With the environment and climate change being two of the biggest world issues right now, there are many companies more concerned about greenwashing than actually trying to make a difference. This may have been true about Apple several years ago, but that is changing. The company named after a fruit is turning a new leaf – Apple has launched a new microsite aimed at letting everyone know just how its products and the company impact our environment.
As the title of its new microsite claims, Apple is accounting for everything when it calculates its carbon footprint.
Apple reports environmental impact comprehensively. We do this by focusing on our products: what happens when we design them, what happens when we make them, and what happens when you take them home and use them.
This way of calculating its carbon footprint is much different than bigger companies HP and Dell. Apple puts its greenhouse gas emissions at 10.2 million metric tons. That is a lot more than Dell which claims it produced only 471,000 tons or HP at 8.4 million. But again, remember, both those companies exclude the carbon impact of people using their products, which Apple says is 53 percent of its total.
This way of calculating Apple’s total carbon footprint has drawn applause from some environmental groups while others say it is flawed because you can’t know how each customer uses Apple products. Still, most groups are encouraged by Apple’s openness and new commitment to trying to be more environmentally friendly.
Apple is also trying to improve its ranking in Greenpeace’s guide to greener electronics. Its last one had Apple still fairly low, but they were still ahead of Dell, HP, Microsoft, and Sony. It’s obvious Apple still has a long way to go, but it’s nice to see a company so open – willing to highlight its successes and areas that need improvement.
