Greenpeace Ranks Tech Companies

By Geoff Duncan December 8, 2006

Environmental watchdog and activism group Greenpeace has updated its report card on the manufacturing and recycling practices of computer and mobile manufacturers. Greenpeace ranks companies’ policies and processes on two interrelated criteria: action taken to remove hazardous chemicals and materials from their products, and their efforts to recycle and take back products once they become obsolete.

At the top of Greenpeace’s list—but still not firmly in the organization’s "green" criteria—is Finlands’s Nokia, which ranked well across all areas, but which Greenpeace feels still needs to set clear timelines for phasing out PVC (PolyVinyl Chloride) from its processes. Motorola jumped from next-to-last to fourth place overall, largely on the basis of public commitments to convert to eco-friendly processes. Greenpeace also reports that computer makers Acer and Lenovo are promised to remove hazardous materials from their products.

The bottom of the list is Apple Computer, which Greenpeace’s toxic campaigner Iza Kruszewska characterized as having made "absolutely no improvements to its policies or practices since the ranking was first released three months ago, although most of its competitors have improved environmental policies." The characterization is unusual since Apple is usually regarded as one of the greener of electronics manufacturers, regularly noting how much electronic waste it has recycled, committing to recycling e-waste domestically rather than shipping it overseas, and shaming other manufacturers into introducing retail take-back and recycling programs. But according to Greenpeace, the famously secretive company has made no improvements to its policies or practices since Greenpeace issued its first report card in August, has never disclosed hazardous substances included in its products, and has offered no timelines or commitments to removing PVCs or brominated flame retardants from its products.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

The best VR and metaverse tech of CES 2023

A woman using Sony PlayStation VR 2 while friends watch on the TV.

Whether it's VR headsets, mixed reality, or wacky gadgets, CES 2023 was full of fresh interest in the world of metaverse technology.

This year's event was particularly exciting, boasting plenty of interesting ideas and different approaches. Here are our picks for the best of the new VR headsets, AR glasses, and more unveiled at the show.
HTC Vive XR Elite

Mobile

Apple’s lead designer is leaving the company just three years after replacing Ive

Apple is facing a major departure from its corporate leadership as Evans Hankey, head of hardware design, announced that she will be leaving the role earlier this week. Hankey has been Apple's head of hardware design since 2019 and told colleagues that she will remain in her position for the next six months before her official departure in 2023. While people may be anxious to know who will be replacing her once she leaves, no successor has been named.

Hankey's departure marks a significant change in Apple's research and development department, especially because her time as head of hardware design was relatively brief when comparing it to Jony Ive , who held the position for 20 years before being replaced by her. Both Ive and Hankey have been responsible for shipping some of Apple's most iconic devices, so whoever steps up as the new department head will have quite the reputation to follow.

Computing

Big Tech’s vision for the metaverse is weak. Here’s what it needs

Despite the fact that Silicon Valley has burned billions of dollars on the metaverse, current incarnations of the idea remain largely unappealing to the general public – and it’s easy to see why. Between Meta’s lackluster vision for VR meetings and Decentraland’s uncomfortably empty digital cities, the metaverse doesn’t really have much to offer right now.

But just because Big Tech's metaverse vision is falling flat doesn't mean that it can't be improved. So in the spirit of offering constructive criticism, we asked DT staffers what they want to see in the metaverse. What features, elements, or ideals are missing from the metaverse as it exists today? Here’s what DT’s Editorial team thinks:
A genuinely interconnected space
What makes the metaverse such a compelling promise on paper is the idea of an interconnected digital space. In a best-case scenario, it functions like a 3D version of the internet where you can seamlessly browse between different spaces and experiences. However, that idea has yet to tangibly appear in any current corporate vision of the tech. Meta’s metaverse has largely been presented as a walled garden that doesn’t interact with much outside of Meta-created worlds. You can’t take your Meta avatar and waltz into Roblox or VR Chat currently.