Which is all the more notable because electronics have a long, long way to go before they gain a truly green seal of approval from the likes of Plenty readers. Happily, Greenpeace has taken on some of the challenge by assessing the green credentials of 14 consumer electronics companies based on their use of hazardous chemicals, their energy efficiency and their products’ overall lifecycle, including their recyclability. In a survey presented Wednesday at CeBIT, the environmental group praised the efforts of Sony, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, and Apple in keeping the environmental footprints of their cell phones and laptops small. Unfortunately, not even these leaders earned a score of higher than 5 out of 10 on the organization’s scale.

The survey was based on voluntary participation, so of course several companies chose not to participate. Among the nonresponders were Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sharp. That’s not so surprising, given that in the November 2007 edition of the survey, those very companies were pulling up the rear. Nintendo had a mighty score of zero, and Microsoft, Philips, and Sharp were only a shade better. I’m a little surprised to hear about Sharp, because they’re one of the top manufacturers of solar cells and have a number of warehouses blanketed in their own solar panels. 

Says the press release:

“While no individual product could yet lay claim to being truly green, there are plenty of individual innovations by different companies in toxics reduction, energy efficiency, longer lifecycles, and recycling. The key to making a comprehensively greener product is combining innovation in each of these areas.”