According to the latest green electronics research from Greenpeace.org, the most green electronic products currently available in the market may have a smaller environmental footprint in comparison to those sold last year. The industry still has to go a long way prior to offering a truly green product. In its report, the organization assesses the progress made over the last year by consumer electronic companies on their commitments to green their products. The top 15 electronic brands submitted 50 of their greenest new products for evaluation including, televisions, computer monitors, mobile and smart phones, notebook and desktop computers, and game consoles.

Commitments Unfulfilled by PC Manufacturers

As per the report, the top PC manufacturers Dell, HP and Lenovo have expressed their inability to remove brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and vinyl plastic (PVC) from their products by the end of 2009 as they had promised earlier. In order to tackle the rising tide of e-waste the phasing out of toxic substances in consumer electronics should come at the top priority. But the producers hardly comply with it and go green only when they feel consumer and public pressure.

According to Greenpeace, most of the companies scored higher and more competitively compared to last year. In general the use of hazardous chemicals in products has been reduced and lesser products came in the market that contain PVC plastic. The television and monitor manufacturers are using more post consumer recycled plastics. Most of them have come up with LED displays, which eliminate the use of mercury in backlights and consume lesser energy.

Top Green Electronic Products

Points were given on 10 point scale in different categories. The leading products were Lenovo L2440x wide computer monitor scored highest in the monitor category, Sharp LC-52GX5 in television, Samsung F268 in mobile phone, Nokia 6210 in Smart phone, Toshiba Portege R600 in Notebook, and the Lenovo ThinkCentre M58 in Desktop category. However it is clearly reported that no product scored enough marks in all areas to deserve the accolade of a truly “green product.”

Renewable Energy On Agenda
Though companies have failed to score significantly in toxic categories, they have started improving their scores on energy criteria. In the fight against climate change, IT has a key role in emissions reductions of 15 percent of business-as-usual by 2020. Philips and Samsung have openly come forward in the support for global steps to tackle climate change and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. HP and Philips have been joined by Nokia and Dell in making commitments to significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from their own operations. More number of companies are now pushing the use of renewable energy. Nokia is already sourcing one-fourth of its electricity from renewable.