A greener Apple?

Author: Brett Thomas
Published: 3rd May 2007
Comments (12) Stumble
Green is the new black - Apple notebooks are greener than Greenpeace thought.

Green is the new black - Apple notebooks are greener than Greenpeace thought.

When one thinks of the term "tree-hugger," one normally pictures that person being very environmentally friendly. In accordance with that "hippy" image, many people in the tech world also picture that person using a Mac. Hey, don't blame me, I didn't create the stereotype. But one would think that those two would go together then, and that Macs would be a bit more environmentally friendly.

Only, according to Greenpeace recently, they aren't. The organisation has really taken Cupertino to task over its use of PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFR, used on the PCB) in its products, and has said that the company should look to the likes of Dell and Hewlett Packard for examples of a more eco-friendly build.

Steve Jobs finally got around to writing his rebuttal, released today in a six-page signed statement. And the answers were not only well to the point, but proved that Apple is already better than most of the companies Greenpeace compared it to, and is improving on the areas that it's not. Apparently, Apple already started reducing its PVC usage over 12 years ago, and since 2001 has been phasing out BFR. In fact, most iPods now ship with no-BFR boards.

Overall, the company uses many less of these harmful products per piece than the companies that Greenpeace is lauding as better examples of eco-friendliness. Both Dell and HP have made their moves to more eco-friendly products in more recent years, and produce more products to boot. However, Greenpeace has given them the thumbs up due to their "initiatives," promises that they are working to reduce this technology by some future date.

So why the disconnect? Steve-O blames it on communication. In his note, he states that Apple hasn't really done a great job of publicising its initiatives, including a greener Apple, to its shareholders or the media. The company prefers to talk about what it already has done rather than will do, Jobs explains. However, that's a method that he feels, in light of this issue, needs to be re-evaluated - it's now leaving stock holders, consumers, and groups "just trying to do the right thing" in the dark on Apple's plans.

Does this mean we'll get a little more open Apple? We hope so, but we won't hold our breath...even if the air is a little cleaner.

Do you have a thought on the greener Apple? Tell us about it in our eco-friendly forums. No animals were harmed, except where we caged RTT and threw him a keyboard...
Quote DougEdey 3rd May 2007, 14:42
Rofl @ RTT in cage (even though it's true)
Quote Krikkit 3rd May 2007, 14:54
Nice to see the whining hippy liberal Greenpeace *******s getting two fingers from someone. I don't normally cheer for Apple, but today I shall.
Quote bilbothebaggins 3rd May 2007, 15:40
I often wonder if Greenpeace poking (or bashing) is a specifically Enthusiast thing or a specifically rainy-island-dweller thing.
Or maybe it's just generally "in" atm.

-btb-
Quote DXR_13KE 3rd May 2007, 15:43
Greenpeace are kind of cool.... they certainly have balls...
Quote Javerh 3rd May 2007, 16:50
No they don't. Most of them are feminists.
Quote DXR_13KE 3rd May 2007, 16:57
in that case they have virtual balls. :p
Quote zero0ne 3rd May 2007, 17:29
Does anybody think this was planned?

Think about it, pay greenpeace to knock your product, knowing full well you have a rebuttal planned for it...

whats that rebuttal do, tells people your computer is actually MORE eco friendly than dell, HP, etc etc... thus your stocks go UP...
Quote pendragon 3rd May 2007, 18:02
it's possible zero0ne, as we all know that Apple *loves* having control on things.. but it could just be lack of communication.. [shrugs]... hard to know
Quote eek 3rd May 2007, 20:18
According to New Scientist a few weeks back Apple is the worst PC manufacturer as far as the environment is concerned... now do I chose to believe a reputable magazine, or PR from the company itself? Both points of view give rise to opposite extremes, I'm sure in reality they are probably both wrong and it is most likely somewhere in between (I'm still siding with the magazine though :p)!
Quote The_Beast 3rd May 2007, 21:54
If it's true then good, even little things help
Quote Tulatin 4th May 2007, 03:17
And in other news, congratuations on another waste of time, paper, electrons, and oxygen greenpeace. Nobody cares.

Onto other news, what do you mean no animals were harmed during the making of this article! I was expecting a thick slice of meat when i entered this thread :(
Quote bubsterboo 4th May 2007, 03:25
What about the fact that everything you buy from apple comes in an extremly thick white cardboard box? Even the little remote that comes with the imacs has its own huge cardboard box when the remote itself is only a few centimeters long.
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