Apple no longer advertises the M4 Mac mini and its Apple Watch lineup as “carbon neutral.” The company proudly unveiled its first carbon neutral products — the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 — in 2023.
But just two years later, it has removed the claim from all such product pages. And it’s not because Apple suddenly started making its devices differently.
Carbon neutral by purchasing carbon credits
In September 2023, Apple detailed how it made the Apple Watch lineup carbon neutral. These were the company’s first products to carry such a claim.
It said that, “innovations in design and clean energy have driven dramatic reductions in product emissions of over 75 percent for each carbon neutral Apple Watch.” This was a major step towards the company’s goal to make every Apple product carbon neutral by 2030.
A carbon-neutral product is one whose production, use, and disposal result in no net increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, Apple offset the carbon dioxide emitted in the production of such devices by purchasing carbon credits.
In October 2023, the European Consumer Organization called out such claims, saying they are “scientifically inaccurate and mislead consumers.” Earlier this year, a German court (via Reuters) even banned Apple from marketing its products as “carbon neutral.”
Upcoming EU directive forces Apple to drop the carbon-neutral claim
As Watch Generation notes, it’s the upcoming European Directive 2024/825 that has forced Apple to drop carbon-neutral claims from the Apple Watch and M4 Mac mini pages. The directive prohibits companies from marketing products as carbon neutral if the claim is “based on offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions.” It goes into effect in September 2026.
While the directive only applies to the EU, Apple has changed its marketing stance worldwide. It now advertises the M4 Mac mini as being made with 50% recycled material by weight and 100% renewable energy. And the changes don’t mean Apple’s products are polluting more. The company maintains it’s still on course to make its entire lineup carbon neutral by 2030.
