Computer Support Blog

Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers, may have been a visionary, but he also was a product of his time.  Jobs was, in many ways, the right person, at the right place, at the right time; he captured the attention (and investing dollars) of the Baby Boomers.  Without their capital and belief in Steve Jobs and his vision, Apple Computers would not have endured its financial ups and downs.  It is telling, then, that the current leadership of Apple Computers waited until after Jobs was dead and the company was firmly ensconced as the most profitable company in the world before it quietly withdrew its products from EPEAT.

EPEAT, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, is a non-partisan set of standards for electronic devices that is not affiliated with any one company or product type.  Instead, EPEAT standards are a broader array of environmental standards for electronic devices than even the Energy Star Certification, though like Energy Star Certification, EPEAT standards utilized funding from the Environmental Protection Agency.  EPEAT standards look at the entire life cycle of an electronic device and created their 51 criteria to help consumers and businesses make environmentally-responsible buying decisions.  The criteria, made with direct input from manufacturers (most significantly Apple Computers!), requires products to meet twenty-three requirements with an additional twenty-eight optional requirements that may allow businesses to achieve a higher EPEAT rating.

Apple has long prided itself on having environmental practices that exceed industry standards, though skeptics of the company have pressed Apple to hold their subcontractors to the same set of standards.  Indeed, on the Apple Computers website, the company explores at length the steps it is taking – many with manufacturers the company works with – to reduce the carbon footprint of its manufacturing processes.  But because many of Apple’s new mobile devices and computers utilize technology that makes it harder to disassemble and responsibly dispose of the component parts, Apple has voluntarily requested thirty-nine of its products no longer be considered for EPEAT standards.

Opting to no longer try for environmental standards is not only a terrible precedent for Apple Computers to set, but it may turn out to be the wrong business move for the company as well.  Government agencies are now required to purchase 95% of their electronics based on those devices meeting EPEAT standards.  Many educational institutions buy using EPEAT standards as a guide as well.  Similarly, in an effort to improve their environmental credibility, many other big businesses make their purchases using EPEAT’s buying guide as well!

Baby Boomers still make up one of the largest demographic concentrations in the environmentalist movement; how they respond to Apple’s about-face on environmental responsibility may have a profound effect on the company.

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