Greenpeace Gives Apple a B- in 'Guide to Greener Electronics'

Greenpeace today published its Guide to Greener Electronics, which provides insight into the environmental practices of 17 major companies including Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Sony, Samsung, and more.

Among all of the companies Greenpeace evaluated for energy, resource consumption, and chemicals, Apple received the second best marks, trailing behind only Fairphone, a device designed with minimal environmental impact in mind.

applegreenpeacegrade
Apple was lauded for its commitment to renewable energy and reducing supply chain emissions and its efforts to be transparent about the chemicals that are used in its products.

According to Greenpeace, Apple is the only company to have set a renewable energy goal for its supply chain, and several of its suppliers have already committed to using 100 percent renewable energy.

Apple is also committed to renewable energy at its own facilities and is ultimately aiming for a closed-loop supply chain. As for chemicals, Apple is one of two companies (along with Google) that have eliminated all brominated flame retardants and polyvinyl chloride.

Apple's overall Greenpeace "grade" was a B-, but broken down, the company received an A- for the aforementioned environmental efforts, a B for chemicals, and a C for resources, due in large part to the lack of repairability of its devices and its use of proprietary parts.

applegreenpeacegrade2

Apple continues to design products with proprietary parts to limit access and actively lobbies against right to repair legislation in New York and Nebraska.

It is reported that Apple and Sony have blocked attempts to strengthen environmental electronics standards that would encourage device designs that are easier to repair, upgrade, and disassemble for recycling.

Greenpeace has previously targeted Apple in a repairability campaign to combat planned obsolescence, accusing Apple's difficult-to-repair devices of shortening device lifespan and leading to more electronic waste. Apple is not likely to make changes to the way its devices are manufactured to make them easier for third-parties to repair, but its efforts towards a closed-loop supply chain could eventually result in far less waste.

Earlier this year, in Greenpeace's annual green report, Apple was ranked the most environmentally friendly technology company in the world. That report focused on factors like energy transparency, energy efficiency, renewable energy commitment, and advocacy.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

Zaqfalcon Avatar
84 months ago
LOL where are the As? Greenpeace should not exist.
You don't get an A grade just because everybody else is worse than you; what kind of a quantitative system is that?
[doublepost=1508214666][/doublepost]
Well hold on for a second. If Apple has a recycling method (Liam?) to break down the products so that they can reuse the materials, why would there be a "repairability" score? Isn't it better if users let Apple recycle their phones?

Example:
Let's say the iPhone is super repairable. I break my phone's screen. So then I pop off the screen, THROW AWAY THE SCREEN INTO THE TRASH, and pop a new one in (as well as trash all the packaging that came with the new screen).

OR

I can dump the phone onto Apple and let them break it down. I'm sure they can figure out a use for my broken screen (melt down the glass maybe?) as well as all of the components.
Because repair and reuse are higher in the waste hierarchy ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_hierarchy') than recycle.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dreamer2go Avatar
84 months ago
More like BS! Apple is basically number one, only topped by a socialist organization known as Fairphone (who has heard of them? how many phones do they sell?) and they only get a B-?!?

That's like saying Apple just cured cancer, they get a B- for innovation.
lol why so angry?
They do have an issue with resource consumption though.
Anyways, such a "low" score can help motivate companies like Apple to improve. And as history tell us, Apple does tend to answer these environmental group's harsh criticisms and addresses it.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cloudsurfer Avatar
84 months ago
More like BS! Apple is basically number one, only topped by a socialist organization known as Fairphone (who has heard of them? how many phones do they sell?) and they only get a B-?!?

That's like saying Apple just cured cancer, they get a B- for innovation.
It is a Dutch company (hence that's why I've heard of them) that produces modular phones, that can be easily upgraded to prolong its life. Last I heard though, they ran android and a pretty old version at that. You're better off buying an iPhone if you care about the environment.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Juan007 Avatar
84 months ago
More like BS! Apple is basically number one, only topped by a socialist organization known as Fairphone (who has heard of them? how many phones do they sell?) and they only get a B-?!?

That's like saying Apple just cured cancer, they get a B- for innovation.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citizenzen Avatar
84 months ago
B- looks pretty good amongst that group.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
btrach144 Avatar
84 months ago
Everyone hated Greenpeace when they rated Apple poorly 10+ years ago. Then Apple made a commitment to making earth friendlier(ish) products and their rating went up. Now everyone on MR is treating them like a legitimate source.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...