Greenpeace Ranks Apple Lowest in 'Green' Policies

Five months ago, the organization released its first report card on the world's leading electronic companies, grading their use of toxic chemicals in popular products. The group says many were able to make improvements but noted that Apple had failed to make any progress.

"Despite being a leader in innovation and design, Apple has made absolutely no improvements to its policies or practices since the ranking was first released three months ago," said Rick Hind, director of Greenpeace USA’s Toxics campaign.

"Apple’s bad green policy is not a wonderful life for workers in the scrap yards of the developing world, and we can’t imagine that Steve Jobs would want to be the Mr. Potter of the high-tech industry this holiday season," Hind added.

The group said that other companies were able to follow recommendations laid out in prior months with corporations such as Acer and Lenovo, taking steps towards eliminating the use of the most hazardous chemicals from their products.

Nokia leads the Greenpeace rankings, scoring a 7.3 out of 10 but the group says the cell phone maker has yet to set a clear timeline for phasing out PVC plastic in its products. Computer maker Dell and electronics company Fujitsu follow with scores of 7 and 6 respectively.

Electronics conglomerates LGE and Samsung tie for third in the ranking, scoring 4 each. Greenpeace says Apple has made no improvements in its policies, placing the maker of iPods and Macintosh computers at the bottom of its ranking with a score of 2.7.

The Greenpeace "Guide to Greener Electronics" ranks 14 top manufacturers of personal computers and cell phones.