Shame on you, Nintendo!

Greenpeace just released its sixth issue of the Guide to Greener Electronics, which ranks 18 of the top-producing manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, televisions and game consoles according to their greenness. And you, father of Super Mario Bros., genius behind Wii, came in dead last.

Greenpeace's ranking criteria is based on two things: 1. How good a job the manufacturer has done at eliminating toxic substances from its products, and 2. Its policy for taking back and/or recycling its products once they are obsolete.

This year, Nintendo, newcomer to the list, scored 0 points out of a possible 10.

When reading the fine print, it's actually a pretty confusing system Greenpeace has devised to calculate each company's total points on nine different criteria, but this is generally how it goes.

Companies earn no points for being "bad," 1 point if found "partially bad," 2 points if deemed "partially good," and a generous 3 points if the company is considered to be "good" in executing the green tasks in that particular category.

The nine categories are:

And, well, Nintendo, according to Greenpeace, isn't doing any of that.

I actually find it a bit ironic.

You'd think Nintendo, bringer of joy to children the world over, wouldn't want to shoot itself in the foot (and wallet) by doing so very little to secure a future for the next generation of gamers who undoubtedly promise to funnel their hard-earned allowances into the company's coffers.

E-waste is a gigantic and messy problem. Check out my feature Five Steps to Green IT to read some of the more depressing details.

And the question of how a company continually thinking toward the future can forget that problem is mind-boggling.

Now, granted, Nintendo does have a proper paper recycling program in place. It also tries to abstain from using colored paper (difficult to recycle), use recycled paper towels and message pads, and print instruction manuals on recycled paper, etc.

It has blue bins out for disposal of soda cans, water bottles and the like. It does the bare minimum by banning substances such as lead and mercury from products.

But helllooooooo??? For a company constantly looking into and shaping the future, doesn't this seem a bit nominal?

It aggravates me to no end when companies that are as sophisticated, savvy and innovative as, um, NINTENDO, can't put that sort of energy into a few simple measures to offset the damage they cause to the planet and humankind.

A few years ago, I saw a very compelling exhibit at the Massachusetts MOCA that featured brilliantly, albeit rudimentarily, executed inventions made by prisoners out of the minimal materials available to them. A battery cigarette lighter, tattoo gun and contraband radio were some of the more impressive inventions. My first thought was how productive this kind of energy could be if it went toward "good," rather than into car theft or murder.

And once again, that's the same kind of thought that runs through my head when considering that this is the same company that has wowed us with the Wii.

To view the entire Greenpeace guide, visit here.