Are games destroying the planet?

Greenpeace has released its latest Guide to Greener Electronics, a ranking of "the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV's and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals and recycling," and the news isn't good for Nintendo, which scored just 0.3 out of a possible 10 points and placed a distant last on the list.

While the score represents an improvement from the goose egg awarded the Japanese video game giant in December's guide (apparently the company has since commited to using green suppliers), Greenpeace claims that Nintendo still has no policies on use of PVCs or BFRs in its products, and provides little assistance to customers looking to recycle their gadgets.

Nintendo isn't the only video game company to place poorly on the list. Microsoft appears third from the bottom with a score of 4.7, partially, Greenpeace says, because it hasn't a voluntary end-of-life product take-back program.

Sony places fourth overall with a score of 7.3, thanks to its strong consumer education programs, diversity of products free of PVCs (though he guide doesn't say if the manufacturer's consoles are one of those products), and commitment to reporting waste recycling quantities.

Now in its seventh edition, Greenpeace seems to be positioning the guide as a competition for the world's top electronics manufacturers to clean up their acts, challenging them to become the first to score a perfect 10 (Toshiba and Samsung currently top the list with equal scores of 7.7). However, whether the companies featured in the report-many of which, including HP and Dell, already promote themselves based on their environmental track records-are actually spurred to any kind of action because of the guide is open to speculation.