Just a couple of days ago we celebrated Earth Day, a day to take some time and appreciate this place we call home by spreading “green” awareness. Being eco-friendly or “green” has become an important topic to a lot of people in recent years. Companies have noticed this and have been making strides to be more green to appease the people.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a slew of lists including “Top 20 tech & Telecom,” “Top 20 retail,” National Top 50,” and more. One company that we are happy to see on a couple lists is Microsoft. Their name appears in second place on the “Top 20 Tech & Telecom” and “National Top 50” lists, just behind Intel on both. Microsoft’s assets include biomass, small-hydro, solar, and wind.

We’re glad to see Microsoft on the list, but what about their partners and competitors? On the “National Top 50“ Intel leads the charge at #1, Apple is at #10, and…that’s it. Nokia, Google, Motorola, Samsung, HTC, Asus, and HP are not on the list. In the more specific “Top 20 tech & Telecom“ list Motorola, Samsung, and Nokia do appear.

It’s very interesting to see what companies are putting an emphasis on being green. Intel, Microsoft, and Apple seem to be doing a good job, but many of the other tech companies could be doing more. Does knowing your favorite company is green (or not) affect your buying decision?