Apple's Hiring Of Former EPA Chief Called 'Bold Move' By Greenpeace

Apple 's decision to hire Lisa Jackson, former head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to help oversee the company's green initiatives was a "bold move" that should help boost its environmental track record, according to Greenpeace.

"Apple has made a bold move in hiring Lisa Jackson, a proven advocate with a track record of combating toxic waste and the dirty energy that causes global warming, two of Apple’s biggest challenges as it continues to grow," Gary Cook, a senior analyst with Greenpeace, said in a statement today. "Jackson can make Apple the top environmental leader in the tech sector by helping the company use its influence to push electric utilities and governments to provide the clean energy that both Apple and America need right now."

Apple CEO Tim Cook, speaking at the AllThingsDigital conference yesterday, announced Jackson's hiring and said she will be "coordinating" a lot of the environmental practices at the company. That includes helping to improve its green efforts around manufacturing and products, areas for which Apple has come under criticism. "When you are large, if somebody is looking at something, you are going to be caught up in some way,” Cook said at the AllThingsD event. “We all hold ourselves to high standards."

Jackson left the EPA at the end of 2012 amid controversy over her use of a secret e-mail account during her tenure.

“I’m incredibly impressed with Apple’s commitment to the environment and I’m thrilled to be joining the team,” Jackson told POLITICO via an email sent using her iPhone. “Apple has shown how innovation can drive real progress by removing toxics from its products, incorporating renewable energy in its data center plans, and continually raising the bar for energy efficiency in the electronics industry..I look forward to helping support and promote these efforts, as well as leading new ones in the future aimed at protecting the environment.”