Is Apple green enough?
After walking away from Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) registry last week, Apple has returned to the registry on July 13 due to strong consumer complaints and criticisms.
Apple has given the Retina Display Mac Book Pro a gold EPEAT rating itself when re-registering its products.
The company did not address the issues that led it to leave EPEAT in the first place. Despite Apple’s more stringent energy-saving standards, its products run against important EPEAT requirements.
“We seriously doubt that these Mac Books should qualify for EPEAT at any level because we think they flunk two required criteria in the ‘Design for End of Life’ section of the standard,” Barbara Kyle, national coordinator of the Electronics Take Back Coalition, wrote, according to ExtremeTech.
Critics say that EPEAT is unlikely to refuse approving Apple’s self-provided rating because of the company’s influence in the computer industry. Without Apple’s participation, the registry may lose its effectiveness.
On the other hand, Apple struggles to balance between consumer demand on design and environmental regulations.
“What Apple’s move says to industry and the public is that they are unable to find a balance between people, planet and profit. Consumers talk about wanting greener products, but ultimately what drives consumer purchasing is functionality and price,” TechNewsDaily quotes John Visich, an associate professor at Bryant University, as saying.
The EPEAT’s standards are to be revised this year.
