User Backlash Prompts Apple To Rejoin EPEAT
Apple has once again joined the EPEAT Green registry after it quit the program last week. They published a letter on their website which said the decision to leave the programme was a mistake and that it had realised this after so many of its customers complained. The reversal of the decision comes after San Francisco city council said they were going to ban government employees from purchasing or using Apple computers because they were no longer part of the program.
Apple’s decision to leave the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) came as a shock to everyone because Apple helped set up the registry in 2006. Its purpose is to identify electronic devices which pose a risk to the environment and need to be modified and to praise those whose products are environmentally friendly. Apple quit the program after the release of its new laptop computer which could not be recycled easily due to it being built in one piece as opposed to many easily recyclable pieces. This means it would have not received the scheme’s highest rating which is negative publicity Apple would rather have avoided. Unfortunately the negative publicity from pulling out of the program proved too far worse than a poor rating ever could have been.
The following comments were published on Apple’s website by its senior vice president of hardware engineering.
“We’ve recently heard from many loyal Apple customers who were disappointed to learn that we had removed our products from the EPEAT rating system,” wrote Bob Mansfield.
“I recognise that this was a mistake. Starting today, all eligible Apple products are back on EPEAT.”
He went on to say that Apple believed it made the most environmentally friendly technology products available and would in future work with the EPEAT to modify their rating system to ensure all of Apple’s products received the ratings they deserved. He said Apple’s commitment to making environmentally sustainable products was stronger than ever and that Apple’s decision to quit the program last week was not an indication that the company was looking to move away from making green products even though that’s how the move was interpreted by some.
Apple’s miraculous U-turn was likely due to the above-mentioned decision by the city of San Francisco to no longer use Apple products if Apple was not part of the EPEAT. At the time it was rumoured that other councils and governments may follow suit as well as some companies and environmentally conscious users.
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