In Defence of Apple Inc Environmental Record

In a rather troubling second annual Company Scorecard environmental assessment, Climate Counts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to directing consumers toward the greenest companies, gave Apple Inc the worst ranking with only 11 points out of a possible 100, placing the company last among electronic firms.

As a result, Climate Counts has issued a warning to climate-conscious consumers to avoid Apple Inc products at any cost, because the Cupertino-based company “is not yet taking meaningful action on climate change.” But, to Steve Jobs credit, Apple Inc’s score from 2007 score improved by full 9 points and it will continue to improve.

Does Apple Inc deserve the worst ranking on environmental scorecard? Although at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Cupertino, Apple inc investors voted down another shareholder proposal for Apple to deepen its commitment to limiting its environmental impact by creating a special board committee on sustainability, here at Palluxo! we still don’t think that Apple deserves the worst environmental ranking.

Climate Counts use a 0-to-100 point scale and 22 criteria to determine if companies have: (1) measured their climate “footprint,” (2) reduced their impact on global warming, (3) supported (or suggested intent to block) progressive climate legislation, and (4) publicly disclosed their climate actions clearly and comprehensively. Apparently, “the higher the score, the greater the company’s commitment to fighting global warming.” Here is how Climate Counts ranked Apple Inc:

Review: 0/22 points.Climate Counts found no publicly available information on Apple’s efforts to measure its companywide impact on global warming (i.e., its greenhouse gas emissions or climate footprint).

First of all, Apple Inc’s official web site contains “Apple and the Environment” section featuring the latest facts about Apple’s commitment to greener products. The fact that Climate Counts failed to locate this publicly available information is rather troubling.

Reduce: 8/56 points. Climate Counts has found that Apple has completed analysis of the impact that many of its products have on global warming while being used by consumers and “has engaged with its employees and other companies on climate-related issues.

Second of all, the question remains: if Climate Counts says that Apple Inc has successfully completed “analysis of the impact” and “has engaged with its employees and other companies on climate-related issues,” why has Climate Counts scored Apple with only 8 points out of possible 56?

Policy Stance: 0/10 points. Climate Counts found no public information to suggest that Apple supports public policy that addresses climate change.

Third of all, in “A Greener Apple,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs openly talks and provides an update on Apple’s environmental policies. As a tip for Climate Counts, this update is also located on Apple Inc’s official web site. How could they miss it?

Report: 3/12 points. Climate Counts has found that Apple has made some public information available on its efforts to address global warming.

And lastly, if Climate Counts has found that some information is available publicly, why have they given Apple Inc only 3 out of possible 12 points? This is a rather questionable practice. Apparently, IBM had the best score at 77, followed by Canon, 74; Toshiba, 70; Hewlett-Packard, 68; Sony, 68, and Motorola, 66. In reality, Apple is ahead of many companies in eliminating toxic chemicals from its products.

In mid-2006, Apple completely eliminated the use of CRTs. A typical CRT contains approximately 3 pounds (1.36 kg) of lead. Apple’s first CRT-based iMac contained 484 grams of lead, with Apple’s third-generation LCD-based iMac containing less than 1 gram of lead. As a comparison, Dell with 49 points and Hewlett Packard with 68 points still ship CRT displays today.

In 2006, Steve Jobs announced that “Apple is on track to introduce our first displays using arsenic-free glass in 2007.” To his credit, Apple has initiated the transition to mercury-free LED backlighting in portable products starting with the 15-inch MacBook Pro in June 2007.

Apple’s first mercury-free LCD display - with arsenic-free glass, brominated flame retardant-free material for the majority of circuit boards as well as PVC-free internal cables - was introduced in 2008 with the release of MacBook Air.

Apple began phasing out polyvinyl chloride (PVC) twelve years ago and began restricting brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in 2001 - with plastic enclosure parts bromine-free since 2002. Dell (with 49 points) plans to eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in 2009. Apple will completely eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in its products by the end of 2008.

GreenPeace also praised Apple Inc and its CEO Steve Jobs for announcing change in policy and bringing us “closers to the greener apple that Mac users all over the world have been asking for.”

Apple products are compliant with the European Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, also known as the RoHS directive. Examples of materials restricted by RoHS include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and PBB and PBDE flame retardants. As a result of our proactive approach to hazardous substances, Apple met many of the RoHS restrictions long before the July 2006 deadline.

Disposal of computers, external monitors, printers and mobile phones is a large and growing environmental problem. Some 50 million tonnes of “e-waste” is produced each year with most of which ends up in the developing world where environment protection regulations are lax or non-existent. Currently, All the e-waste Apple collect in North America is processed in the U.S., and nothing is shipped overseas for disposal. Thus far, Apple’s policy prevents harm of people and the destruction of environment in the developing world.

Apple’s free recycling program will take back your iPod or any cell phone - regardless of manufacturer or model - and by 2010, Apple will most likely be recycling significantly more than Dell or HP (Hewlett-Packard) as a percentage of past sales weight.

All iPods and iPhone use mercury-free LEDs to illuminate their displays. iPod and iPhone power adapters exceed Energy Star efficiency requirements and Apple’s goal is to meet or exceed the standards set by The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR program - of which Apple was a founding member, The California Energy Commission appliance efficiency regulations, and The European Union Code of Conduct on Efficiency for External Power Supplies.

As a result, we believe that Climate Counts should reconsider its scorecard and refrain from irresponsible claims in regards to Apple’s environmental record.