14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo was again the worst performing big technology company in the most recent “Guide to Greener Electronics” report compiled by Greenpeace, the environmental-oriented activist and pressure group. The Japanese giant only managed to score 1.8 out of 10 when it was evaluated for its friendliness to the environment and was the worst ranking company of the 18 looked at.
The best performing console maker was Sony, the creators of the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable, which scored 4.9 out of 10 in order to get to sixth position. Interestingly, the Sony score actually dropped from 5.1 last year and it still moved up, which suggests a general worsening of the situation when it comes to environmental practices. Microsoft scored 3.3, up from 2.4, and landed in 17th place. The top spot in the “Guide to Greener Electronics” report went to telephone maker Nokia, which succeeded in getting a grade of 7.5.
On its website, Greenpeace says, “The ranking is the outcome of dialogue and pressure on the companies to clean up their act along with considerable time spent on research, both online and offline.” One of the main reasons for Nintendo's bad showing was the fact that it refused to offer the data the organization asked for.
Still, the Japanese giant performed better than in November 2007, when the report first appeared and Nintendo scored 0 out of 10. Greenpeace says that while less dangerous chemicals are used in making the Wii home console and the DS family of handhelds, the overall emissions of Nintendo increased for the second year in a row.
Greenpeace might be a controversial organization, better known for the publicity stunts it pulls than for the research it does, but console makers and videogame companies need to be more careful about their green image as the customer becomes ever more sophisticated.