Apple has instructed the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) to remove all 39 of its products from its green registry.
EPEAT is the US government-backed group that is responsible for setting environmental standards for electronics. In an announcement on the EPEAT blog, the group says: “Apple has notified EPEAT that it is withdrawing its products from the EPEAT registry and will no longer be submitting its products to EPEAT for environmental rating.
“We regret that Apple will no longer be registering its products in EPEAT. We hope that they will decide to do so again at some point in future.”
The EPEAT standards are set by manufacturers, advocacy groups and government agencies. One of the requirements is that recyclers must be able to dissemble products with common tools in order for them to be considered “green”.
CIO Journal, Apple has informed EPEAT that its design direction is no longer consistent with the EPEAT requirements.
In the past, Apple has marketed its products such as the MacBook Pro for its environmental friendliness (based on its energy-efficiency, fewer toxins and the fact it was recyclable).
While Apple has not officially commented on its decision to withdraw its products from the EPEAT registry, the company's Web site details its own recycling initiatives and environmental footprint.
According to Apple, the company's total carbon footprint for 2011 was measured at 23.1 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
“We know that the most important thing we can do to reduce our impact on the environment is to improve our products' environmental performance. That's why we design them to use less material, ship with smaller packaging, be free of toxic substances, and be as energy-efficient and recyclable as possible,” says Apple.
Share