Palm and LG worst mobile eco-offenders, Apple excuses itself

UPDATE: An O2 spokesperson has told us Apple chose not to take part because it offers its own environmental reports on its products.

O2 has launched an Eco ratings scheme that ranks mobile phones in terms of their environmental impact. LG and Palm are the worst offenders, with the Pam Pre+ and several LG handsets making up the bulk of the lower end of the scale. Meanwhile, Apple has refused to participate in the survey

O2′s survey of 65 handsets in regular us in the UK looks at various factors (packaging, materials, recyleability, etc) that define how a mobile phone impacts the environment and rates each on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the best). While no phone managed to score a perfect five, the Sony Ericsson Elm came out best with a near-saintly 4.3 out of 5.

At the other, more planet-doomingly bad end of the scale, LG has a surprising number of phones. The LG GW520 shares the bottom spot with the Palm Pre+ – both handsets scored a shamefully low 2.7 out of 5. The rating system forms part of O2′s Think Big sustainability project.

Interestingly, the survey contains no mention of the iPhone. The iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 are two of O2′s biggest sellers but Apple has decided to block O2 from including its phones in the eco ratings scheme. We have contacted O2 for comment. Apple, for its part, has refused to be drawn on the matter.

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