Apple recently pulled all of its products from the U.S. government-backed Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). This is a big deal because EPEAT is largely considered the de facto “green” standard for U.S. companies.
The reason Apple withdrew its 39 products was speculated to be because of the EPEAT’s requirements for device repairability—something Apple has definitely shied away from in recent years with products like the iPhone, iPad, and new MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Apple has now issued an official statement on its decision to part ways with EPEAT.
The Loop reports:
“Apple takes a comprehensive approach to measuring our environmental impact and all of our products meet the strictest energy efficiency standards backed by the US government, Energy Star 5.2,” Apple representative Kristin Huguet, told The Loop. “We also lead the industry by reporting each product’s greenhouse gas emissions on our website, and Apple products are superior in other important environmental areas not measured by EPEAT, such as removal of toxic materials.”
There are several other reasons why it’s totally understandable that Apple would ditch EPEAT. Not only does EPEAT not measure smartphones and tablets (something that’s obviously very important for Apple), but EPEAT rated products have to meet the requirement of “disassemble-ability” for recycling purposes. Most of Apple’s designs make it very difficult to take a product apart.
While Apple is still very committed to being eco-friendly, the U.S. government along with many corporations and educational institutions require purchased computers to be EPEAT certified. For instance, the city of San Francisco has already decided to stop buying Macs.
Source: The Loop
