Dell VP: Apple Green Ads Not “Truthful”

December 22nd, 2008 at 8:43 AM - News by Jeff Gamet

Bob Pearson, Dell Vice President of Communications & Conversations, has called Apple to task over its commercial that touts the MacBook's environmentally friendly features and even went so far as to say the ad "may not even be truthful."

In a blog post on the PC maker's Web site, Mr. Pearson claimed that Apple has failed to engage in open communication about environmental concerns. "If you want to make 'big claims,' you should be willing to tell 'big stories' in an open environment and let others critique your efforts," he said. "Don't skip this step and go right to ads that may not even be truthful."

Apple has, however, publicly addressed environmental concerns, most notably in an open letter CEO Steve Jobs wrote and published on the company's Web site. Apple has also devoted a Web page to clearly stating its goals towards producing "greener" computers -- goals that Mr. Pearson claimed Apple is not stating. "Apple hasn't stated any goals, just made claims, which as far as we can tell, are not accurate," he said.

Mr. Pearson also called Apple to task for its product recycling program. "It was in one of our regular sustainability meetings that Michael challenged us to offer free recycling worldwide for consumers. A big goal and we did it. We hope Apple does the same someday," he said. He is correct that Apple does not offer a world-wide product recycling program, but he failed to mention that Apple does offer recycling programs in 95 percent of the countries where its products are sold.

Dell has claimed it achieved its carbon-neutral goal five months ahead of schedule, and Mr. Pearson is hoping Apple will commit to going carbon-neutral, too. His assertion that Apple may not have been truthful with "green" laptop claims, however may have been a little off the mark.