Apple 2008 Environmental Update

For the past several years, Apple has made a concerted effort to be more transparent about the steps they are taking to protect the environment and  make the business more sustainable.  In this environmental update, we'd like to inform you of their recent progress and introduce you to a ground breaking system of reporting which they believe is unmatched in the IT industry.

Removing Toxic Chemicals

Last year Apple announced the unprecedented goal of eliminating polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from Apple products by the end of 2008. They also pledged to remove mercury from their displays and arsenic from their display glass as they transition to more efficient light-emitting diode (LED) technology. 

The greatest of these challenges has been eliminating PVC and BFRs, which many other companies have only promised to phase out of certain parts like enclosures or printed circuit board laminates. In contrast, Apple are removing all forms of bromine and chlorine throughout the entire product, not just PVC and BFRs. Apple has qualified and tested thousands of components and mechanical plastics as bromine and chlorine free, and they are in the final stages of developing and certifying PVC-free power cables.

In June 2007, Apple shipped a new 15-inch MacBook Pro, which featured the industry’s first mercury-free 15.4-inch LED display. In January 2008 Apple marked another milestone with the introduction of the MacBook Air, the world’s thinnest notebook and the first to ship with both arsenic-free display glass and mercury-free backlight technology. More recently Apple introduced their first BFR and PVC-free iPods and iPhone 3G with mercury-free displays. The new MacBook family features only LED displays and continues their progress representing the greenest notebooks they’ve delivered to date.

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, is proud to report that all of Apple’s new product designs are on track to meet their 2008 year-end goal.

Carbon Footprint

Last year Jobs promised an update on the carbon footprint of their products as they set out to assess Apple’s true environmental impact. Most companies are focused on the emissions produced by their offices or perhaps their factories, but Apple have found that this accounts for just a small fraction-less than 5%-of the greenhouse gases associated with consumer electronics.

Apple decided to measure the emissions produced at each stage of a product’s lifecycle, from production and transportation to consumer use and eventual recycling. Apple reports this information for each new product they introduce, so their customers will better understand the progress they’re making.

Their new Product Environmental Reports provide a detailed description of each product’s energy efficiency, material composition, packaging, and-most significantly-greenhouse gas emissions. No other company in the industry provides this much detail at a product level.

Of course, they are constantly working to reduce the emissions associated with Apple’s products. This means making them more efficient in size and energy consumption. For example, the 20-inch iMac consumes about the same amount of electricity as a single household light bulb-just 67 watts-when on. That’s more efficient than their competitors have pledged to make their PCs two years from now.

Apple are approaching this issue at a product level because they think it’s the best way to help their customers make informed decisions about their own carbon footprint and how to reduce it.