How Green Are My PCs?

Hooray for Dell on their ambitious recycling program and commitment to eliminating toxins in its PCs and production plants.

And an iTox on Apple for all of those toxic chemicals hidden beneath the sleek exteriors. That's the bottom line in a new report card that ranks electronics vendors on a "green" standard.

The report, issued by Greenpeace, the environmental activist group, evaluates PC and electronics firms on the basis of toxins used in the production of PCs as well as toxins found inside the finished PC. The report also evaluates the recycling practices of each company.

What's the score? Nokia and Dell earned the top slots in the ranking. Nokia leads the way on eliminating toxic chemicals. The report says that since the end of 2005 all new models of Nokia mobiles are free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC); all new components are to be free of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from the start of 2007. Dell has also set ambitious targets for eliminating these harmful substances from their products and has begun a new recycling program.

Third place went to HP, followed by Sony Ericsson (4th), Samsung (5th), Sony (6th), LG Electronics (7th), Panasonic (8th), Toshiba (9th), Fujitsu Siemens Computers (10th), Apple (11th), Acer (12th), and Motorola (13th). Dead last, says Greenpeace, is Lenovo in the bottom position.

But it's Apple that may become Greenpeace's Save the Whale campaign for the digital age. Apple isn't really all that green. Greenpeace is genuinely miffed that Apple's raised consciousness in the design realm doesn't translate to the environmental realm. And so to set the record straight and guide the misguided company, Greenpeace is showing an amusing parody of the Apple TV commercials where PC and Mac share a common litany of toxins. A Green My Apple Campaign on the site suggests other activities to help raise Apple's consciousness.

I found it interesting to note that there's no real correlation between the price of a PC and the company's dedication to greenness and recycling. Apple and Motorola are typically premium-priced products, but, at least according to this study, that money isn't going to the greener good.

For the full ranking, download the report in PDF format.