Nintendo responds to Greenpeace report
Takes eco responsibilities "seriously".
Nintendo has told Eurogamer that environmental matters are taken very seriously at the company and are considered at every stage of a product's life following a critical Greenpeace report last week.
Nintendo said that Wii is "notably the most energy efficient [console] of its generation" and that the DS design had been improved to minimise energy consumption.
"We would like to assure customers that we take our environmental responsibilities seriously and are rigorous in our commitment to comply with all relevant laws relating to environmental and product safety, including avoiding the use of dangerous substances in our manufacturing processes and ensuring the safe disposal and recycling of materials," Nintendo told us.
"We consider the environmental impact of our products over their entire life cycle, from planning to disposal. In the planning phase, for example, we make every effort to design energy-efficient products and select materials for component parts and packaging materials with careful consideration for the environment. We also consider the importance of reducing environmental impact at end-of-life disposal by clearly indicating the materials used in each product to make recycling easier.
"We also work to eliminate harmful substances from our products right from the initial stages of material selection and have established strict environmental control standards, with our 340 production partners all co-operating with us in our efforts," the company added.
Last week, Greenpeace published its yearly report evaluating 18 of the world's biggest electronics companies, scoring them their handling of Chemicals, E-Waste and Energy.
Nintendo finished bottom, although Microsoft finished only one place better. Sony, however, scored over five and finished mid-table with the bulk of the companies. Nokia and Sony Ericsson were well out front, finishing first and second, respectively.
Whether videogames manufacturers, both of software and hardware, will come under renewed scrutiny following the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December remains to be seen.