MANILA, Philippines -- Game consoles are the “dirtiest” among electronic gadgets, according to environmental group Greenpeace in its latest global ranking of firms in terms of their efforts to eliminate toxic chemicals and recycle their products once they become obsolete.

Greenpeace on Thursday released the most recent “Guide to Greener Electronics,” which ranks 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, television sets and game consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change.

But the guide, which the group issues quarterly, does not rank the firms on labor standards, social responsibility or any other issues.

It only aims to push these manufacturers to go “green” and to make sure that their products are toxic-free when they end up in dumpsites, said Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace toxics campaigner in a press briefing in Makati City on Thursday.

Nintendo, a Japan-based game console maker, placed at the bottom of the list with a “pitiful” 0.8 points out of 10, scoring zero on all electronic waste (e-waste) criteria, the guide showed.

US-based game console manufacturer Microsoft was ranked 17th with 2.2 points for its weak support for “individual producer responsibility.”

Under the e-waste criteria, Greenpeace expects companies to take financial responsibility for dealing with electronic waste generated by their products and to take back discarded products in all countries and to re-use them “responsibly.”

While some improvement on the phase-out of toxic chemicals used in Nintendo products has been noted, its carbon dioxide emissions jumped by six percent in 2006 due to an increase in business, said Baconguis.

The company was also observed to be in the process of phasing out polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in its packaging and monitoring the use of other hazardous chemicals such as antimony and beryllium.

But Baconguis pointed out that the company has yet to put out PVC-free and brominated flame retardants (BFR)-free models in the market.

Greenpeace is working against the use of PVC for its “highly toxic and carcinogenic” properties that have been linked to female and male reproductive abnormalities.

On the other hand, BFRs—a wide range of brominated chemicals added to materials to inhibit their ignition and slow down combustion—have known toxic properties that are highly resistant to degradation in the environment.

While Microsoft has committed to eliminate phthalates—mostly found in PVCs—by the end of 2010, it has yet to market products which are PVC-free or BFR-free, according to the report.

Tied for first place with 5.1 points were mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson and television manufacturer Sony for selling products that are already PVC-free and for its commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Sony Ericsson scored high for putting out energy-efficient gadgets.

Following closely were cellphone producers Nokia (4.8 points); Samsung (4.5); computer makers Dell (4.5 points); Toshiba (4.3 points) and Acer (4.3).

The others were Panasonic (4.3 points), Motorola (4.3 points); HP (4.3 points); Apple (4.1 points); Sharp (3.9 points); Lenovo (3.9 points), Philips (3.7 points); Fujitsu Siemens (3.7 points) and LG (3.3 points).

“This is neither a boycott nor a promotion campaign. We just want to encourage companies to move up to the greener side of the spectrum and to give consumers a guide to what is and what’s not bad for the environment,” said Baconguis.