Box 3: Monitoring Corporate Performance
The Clean Computer Campaign’s Computer Report Card
Electronic waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the industrialized
world and is a major threat to human and ecological health. Computer equipment
includes many toxic substances: lead and cadmium in computer circuit boards; lead
oxide and barium in computer monitors’ cathode ray tubes; mercury in switches and
flat screen monitors; and brominated flame retardants (BFR) on printed circuit boards
and plastic casings and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cable insulation.
Since 1998, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition’s Clean Computer Campaign has evaluated
computer company websites around the world and published their findings as an annual
Computer Report Card
(available at
http://www.svtc.org/cleancc/pubs/2001report.htm).
Consumers
are entitled to detailed information regarding equipment design and disposal so they can
make informed decisions about purchases. In 2001, the scope of the Computer Report Card
focused specifically on companies around the world that offer computer monitors, desktops,
laptops, or printers. Questions in 6 categories covered product stewardship, toxic materials,
energy, occupational health, suppliers, worldwide operations and access to information.
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