In life, it helps to have someone who can hold you accountable for your actions. In the case of electronics companies, it seems that Greenpeace is their accountability partner. The organization has recently released the current company rankings in its Greener Electronics Scale. To find out how certain companies fared, get "green-minded" and turn to the full article after the jump.

Greenpeace has released their "Guide to Greener Electronics" which scores the 18 top manufacturers of gadgets and devices according to their policies on toxic chemicals and recycling.

Apple, which was under Greenpeace's black books for the iPhone, got a better score this time around. Among the three console manufacturers, Sony scored the best. Microsoft was third to the last and Nintendo was in last place (because both are new entries to the guide).

The "Green Ranking" by world-lovin' Greenpeace rates the world's consumer electronics industry to determine which company, in quarterly periods, is the most eco-friendly. After returning CEO Michael Dell challenged other electronics manufacturers to provide "takeback" policies on throw-away, useless hardware, it seems that China's laptop brand Lenovo outgreened just about everybody else, except itself.

Now while takeback policies aren't exactly new, only EU member nations have strictly enforced the recycle old hardware policy by asking electronics companies to offer discounts on newer hardware purchases as old, unusable parts were traded in. Greenpeace hopes that companies will adopt this policy worldwide, as did Dell.

Sony (and Sony-Ericsson) are now also complying with chemicals for silicon doping and fire resistance with their elimination of beryllium and phthalates. Unfortunately for Earth-lovers and Captain Planet, only 14 companies are currently included in the rankings.

As a big surprise to all, Lenovo, a China-based firm for electronics and mobile computing, has leaped from last place to top place, despite the massive amounts of e-waste that are generated in China. Greenpeace's International Toxic Campaigner Iza Kruszewska said:

Given the growing mountains of e-waste in China - both imported and domestically generated – it is heartening to see a Chinese company taking the lead, and assuming responsibility at least for its own branded waste. The challenge for the industry now is to see who will actually place greener products on the market.

Lenovo could possibly lose the number one spot if the next product that it puts out to market is not free from the worst of chemicals. The top five most eco-friendly of e-companies are as follows:

1. Lenovo
2. Nokia
3. Sony Ericsson
4. Dell
5. Samsung

The ranking takes into consideration the equal treatment of all customers, so if any double-faced takeback policies have been reported, companies suffer rank drops all across the boards. Unfortunately, Apple is the last of all the companies. But good news: Apple hasn't dropped a spot ever since!

We all know the whole global warming thing that scientists and politicians around the world are trying to fight, so we're not going to stress you with the 'use less energy' talk. But this is something that even those of you who hate the environment can probably relate to. We associate electric cars with the words slow, impractical and usually, ugly. Well that is all about to change with the latest innovations in motor car technology. Now you can have environmentally-friendly cars that are fast too!

This Mini Cooper, the car you may recognise from The Italian Job, is what you would call a wolf in sheep's clothing. It looks like a bog-standard Mini Cooper with over-sized tires, but what lies beneath the hood is something you probably haven't seen before. The MINI QED electric hybrid houses 4 120kW (160bhp) wheel motors complete with inverters to convert momentum back into stored energy under brakes.

Initially the car is powered by the petrol engine straight from the Mini Cooper S, but after a bit of braking, the stored energy is converted into electricity, used by the motors to power the vehicle. This gives the unorthodox petrol-electric hybrid no less than 640 BHP, shifting the car from 0-60mph in a time of 3.7 seconds up to a top speed of 150MPH - that's supercar territory. Each wheel has its own electric power on the electric motor of that wheel, giving the car 4 wheel drive.

After delivering the energy to the battery system the mileage translates to around 80mpg and gives the QED a range of 1000 miles (1500 kilometres) between recharges or visits to the petrol station which will definitely keep Greenpeace happy. There are still a few pieces of technology to be ironed out on the Mini, so don't expect a release soon; but remember, next time somebody tells you that hybrid cars are slow, tell him about this one.