AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS: Greenpeace International first released the 'Guide to Greener Electronics' in August 2006. The guide ranks the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV's and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals and recycling.

The sixth issue of the Guide has been expanded to include televisions and game consoles. Market leaders Microsoft, Nintendo, Philips and Sharp enter at the bottom of the ranking of environmental performance with Nintendo being the first company scoring zero out of a possible 10 points. Philips and Microsoft performed little better, scoring only 2 and 2.7, respectively. Sony Ericsson has taken over the top spot from Nokia while Samsung and Sony have surged ahead to now occupy second and third positions.

The Rankings and points
7.7 -- Sony Ericsson - New leader due to improved takeback reporting, new models PVC free, but falls down on takeback practice.

7.7 -- Samsung - Big improvements, with more products free of the worst toxic chemicals. Loses points for incomplete takeback practice.

7.3 -- Sony - More products free of toxic PVC and improved reporting on recycling and takeback especially in the US.

7.3 -- Dell - Unchanged since the last version, still no products on the market without the worst chemicals.

7.3 -- Lenovo - Unchanged since the last version, still no products on the market without the worst chemicals.

7.0 -- Toshiba - Much improved on toxic chemicals but still lobbies in the US for regressive takeback policies.

7.0 -- LGE - Unchanged since the last version, need better takeback for products other than phones.

7.0 -- Fujitsu-Siemens - Unchanged since the last version, needs toxic elimination timelines, better takeback coverage and reporting of amounts recycled.

6.7 -- Nokia - A steep fall! Strong on toxic chemicals but penalty point deducted for deficiencies in takeback practice in Thailand, Russia and Argentina during our testing.

6.7 -- HP - Finally provided timelines for eliminating worst toxic chemicals, though not for all products; needs to improve takeback coverage.

6.0 -- Apple - Slightly improved with new iMacs and some iPods reducing the use of toxic chemicals, takeback programme still needs more work.

5.7 -- Acer - Unchanged since the last version, needs better takeback coverage and reporting of amounts recycled.

5.0 -- Panasonic - Unchanged since the last version, need better takeback coverage and reporting of amounts recycled.

5.0 -- Motorola - Big faller due to penalty point for poor takeback practice in Philippines, Thailand and India revealed by our testing. Still no timelines for eliminating the most harmful chemicals.

4.7 -- Sharp - New to the guide - some plus points on toxic chemicals elimination but poor takeback policy and practice.

2.7 -- Microsoft - New to the guide - long timeline for toxic chemicals elimination (2011) and poor takeback policy and practice.

2.0 -- Philips - New to the guide - no timeline for toxic chemicals elimination and zero points on e-waste policy and practice.

0.0 -- Nintendo - New to the guide - first global brand to score zero across all criteria!

Ranking criteria explained
The ranking criteria reflect the demands of the Toxic Tech campaign to the electronics companies. Greenpeace's two demands are that companies should:

* clean up their products by eliminating hazardous substances;

* takeback and recycle their products responsibly once they become obsolete.

The two issues are connected. The use of harmful chemicals in electronics prevents their safe recycling when the products are discarded. Companies scored marks out of 30. This has then been calculated to a mark out of 10 for simplicity.

Each score is based solely on public information on the companies Web site. Companies found not to be following their published policies will be deducted penalty point in future versions of the guide. The guide is updated every three months. The current version was published on the 26 November 2007.