06/25/2008, 12:20pm, EDT
Wednesday, June 25thApple drops in Greenpeace rankings
Apple has slipped in terms of environmental friendliness, claims Greenpeace. The activist group has published a new edition of its Guide to Greener Electronics, and whereas in the last rankings Apple jumped from 2.7 to 6.7 -- due to the release of the less toxic MacBook Air -- the company has since slipped to just 4.1, marking it as an offending company.
The drop is attributed to stricter overall criteria, under which companies are required to support cuts to greenhouse gases dictated by treaties such as Kyoto, and enforce them within their operations. Corporations can also no longer rely on the efficiency of their products and production process, as Greenpeace says it is considering direct and indirect carbon footprints.
While Apple is praised for products that meet or exceed the Energy Star 4.0 standard, it is said to fail in all other forms of energy efficiency, as well as in its e-waste policies. Helping to redeem the company are more and more products without dangerous chemicals, such as newer iMacs and iPods. Apple has working to eliminate materials like arsenic, PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from its devices since late last year.
The only two companies to rate positively in Guide are Sony and Sony Ericsson, both at 5.1, thanks in part to even greater emphasis on reducing toxicity, and in the case of the former making commitments to lowering greenhouse gas output. Companies below Apple include Sharp, Lenovo, LG and Microsoft; one of the worst is still said to be Nintendo, although it has improved slightly since the last review.
Filed under: industry, Apple
Other story tags: Microsoft, sony, LG, MacBook Air, Sony Ericsson, Lenovo, Nintendo, Sharp, environmental, Greenpeace
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greenpiece?
the title should read "Apple drops in Greenpeace rankings, but does anyone care?"
greenpeace is kooky
who cares what greenpeace says? All they do is issue 'reports' and bug fisherman. They really do not accomplish anything.
And what is the carbon footprint of their outboard craft that chase japanese fishing boats?
Eff Greenpeace
Another group of self-righteous Stalinists who in a sane world would be hunted for sport. I'm sure the terrorist group "Earth Liberation Front" has these creeps on speed-dial - and vice versa.
exactly...
Who cares?
I'm all for corporations being environmentally responsible as much as they possibly can, but am getting sick of hearing about what Greenpeace thinks.
damn!
I missed the report where they jumped. I could've been living on an eco-high for a month or two.
"Green" "Peace" ??
"While Apple is praised for products that meet or exceed the Energy Star 4.0 standard, it is said to fail in all other forms of energy efficiency, as well as in its e-waste policies."
GreenPeace loves policies but does not really care if you live up to them. Doing is OK, promising to, at some time in the future is GREAT. PS. Donations help your cause and ours, give to GREENpeace . :-)
Helping to redeem the company are more and more products without dangerous chemicals, such as newer iMacs and iPods. "
Remember, doing is only so so important. Promises are better. CASH is best. LOL
In Other News...
In other news, Greenpeace is starved for attention, still using their completely arbitrary criteria to rank companies according to how much media attention they will draw to themselves, instead of taking the time and effort to compare products on their actual environmental impact.
Manufactured Landscapes
...seems a compelling documentary informing some of the issues - the problem may indeed be that few seem to care:
http://www.mongrelmedia.com/films/ManufacturedLandscapes.html
What's up, Nintendo?
It's interesting to me that Nintendo, a company with a very friendly image (similar in tone to Apple's), is so anti-environmental. What is it about differences in corporate structure makes two Japanese companies so different? I guess you could say that Sony is more western than Japanese at this point, but does the cultural difference even play into it?
As far as Greenpeace goes, their report seems even-handed. Apple should be, along with everyone else, looking into their manufacturing processes and reducing their industrial carbon footprint across the whole chain. But companies who make products in China don't feel especially obligated because environmental regulation there is so lax.
Fuck Greenpeace!!!
Greenpeace is just another socialist organization hiding behind the environment to push their socialist causes.