Greenpeace today released a new and upgraded version of its Guide to Greener Electronics wherein Wipro retains the top slot followed by HCL Infosystem in the Indian version. The international version ranks the IT manufacturing company HP at the top slot, taking the lead over Dell and Nokia in international version. The new entrant to the guide in the international version is Research in Motion (RIM), manufacturer of Blackberry phone and in the Indian version it is Chirag Computers and SAI InfoSystem.

The guide has prompted improvements within the electronics industry, such as phasing out hazardous substances from their products. The guide is a part of Greenpeace’s wider campaign to persuade the IT industry to find solutions aimed to reduce global emissions. This includes urging Bharti Airtel to power their network operations substantially with electricity sourced from renewable energy.

While the latest international version of the guide ranks 15 companies across three areas - energy, greener products and sustainable operations, it also sets new criteria for companies, challenging them to reduce their carbon footprint. The Indian version, which is the 11th edition, assesses four IT manufacturing companies on the same criteria.

“After the successful notification of the e-waste rule, supported by leading Indian and international electronic companies, we are now challenging leading electronic companies to improve their energy sourcing quality and commit to reduce their growing carbon emissions” said Greenpeace India Campaigner Abhishek Pratap. He added that HP and Wipro take the top slot due to their strong and visible efforts to curb their own emission while advocating for strong economy-wide climate legislation. “It is now time that all the companies included in the guide show strong support for acceleration of policies which enable a substantial uptake of renewable energy in India” added Pratap.

In the Indian version of the guide, Wipro scores 5.4, closely behind the international version topper HP for its strong initiatives on reducing carbon emission, establishing effective take-back policies and making its entire product line energy star 5.0 compliant. HCL scored 4.3 for its chemical management policy and has become the first Indian company to initiate the process to prevent the use of conflict minerals in products and the measurement and reduction of emissions from its supply chain.