The Real Truth About Green IT

There has been plenty of hype about Green IT over recent months, so it was interesting to see environmental campaigner Greenpeace put technology vendors under the microscope this week.

The pressure group has released its latest Greener Electronics Guide, which paints a worrying picture of manufacturers own environmental strategies.

Sony Ericsson leads the field in the latest report, albeit with a paltry score of 5.1 out of 10. Dell is ranked fifth out of the 18 PC, mobile phone, and games console manufacturers surveyed, with Greenpeace acknowledging the vendor’s good work on reducing toxic chemicals and e-waste.

Less impressive are HP, ranked tenth with a score of 4.3, and Fujitsu Siemens, ranked fourth from the bottom with a score of 3.7. “Poor on e-waste and energy issues,” was the Greenpeace verdict on Fujitsu Siemens, although Microsoft is in even worse shape, according to the environmental group.

The Redmond, Wash.-based vendor is second to bottom of the Greenpeace list, just one place above Nintendo, with Greenpeace blasting the software giant’s energy and electronic waste efforts. “Microsoft is in 17th position with a miserable score of 2.2 points, mainly on toxic chemicals criteria,” it said.Clearly, some of these vendors need to get their own houses in order before they start touting their own products as some sort of geeky green nirvana.

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