rated company for withholding details of regulated substances and giving no timelines for eliminating toxic polyvinyl chloride or brominated flame retardants.

"Apple is awarded the last position because the company has made absolutely no improvements to its policies or practices since the ranking was released three months ago, although most of its competitors have improved environmental policies," said Iza Kruszewska, Greenpeace International toxics campaigner.

"Despite being the world leader in innovation and design, Apple is losing the race by failing to keep up with the other companies."

In second place was Dell, which has made a major attempt to clean up its act since the first green audit earlier in the year. Fujitsu Siemens is in third position.

"We are witnessing a global shift towards greener PCs, with Acer and Lenovo, two major producers of PCs, committing to eliminating the use of the most hazardous chemicals from their product ranges," said Kruszewska.

"Most companies now score above average points on the ranking guide, with only five companies failing to score even the average of five points."

• Greenpeace Green Electronics Guide