Sony Ericsson wins the title of most improved, environmentally speaking. In the eighth issue of Greenpeace’s Greener Electronics Guide, Sony Ericsson took the lead as the producer of green electronics.

The guide routinely examines the production procedures of 18 different electronics companies, scoring them on criteria ranging from electronics to  toxic chemical phaseouts. Out of ten possible points, Greenpeace reports that only two companies scored higher than 5/10. Both Sony Ericsson and Sony scored a 5.1. Sony Ericsson edged out ahead because of its top marks on reducing toxic chemicals in their products.

According to Greenpeace’s guide, Nintendo absolutely scrapes the bottom of the barrel. Nintendo received a score of 0.8, more than one full point below the next lowest competitor, Microsoft, which weighe in at 2.15.

Electronics companies may not have such a bleak view of their own industry. Every single one of the 18 companies examined by Greenpeace has made a commitment to cleaning up its production process, and most of them have made significant progress along those lines. Even low-scoring Nintendo has made advances on cutting its greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s important to remember that Greenpeace essentially scores only on each company’s actions in the last three months — the time between each issue of the Greener Electronics Guide. The full guide is available as a free PDF on the Greenpeace website.

Photo courtesy Sony Ericsson