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).

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!

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.

The city of Claremont, North Carolina, has approved a new development that will allow Apple to build a new sustainable solar farm.

With an initial investment of $55 million, Apple’s latest solar farm will be a massive, 100-acre, 17.5-megawatt project, likely to take five years to complete.

Hearing an Apple executive talk about their work in a relaxed setting is pretty unusual stuff, but that’s what happened earlier this week when Lisa Jackson, Apple’s VP of Environmental Initiatives, spoke as part of Fortune’s Brainstorm Green conference.

The 16-minute conversation, with Fortune Senior Editor (and former Apple author) Adam Lashinsky, touches on various topics related to Apple’s desire to go green — including some potentially revolutionary plans for its 400+ chain of retail stores.

Apple has made another interesting hire in the form of Bobby Hollis, a former vice president of NV Energy who will serve as the company’s new Senior Renewable Energy Manager.

The appointment took place earlier this year, while Hollis took his post back in April.

At NV Energy in Nevada, Hollis worked as the Vice President of Renewable Energy and Origination. He also served on the board of the Solar Electric Power Association, and was recently named one of Las Vegas’s 40 Under Forty business leaders.

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.

Apple is the fourth greenest tech/telecoms company — generating  85 percent of its power through green power sources — according to a new list published by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The recently published report compares the amount of power used by America’s top technology and telecom firms with the percentage that comes from renewable “green” resources, such as wind, solar, bio-gas and other options.