AAPL Shareholders Should Pressure Apple to Become Greener

Tag : PVC Board


In its eighth “Guide to Greener Electronics,” theenvironmental group GreenPeace ranked the 18 biggest manufacturersof personal computers, mobile phones, TVs and game consoles by howgreen their products are. Apple was ranked with disappointing4.1/10 points. It’s time for Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, and AAPLShareholders to step up and and ‘raise the bar’ inApple’s environmental policies.
Our readers may recall that last month, Climate Counts, also rankedApple poorly by placing the company last among environmentallyfriendly electronic firms.
At that time, we stood in defence of Apple and slammedClimateCounts’ ranking due to rather troubling scoring system(see our article In Defence of Apple Inc Environmental Record .) But this time, and as a result of Greenpeace’s fairassessment, we urge Apple to improve its environmental policies.
A year ago, Steve Jobs announced a major change in Apple’s environmental policies . Although there have been some encouraging improvements, Applestill needs to do more to fulfill Jobs’ genuine commitment tothe protection of our environment. After all, the last thinganybody wants is a toxic device that can harm human health.
The overall score of the ranked companies has plummeted asGreenpeace tightens requirements on electronic waste (e-waste) andtoxic chemicals, and adds new requirements for evaluatingcompanies impact on climate change.
Apple scores poorly on most e-waste criteria, except for reportinga recycling rate in 2006 of 9.5% as a percentage of sales 7 yearsago. It does only slightly better on energy criteria, failing toscore on all criteria except energy efficiency of products, whereit scores top marks (doubled) for all desktop computers, portablePCs and displays complying with Energy Star 4.0 and their iPod andiPhone power adapters not only exceeding the Energy Star standard,but already meeting Californias stricter efficiency regulationsthat take effect 1 July 2008.
However, there are some positive improvements. Apple comes in 11thposition scoring 4.1 points, mainly due to putting products on themarket whose key components are free of brominated flame retardants(BFRs) and PVC vinyl plastic. For example, all new models of iMacand the MacBook Air have bromine-free casings and printed circuitboard laminates as well as PVC-free internal cables. Millions ofiPods now have bromine-free enclosures and printed circuit boardlaminates. The MacBook Air also has mercury free LCD display witharsenic-free glass. Some MacBook Pros come with mercury-free LEDbacklit displays.
Electronics giants pay attention to environmental performance oncertain issues, while ignoring others that are just as important.Philips, for example, scores well on chemicals and energy criteria,but scores a zero on e-waste since it has no global take-backpolices, said Iza Kruszewska, Greenpeace International ToxicsCampaigner. Philips would score higher if it took responsibilityfor its own branded e-waste and established equitable globaltake-back schemes.
Many companies score well on energy efficiency as their productscomply and exceed Energy Star standards. The best performers onenergy efficiency are Sony Ericsson and Apple, with all of theirmodels meeting, and many exceeding, Energy Star requirements.

Greenpeace aims to show which companies are serious about becomingenvironmental leaders. We want them to race towards meeting the newcriteria: phasing out other toxic chemicals, increasing therecycling rate of e-waste, using recycled materials in new productsand reducing their impact on climate change, concluded IzaKruszewska.
More information is available in Volume eight of the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics .