The Bigger Story Behind Apple’s Environmental Flip-Flop

Bruce Rayner, Contributing Editor, Enterprise Efficiency OEM | 7/20/2012 | 21 comments

Bruce Rayner
Earlier this month we witnessed a little scuffle involving Apple that sheds light on perhaps the most important challenge the electronics industry faces: how to balance environmental responsibility with the incessant march of technology. It’s a challenge all electronics OEMs must address.

The drama
On July 6, the Wall Street Journal’s CIO Journal reported that Apple had made a decision in late June to pull all 39 of its desktops and laptops from inclusion in the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) registry, including the new MacBook Pro with the "Retina” screen. EPEAT is an internationally recognized non-profit that rates the “green-ness” of desktops, servers, laptops, and notebook computers. It claims to provide “an easy-to-use resource for purchasers, manufacturers, resellers and others wanting to find and promote environmentally preferable products.”

On July 10, CIO Journal reported that the City of San Francisco was planning to disqualify Apple from the list of companies city agencies could buy from. Other educational institutions and government agencies were making noises along the same lines. Apple’s very public snub of the well-established global standard was roundly criticized by environmentalists. And it was reported to upset Apple consumers, who are typically not known for putting social and environmental concerns ahead of their product purchasing decisions.

Then on July 13, Apple’s Senior VP of Hardware Engineering, Bob Mansfield, penned an open letter to customers reversing the decision, saying it was a “mistake.” Apple relisted all 39 products in the EPEAT directory, including giving itself a gold rating for the MacBook Pro with the Retina screen.

It’s been reported that the new MacBook was the reason Apple removed itself from the EPEAT registry in the first place. The EPEAT standard requires products to include easily replaceable parts and easy disassembly at end of life so they can be recycled. A product teardown conducted by ifixit revealed that the MacBook battery was next to impossible to remove easily. (See steps 21 and 22 in the ifixit review.)

What's next?
Whether EPEAT allows the MacBook to retain its gold status is the next chapter in this saga that will be determined in the next month, according to EPEAT. The non-profit has launched a "surveillance investigation" (unfortunate choice of words) to “help us better understand and address broad ambiguities or issues with product declarations.”

In other words, there are going to be a lot of closed-door meetings and discussions over the future of EPEAT’s standard and how to evolve it to accommodate the next generation of ultra-sleek products like the new MacBook.

Apple has a vested interest in the evolution of EPEAT. It was a founding member of the organization in 2006 and involved in developing the IEEE 1680.1 standard on which EPEAT’s eco-criteria are based. Mansfield’s letter points to some of the things that EPEAT needs to address. These include the use of environmentally superior materials, energy efficiency, and the measurement (and subsequently reduction) of an individual product’s CO2 footprint.

Apple’s very public flip-flop over whether or not to support the aging EPEAT standard suggests a sincere internal debate the company is having over how to reconcile the evolution of technology with its commitment to environmental stewardship. Thankfully, it sounds as if this little episode has been a cathartic experience. “Our relationship with EPEAT has become stronger as a result of this experience,” wrote Mansfield.

An amicable resolution is a very good thing. But, of course, the ever-present tension between environmental responsibility and the evolution of technology remains. Notebooks and tablets are only going to get thinner and sleeker and harder to disassemble. They are not being designed to be upgradable as desktops were, but they must be designed for efficient end-of-life management.

Indeed, they are becoming more like cellphones, which, by the way, are not even covered by EPEAT. But that’s another issue for another blog.
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sohaibmasood   The Bigger Story Behind Apple’s Environmental Flip-Flop   8/10/2012 4:23:22 AM
Re: Environmental Flip-Flop
zerox, I think it all comes down to the money. I mean the countries will only intervene if they have enough capital to support associated industries in a different manner. And whenever there are multinationals or other huge firms involved in small countries they have a huge say in the decision making too. Being a big player in a small country has its own advantages. 
zerox203   The Bigger Story Behind Apple’s Environmental Flip-Flop   7/31/2012 10:47:56 PM
Re: Environmental Flip-Flop
@sohaibmasood,

That's a complex question. Once the government has decided that this trend really is bad for their country (a serious question unto itself), they then have to decide if it's really their role to intervene. As long as no laws are being violated (which, maybe they are - another issue unto itself) is it really appropriate to launch an initiative to make a change - that is, is it worth the effort?

After all this is done, the big question comes - do they really have the money to make this effort? All things considered, this issue is most likely to come up in countries where they do not. I think the manufacturers would have to do a lot of self-policing to make change - which is also fairly unlikely to happen.
zerox203   The Bigger Story Behind Apple’s Environmental Flip-Flop   7/29/2012 12:52:07 AM
Re: Environmental Flip-Flop
To be sure, reselling the devices to "third-world" countries is only a short-term solution. As many have pointed out, it may even make things worse in the long run since the regulations and disposal methods there may be more lax leading to more and more dangerous waste when the time finally comes than if we just disposed of them right away.

However, as DBK points out, it may be the only way for some of these people to get their hands on modern technologies. It doesn't have to be a negative thing. If the companies themselves take measures to improve disposal methods around the world instead of relying on local governments, it could be a win for everyone. They just have to make sure they get their money's worth out of it - which could just mean a very agressive PR campaign to make themselves look good because of it.
sohaibmasood   The Bigger Story Behind Apple’s Environmental Flip-Flop   7/25/2012 1:18:04 PM
Re: Environmental Flip-Flop
@Taimoor: What steps do you think such countries can take in order to reduce dumping? 
DBK   The Bigger Story Behind Apple’s Environmental Flip-Flop   7/24/2012 2:06:15 PM
Re: Environmental Flip-Flop
The other tragety about this is that the people wh salvage these products are risking their health and their environement.  Plus they do it for survival, it is a travesty to take advantage of them, but I kjow from their point of view they are happy for the resources.
Taimoor Zubair   The Bigger Story Behind Apple’s Environmental Flip-Flop   7/24/2012 6:52:27 AM
Re: Environmental Flip-Flop
"What most companies do is send them to 3rd world countries with little regard for the environement and people scavange for copper and the rest for the most part gets dumped literally"

@DBK: That's a very good point. Dumping used electronics to third-world countries is becoming an increasingly common practice. Although it's a very lucrative business, the environmental consequences of this are certainly very severe. These countries have little or no proper facilities to treat the electronic waste according to environmental standards. As a result, the damages to the environment are much severe.
vnewman   The Bigger Story Behind Apple’s Environmental Flip-Flop   7/23/2012 1:08:33 AM
Re: customer power
I recently went into the Apple store asking what my options were to "upgrade" my iPad.  They informed me they do have a recycling program but the credit you get from it isn't worth bothering.  Better to post it on ebay said the kid at the Genius bar. 

What I eneded up doing was using a site called Gazelle.com who buys everything Apple and reuses items first and recycles second, and used the money I got back from them to put toward an iPad 2.
Hospice_Houngbo   The Bigger Story Behind Apple’s Environmental Flip-Flop   7/22/2012 9:15:05 PM
Re: customer power
"this is a lesson to Apple that being environmentally friendly is not just a fab"

In this time when greeness and eco-friendly behaviour are promoted, companies such as Apple and other IT giants should set a good precedent to other to follow. If they fail to do that, they should be ready to face sanctions or people negative feelings towards them.
Pedro Gonzales   The Bigger Story Behind Apple’s Environmental Flip-Flop   7/22/2012 9:00:01 PM
customer power
I think apple's image in being sleek and cool is not compatible with being environmentally friendly.  I think companies should be responsible on how they dispose of their electronic materials, I hope more companies take this approach, this is a lesson to Apple that being environmentally friendly is not just a fab, but an important area to consider.
DBK   The Bigger Story Behind Apple’s Environmental Flip-Flop   7/22/2012 6:59:45 PM
Re: Environmental Flip-Flop
The idea of sening the product back to the manufacture sounds really good.  But the reality is that the cost of them evaluating the parts to determine if they are resuable is too high to consider never the less actually doing it.  What most companies do is send them to 3rd world countries with little regard for the environement and people scavange for copper and the rest for the most part gets dumped literally.  This is a huge issue for trying to keep the global environement entact.  I would much prefer they find a way to manufacture so that parts can be recycled that that too is expensive and I think most consumers attention span is driven by the wallet, we want it easy and cheap.  then we cry about the environement and we vote with our wallet.
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