GreenReader

After reading about E-waste, I was almost looking at each and every electronic good as a devil waiting to create disaster. Yet life is so dependant on these, thankfully organizations like Greenpeace do offer an opportunity to create awareness about companies which are ‘green-tech’..Here is a list of seven companies who are attempting to implement ‘green-tech’ policies in India..

1. Nokia- has one of the best take-back programs for used mobile phones and aims to have all their models free of brominated flame retardants (BFR) and antimony trioxide by 2009; they also have launched PVC free models.

2. Samsung- launched PVC free and partially BFR free models of mobile phones and developed halogen-free memory chips and semiconductors for certain applications.

3. Fujitsu Siemens Computers- sells a range of green-certified products, which use halogen-free flame retarded plastics and halogen-free circuit boards for mainboard and power supply, but there is no information on PVC-free components. FSC has finally put a timeline of end of 2010 for the complete elimination of PVC and BFRs in all its products.

4. Sony Ericsson- has banned antimony, beryllium and phthalates from new models launched since January 2008. The company scores relatively well on energy criteria because all of its products meet and exceed the Energy Star standard. It is now reporting CO2 emissions from its own manufacturing and product transportation.

5. Sony has models on the market that are partially free of PVC and BFRs, including three models of video recorders and many models of the Personal Computer VAIO, “WALKMAN”, Camcorder and Digital camera. On waste issues, Sony supportes Individual Producer Responsibility and provides some voluntary take-back and recycling of the e-waste generated by its branded products and disclosing externally-verified greenhouse gas emissions for over 200 sites.

6. LG Electronic has launched new models of mobile phones with halogen-free housings, packaging and main printed wiring board. It now provides a timeline of 2012 for eliminating phthalates and antimony – but only in new models of mobile phones.

7. Toshiba- It launched models of laptops with circuit boards free from brominated flame retardants (BFRs), EcoMark-certified products without PVC, and makes other components and parts that are free from these harmful substances. Toshiba has committed to introduce alternatives to phthalates, beryllium and antimony by 2012 – though only in its PCs, for which it loses one point.

Note: This list is from the report created by Greenpeace on Greener Electronics and it keeps getting updated every quarter. There are more companies in this report, but I chose to share with you the topmost ones.. hope if you are on your way to buy a new mobile or electronic good this article will help you take a ‘green-decision’..(I will keep it updated whenever Greenpeace gives the signal)