Greenpeace

Greenpeace has praised Apple’s energy initiatives in its new Guide to Greener Electronics report, although it notes that there is still work to be done in other areas.

Drilling down, Greenpeace awards Apple A- on its efforts involving sustainable energy, a B for its use of hazardous chemicals, and a C for resource consumption. Overall, the environmental non-profit awards Apple a B- for its efforts in this area, which is considerably higher than tech rivals Microsoft (C-), Sony (D+), Google (D+), Samsung (D-), and Amazon (F) — although lower than Fairphone (A).

Greenpeace has launched a new campaign, seeking signatures to push Apple and other device makers to make more repairable, longer-lasting products to cut down on electronic waste.

In partnership with our friends over at iFixit, the campaign casts a critical eye over 40 different devices made between 2015 and 2017, and then assesses them according to how repairable each one is.

It feels like another lifetime when Apple was scoring dead last on Greenpeace’s report on environmentally friendly data centers and the greenest Apple got was putting out an iMac G3 in “lime” or “sage” colors.

Like a one-time rebel who now sits up front in class, today’s Apple is one of the most sustainable and eco-friendly tech companies around — and Greenpeace’s latest clean energy index has the stats to prove it!

When it comes to smartphone upgrades, consumers now think that companies like Apple and Samsung release too many new models and don’t put enough effort towards recycling.

A new study from Greenpeace surveyed over 6,000 people in the U.S. China, Russian, Mexico, Germany and South Korea and found that the average person has at least three phones at home, and more than half said they more than half said they would be okay with changing phones less often.

A new report from environmental organization Greenpeace has given Apple top marks for its policies and movement toward renewable energy.

The 72-page document by senior policy analyst Gary Cook and media officer David Pomerantz serves as an evaluation of current corporate activities, a summary of the state of renewable tech and progress, and a roadmap for how to institute less wasteful programs moving forward.

Apple, which is currently building an environmentally friendly second campus in Cupertino was one of three “Green Internet Innovators” shown on the graphic below, which groups companies from least to most environmentally friendly.

Considering that just a few short years ago Apple was scoring dead last on Greenpeace’s report on green-friendly data centres, the company has made amazing strides in order to turn around its reputation.

In a new September report from Greenpeace, entitled “Green Gadgets: Designing the Future,” the global environmental organization says that Apple is doing more than any other manufacturer to reduce the damage it does to the environment. The report notes that Apple has kept its promise to eliminate use of hazardous materials including Polyvinylchloride (PVC) and Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in its products.

Less than a decade ago, Apple was singled out by Greenpeace as one of the least environmentally friendly tech companies on the planet.

Apple has since turned over a new leaf, embracing environmentalism as something every bit as central to the company as the latest iPhone.

Just how important became evident a few months ago, when, during a routine earnings call, Cook spoke of his dream for Apple as a “force for good in the world beyond our products.” The recent global celebrations for Earth Day for the first time in nearly a decade mean that his dream is closer to becoming a reality.

So what changed exactly?

The greening of Apple: it took almost 10 years for the Cupertino company to turn around its dismal eco-scorecard.

But that worm has truly turned: in this week’s edition of Cult of Mac Magazine, author Luke Dormehl talks to former Apple exec John Sculley and other insiders about why this change is all about current Apple CEO Tim Cook.  Apple’s green day means a better future and even better products, they say.

Also this week, we’ve got reviews editor Charlie Sorrel taking a deep dive into underwater iPhoneography, plus his reviews for the best in Apple-related paraphernalia — including a mullet-style notebook (you know: business up front, party in the back.) Our tastemaker Buster Hein has once again sifted through all the offerings in the iTunes store to serve up the most scrumptious offerings in music, books and movies and Evan Killham rounds up what you need in apps.

Cult of Mac Magazine

Image: Wikipedia

Having turned over a new leaf when it comes sustainability, Apple is rightly proud.

So proud, in fact, that it made the surprisingly un-Apple move of opening the doors of its North Carolina data center to NBC’s show, to shine a focus on the building’s pioneering use of renewable energy.

Historically, Greenpeace hasn’t been very happy with Apple. In the past, they have scored Apple last in reports on green-friendly data centers, called the iCloud one of the dirtiest things on the planet, and called Apple less green friendly than Dell, HP and Nokia.

But things have seemingly changed. In a new report on renewable energy used by major Internet companies, Apple came out at 100%, thanks to the wind farms and solar arrays that now allow Apple’s data centers to run on 100% renewable energy. What’s the dirtiest thing on the planet now?

Following heavy complaints from activist groups like Greenpeace, Apple announced last year that all of its data centers would be powered by 100% renewable energy by 2013.

Apple just updated their Environmental Policies webpage to report that as of now, all its data centers are running on 100% renewable energy.

Just days after word broke that Apple had decided to withdraw its products from the EPEAT registry, San Francisco announced that the city would will stop procurement of Apple’s Mac desktops and notebooks. The move may be the first of many such announcements as many local, state, and federal agencies mandate purchases of only computers that meet the EPEAT criteria.

Apple’s decision to remove 39 of its products from the registry is puzzling to many considering that Apple is very vocal and transparent about the environmental friendliness of its products and processes. Apple was also one of the companies that helped create the EPEAT standards in 2006.

Following heavy complaints from activist group Greenpeace, Apple announced today that all of its data centers will be powered by 100% renewable energy. Apple has also received approval to build its 20-megawatt solar farm next to its other data center in Maiden, North Carolina.

60% of the energy powering Apple’s data centers will be created onsite, while the remaining 40% will be generated through negotiations with local energy providers, like Duke Energy.

Greenpeace likes to target Apple every year or so to keep them environmentally honest, and lately, the environmental access group has been going after Apple’s giant data supercenter in Maiden, North Carolina, claiming that it helps make iCloud one of the dirtiest things on the planet.

What Greenpeace is upset about is how much of the data center’s power comes from non-renewable resources, particularly coal. And they don’t think that Apple’s going far enough with its plans for solar energy plans.

Now the protests are getting real, with seven Greenpeace activists blocking train tracks used by Duke Energy and Apple use to ship coal.

Apple has been increasingly interested in powering its operations with that happy old sun, working on a 20-megawatt solar farm coupled with a 5-megawatt fuel cell facility at its data supercenter in Maiden, North Carolina. But that’s not nearly good enough, according to Greenpeace. In fact, the environmental activist group has gone so far as to call Apple out for using “asthma-inducing, climate-destroying coal” which makes the iCloud “the dirtiest thing on the internet.”

As Tim Cook put it at this morning’s event, Apple’s iCloud “just works” and 100 million customers love the lofty storage service.

Greenpeace, however, says Apple’s iCloud is an unsustainable coal-fueled mess and that the just-announced movie service will only make it worse.

“Apple is about innovation, but buying coal at really cheap source is not innovative,” Greenpeace senior policy analyst Gary Cook told Cult of Mac. “Those data centers [supporting iCloud] are fueled by about 60 percent coal.”

Apple takes pride in making its products environmentally friendly. It has worked to reduce its carbon footprint by keeping its product packaging to a minimum, removing toxic materials from its entire product line, making its devices more energy efficient and lots more.

However, the company isn’t the greenest of tech companies. It ranks fourth in Greenpeace’s “Guide to Greener Electronics,” with HP, Dell, and Nokia leading the way.