BANGALORE: Greenpeace, a non-governmental organisation working for the conservation of the environment, on Tuesday alleged that the information technology (IT) company, Wipro, had failed to keep its promise to develop a policy to phase out toxins from its products. The organisation challenged Wipro to strive to become the first IT company in the country to tackle the worsening e-waste crisis.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, Vinuta Gopal of Greenpeace India toxics campaigner, said Wipro should announce, at its annual general meeting (AGM) on July 18, a clear plan to phase out toxic substances from its products.

"After we staged a demonstration outside the Wipro corporate office on Sarjapur Road last November, the IT giant promised to draw up a toxic treatment plan within six months. But there is no sign of any action so far. With the company's AGM scheduled for July 18, we feel it is the right time to bring the issue to the notice of everyone," Ms. Gopal said.

Greenpeace, as part of its global "Tox Tech" campaign, is trying to persuade the industry to adopt processes to ensure that products are free of toxic substances, which pose a threat to the environment.

"We demand that Wipro take responsibility for its products from cradle to grave. It must announce a phase-out policy that includes making its IT products compliant with RoHS (Restriction on Certain Hazardous Substances, a European directive that came into effect on July 1) by 2007" she said.

Ms. Gopal said that as part of its campaign, Greenpeace would create awareness about the hazards of e-waste. A mobile exhibition unit, with visuals on the effects of hazardous chemicals and the threat from e-waste, would go around Bangalore for a week from Wednesday, she added.

"We will also urge people to call up Wipro office and request the company to phase out toxins from its products."

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