Apple on EPEAT Pullout: We’re Still Environmentally Friendly

Apple has finally issued a statement on why it withdrew the Mac computer lineup from the EPEAT certification process, and said that it is still a world leader in environmentally responsible computer manufacturing.

Apple says it's still a green companyApple says it’s still a green company

In a statement to The Loop, Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet said,

Apple takes a comprehensive approach to measuring our environmental impact and all of our products meet the strictest energy efficiency standards backed by the US government, Energy Star 5.2. We also lead the industry by reporting each product’s greenhouse gas emissions on our website, and Apple products are superior in other important environmental areas not measured by EPEAT, such as removal of toxic materials.

The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, or EPEAT, organization announced over the weekend that Apple was no longer submitting its Macintosh computers for certification. Apple said that its “design direction was no longer consistent with the EPEAT requirements,” but didn’t offer any other explanation at the time.

Some companies and government agencies require EPEAT certification for the computers they purchase, raising concerns that Apple cut itself off from several potential revenue sources. The city of San Francisco responded quickly telling all 50 of its agencies that they couldn’t purchase Macs any more.

The impact of San Francisco’s policy will likely be minimal to Apple since the city has less than 700 Macs, accounting for less than 2 percent of its computers. Since EPEAT doesn’t certify smartphones or tablets, the iPhone and iPad aren’t included in the purchase ban.

Apple maintains a webpage detailing its environmental policies for product manufacturing, transportation, use and recycling. The company is also using renewable energy where possible to power its data centers.