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April 04, 2000
Sony Leads Home Electronics in Environmental Responsibility
Report from a German environmental research firm assesses the environmental record of seven
manufacturers of home electronics, finding much room for improvement.
SocialFunds.com --
Many environmental issues in corporate responsibility stand out to investors, such as endorsing the
CERES (Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies) Principles or transparency on
environmental policies. But a recent report allows investors to compare the overall environmental
record of several companies in the home electronics industry, providing a valuable tool for
choosing investments.
 The report comes from Oekom Research AG,
an independent Munich-based environmental rating firm, which has analyzed and assessed
environmental aspects of listed companies on behalf of institutional investors since 1993. Oekom
currently provides thorough assessment results on almost 200 companies in 24 countries and 25
industries.
"Our industry reports allow investors to identify the environmental leaders
and laggards of the industry," said Dirk Reinhard, Chief Environmental Analyst at Oekom. "In the
long run, environmental leaders will have less problems facing the environmental challenges in the
industry and therefore will be the better investment."
Oekom's latest effort rates the
environmental activities of seven international manufacturers of home electronics, such as
televisions, VCRs, radios, and CD-players. The seven included six Japanese companies, Sony,
Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Hitachi, and Toshiba, and one Dutch company, Philips. Two companies,
Samsung and Sanyo, did not participate in the rating.
The criteria used for rating
companies include environmental management, environmental data, and environmental aspects of their
products and services, including energy efficiency, hazardous materials, recyclability, and
packaging. Companies receive an overall "grade," a weighted average of their performance in all of
these areas.
Sony proved to be the clear industry leader with an overall assessment of B-,
an improvement over its rating last year, compared to an average of C for the participating
companies. Sony's relatively high rating is primarily due to its performance in the area of
environmental management and environmental data, areas where it has made a concerted effort in the
last two years.
In the area of product development and services, the performance of all
companies assessed were placed very closely with results of between C+ and C-, with Sharp standing
out as the leader in this area. Oekom identified the reduction of energy consumption of products
and the "take-back" of obsolete equipment as the biggest challenges in the home electronics sector.
Recent research cited by Oekom has illustrated that energy conservation of electrical
equipment in "stand-by" mode could drastically surpass standards set by eco-labels, such as "Blue
Angel" or "Energy Star." Oekom suggests the development of new labels for home electronics that
identify more than minimum requirements required by such eco-labels, similar to the comprehensive
energy efficiency labels developed for washing machines and refrigerators.
None of the
participating manufacturers could provide a take-back guarantee for all of their home-electronics
products, an important breakthrough in manufacturing being pioneered by the office equipment
industry. The companies assessed restrict their take-back activities to complying with current
legal requirements, potentially leading to an unprecedented impact on landfills worldwide in the
coming years.
Most of the home electronics manufacturers assessed by Oekom have already
implemented a company-wide Environmental Management System, confirming their commitment to
environmental issues in general. But these companies are trailing other branches of the technology
sector, such as computers and office equipment, in their overall environmental performance.
"Results of these Environmental-Ratings show that the home electronics industry is taking the
environmental challenge seriously," said Reinhard. "However, they still have a long way to go. It
remains to be seen whether the industry will voluntarily apply further new solutions on a broad
basis, or if legislation will be required to force them to do so."
©
SRI World Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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