14 DAY TRIAL // Greenpeace has posted the latest edition of its Guide to Greener Electronics, placing HP at the top of the list with the highest score, and Apple on the no. 4 spot (up five places since last year), calling the Mac maker “a joint top scoring company on green products and relatively strong on sustainable operations.”
Every company cited in the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics has a report card made specifically to detail the ways said company strived to stay in the green.
Apple’s report card in particular reveals that it scored most of its points on the Sustainable Operations.
The company got “near to maximum” points on the e-waste criteria. Greenpeace cites the Apple’s 2010 report on global recycling which exceeded its 70 percent goal, “a level that it is confident will be maintained through 2015, though it can still make improvements by providing a breakdown of its recycling data and by further extending its take-back programme.”
“Together with HP, Apple is also a top scorer for its policies and practices on the sourcing of conflict minerals, for publishing its suppliers and engaging effectively in the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition’s conflict-free smelter program,” Greenpeace said.
The environmental group reiterates its beliefs that Cupertino would score higher on its green chart had it shown “greater transparency of its data in reporting the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of its supply chain and disclosure of the documents it uses to communicate with its supply chain for chemicals management.”
They believe Apple needs to come up with a paper procurement policy, and that GHG emissions data of its operations needs to have external verification: Apple scores poorly on the Energy criteria,” Greenpeace said. Apple also doesn’t specify any target to reduce emissions, according to the report.
On Products, the company continues to score well by choosing the right materials and manufacturing process that have a minimal impact on the planet. Apple’s overall score and a detailed score can be found in the PDF report card.